Fine Tuning After Carb rebuild

Ok. About six months on the forum but first time posting. First of all let me thank all of you that have helped me more than you'll know in reviving my 1980 KZ1000a bike recently reclaimed from my fathers tool shed where it had sat since the last time it ran in 1996. I went through the VM28 pumpers with the ultrasonics cleaner and steel wooled all the brass. (Could have used for surgery, so clean)
This bike has around 17000 miles with stock exhaust, breadbox (partially taped) one size up from stock jets and pilots and had to do the WiredGeorge work around for the power to the dyna coils. I first mechanically synchronized the slides. I could only get the bike to run with the enrichner engaged. I tweaked the air screws to just over one turn out and was able to get it to run after some fuel spewing from the breadbox and a series of backfires and letting it sit for another day.
I didn't really make the connection but in my driveway there were corn kernels here and there. Not much just enough to make me think some animal had transported them there. The next day I got it running smoother and was able to rev up the motor and drive it (finally) after synching the carbs with a home made manometer. I actually watched corn being shot out of the right side muffler at a dangerous velocity in some cases.
I never would have guessed there was some sort of obstruction in the pipes causing so much confusion in getting this thing running right. Must have been some field mouse storing up for the winter and making a nice home in the baffles somewhere.
Have not completed a valve clearance inspection as of yet. Can inspection and possible shim replacement be completed without the use of the Kawasaki holding tool as outlined in the manuals?
Any and all advice considered.
Thanks for reading.
If you have a barn rescue...know your area and why not check for corn.
Forgot to add using 5DL31 needles on middle groove,

I got lost in my own story...what is the best course of action to smooth this thing out so it runs like a sewing machine again?

If it has been sitting that long with gas in the carb bowls then the carbs will need cleaning. Pay attention to the small idle circuit passageways. Make sure they are clean along with all the jets. Running only on the choke is a classic symptom of clogged jets and passageways.

You have not said you have checked the float heights? and float condition and float valve operation, but I guess you did that when bench synching? If not I would recommend, only say that because you said you had fuel coming out of the breadbox. I had same misfire issue after rebuilding my carbs and float heights were one of the mnay issues I had.

I have not had good luck with ultrasonic cleaning methods on carbs. I get the best results the old school way, manualy cleaning them. Just a thought.

Totally agree with all methods of cleaning. I'm not a hands off guy when it comes to all those tiny passages in the carbs. The ultra sonics will break some of that calcium and crap up deep where other devices cannot reach. I scrub the hell out of these things before putting them back into service.
The float heights were all checking in at 1" give or take a hair. The floats are in good condition as is the float valves and springs. I haven't had it spitting back at me since all that corn broke loose and started shooting from the exhaust. (check my original post)
Asked my dad if and when he did the last valve adjustment and he said he'll send me the holding tool and a box of shims cuz he couldn't recall. It's running and that's a good thing. Working through the issues steadily.
Wanted to point out that muriatic acid with a handful of nuts followed by the naval jelly treatment has the inside of the tank looking like stainless steel.

Bandaddy wrote: Totally agree with all methods of cleaning. I'm not a hands off guy when it comes to all those tiny passages in the carbs. The ultra sonics will break some of that calcium and crap up deep where other devices cannot reach. I scrub the hell out of these things before putting them back into service.
The float heights were all checking in at 1" give or take a hair. The floats are in good condition as is the float valves and springs. I haven't had it spitting back at me since all that corn broke loose and started shooting from the exhaust. (check my original post)
Asked my dad if and when he did the last valve adjustment and he said he'll send me the holding tool and a box of shims cuz he couldn't recall. It's running and that's a good thing. Working through the issues steadily.
Wanted to point out that muriatic acid with a handful of nuts followed by the naval jelly treatment has the inside of the tank looking like stainless steel.

What's the naval jelly treatment?

Re: What's the naval jelly treatment?
Basically the muriatic acid (or hydrochloric acid) etches or cleans the metal inside the tank. The naval jelly has phosphoric acid which treats the bare metal and protects it from future corrosion. I wish I had a before picture of the rust inside this thing. I will take a picture of the "after" this weekend and put it up. All those expensive tank processes chemicals are just that, expensive. Naval jelly and muriatic acid are pretty cheap at your local home improvement center. Follow the directions for protecting yourself and most importantly your paint if you use the acid.