First time carb removal

I know this has been covered a million times but I am at work and don't have the time to do an extensive search. 1985 ZN 700 A2. Sticking float #2 carb. I figure I need to at minimum pull the float bowl off but it seems this might be easier if the entire rack is off. True/False?

I am quite concerned about this task as I do not want to make things worse; maybe I'm afraid to find out how bad things might be do to the scarcity of parts and my funds.

Is it possible to remove the rack of 4 and not necessarily have to re-sync upon re-installation? I thought I read in a manual somewhere about a mechanical sync; obviously this would not be the ideal situation...

So my plan is to remove the float bowl covers on at least #2, but probably all. Seeing as the rubber diaphrams are no longer made I really do not want to pull the carbs apart completely. The bike has been running fine up until this float issue. Can I use high temp gasket sealer to seal the covers upon re-install? Never been in there before and if paper gaskets are there they will be trashed I am sure.

Any other tips tricks would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks all.

I don't know about the carbs on your bike, but on my KZ650-C1 with Mikunis it's much much easier just to pull the carb bowl rather than pulling the rack. Just turn off the petcock, drain the carb in question, and remove the 4 little screws holding the bowl on. Then you have access to the float and float valve. I use a screwdriver bit in a 1/4" ratchet and a mirror (see pic) to make the job easy.

Well it wasn't too bad. After tank removal I just loosened the retaining clamps connecting the carbs to the engine. I pulled the snorkels off the air box and then popped the carbs back and off the rubber boots. Finally I just slide the entire rack out to the right side and stood it up vertically. I did not disconnect the throttle cables.

It was a good thing I did it this way too. As usual Jap screws strip out easily and the screws on float bowl 2 were already partially boogered. Those did not come out; I had to use an easy out to get those out. Now I will be replacing all 16 with socket head screws.

Loads of garbage on the bowls but the floats all moved very freely. I'll be finishing the job tomorrow.

For future reference, since the bike has lots of screws; the screws on the Kawasaki that look like "Phillips” screws are not Phillips; they are Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS). Using a Phillips screwdriver tip on these will damage the screw heads. JIS screwdriver bits are nearly impossible to find, but the good news is that they are very easy to make from Phillips screwdriver bits. You just need to grind the tip of the Phillips bits a little then test the bit in a screw then grind a little more as necessary until the bit fits the screw properly. When properly ground the bit should be able to easily stay in the screw without help. Below are a couple pictures to help explain.

Oh I have P3 bits but if the PO already started to strip the heads even the correct bit isn't going to work. No matter I'm replacing them anyway. Thanks.

I understand you are replacing the boogered up screws, but you may want to take another look at my post for future reference - there are lots of other JIS screws on the bike which sooner or later you may need to loosen. A regular P3 bit (or for that matter any other size Phillips bits) will not fit the screw heads properly, so when you need to loosen other JIS screws you may want to mod the screwdriver tips by grinding the point off the tip of the bit as shown in the posting. Believe me when I say it makes life easier. Ed

What Ed said.

Well carbs went back on with no issues. The airbox hose rollback technique worked great. No more leak from the #2 carb bowl and the bike runs great. Bowl screws replaced with hex head cap screws and all is well.

The information on this board is great!