High idle vm26 carbs

I've got my vm26 carbs rebuilt, bolted up and the bike is running nice and smooth. Only problem is that it won't idle below about 3500 rpm, with no throttle cables hooked up and the idle adjuster backed all the way out. I've got it jetted with 17.5 pilots, 117.5 mains and needle clips on #4. I put silicone between the intake boots and the head before mounting the carbs so I don't think I have an air leak. I had no air filters on when this was happening, my K&N pods are en route, and I have a baffled MAC 4-1 (baffle is from a Kerker K2 pipe).
Also, I have an electronic ignition from an 81 kz650 installed so it can't be timing (at least I hope not because there's no way to adjust the timing on the stock Kawi set up from 81).
Also, all screw adjustments (air screws on the top sides and pilot screws on the bottom) on the carbs are set at a baseline of 1.5. Adjusting the air screws up top didn't change the idle at all but I didn't do anything with the pilot screws because I couldn't get a screwdriver underneath the carbs and didn't feel like pulling the carbs back off last night as it was getting late.
Any ideas on why it's idling so high?

Have the carbs been syncronized?

Bench synced, but it occurs to me that maybe the slide heights are set too high. I set the 26s the same way I've always set the 24s, 1/4" space on the front of the slide. It's always been dead on for the 24s, but maybe too much for the 26s?
If it's too much, what should I set them at? Anyone know?

Can use thickness of wire from a small paper clip (0.7 mm) with idle knob set in middle position for the initial sync during bench assembly. This should afford range for later synch at low rpm and idle speed knob adjustment.

Running a bike with out a air filter with lean it out and increase the idle. Wait until the pods come to sort this out.

anarki650 wrote:

vm26 carbs...all screw adjustments (air screws on the top sides and pilot screws on the bottom) on the carbs are set at a baseline of 1.5. Adjusting the air screws up top didn't change the idle at all but I didn't do anything with the pilot screws because I couldn't get a screwdriver underneath the carbs....

Am thinking carbs have either pilot air screw on the side OR pilot mixture screw on the bottom, but not both.

For example, here's a carb with pilot mixture screw #30 on the bottom --

[click on image to enlarge]

And here's a carb with pilot air screw #31 on the side.

[click on image to enlarge]

The above diagrams are of manual slide carbs.

Are the carbs in question manual slide or CV (constant vacuum) slide carbs?

The carbs are manual slide (not CV) and they have both pilot and air screws. I thought that was a little weird too, but they were both there when I tore the carbs down to the shells for a good cleaning and rebuild.

Found out this was caused by two different issues. 1) I had an air leak between the intake boots and the head (fixed with another application of high temp silicone) and 2) lean jetting (just ordered what should do the trick so by the time the rain ends around here next week I should have her running just right).