A couple of "tune up" questions...

[Mikep328]

Do the slide needles wear as a "normal" thing to consider for replacement?  Amal Concentric Carb needles on BrittBikes typically wear and need replacing periodically but I haven't seen any posts here indicating that is an issue with these carbs.

The four needles all look perfect to me under a loup - no difference in profile for any of them.  one has some discoloration on the lower section but I can't feel anything with a fingernail. 

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Interesting point early SU carbs had a fixed needle so they was generally no wear. Later SU carbs had a poor quality spring loaded needle so the jets in the base were worn oval - mainly caused erratic tick over issues.

The Honda carbs are well engineered like early SU's I have not seen any similar wear in my short experience on motorcycles. At high mileage due to wear in the slider sides you would eventually see wear.

[Mikep328]

I have to admit that now, having identified issues in the pilot circuits, I'm thinking of leaving the needles in the OEM position rather than raising them a notch.  It seems to me the best thing is to start out with everything "stock" first. 

Interestingly, I ran across this quote in some searching on this site:   

"Driving along in first gear just barely above idle, there should (actually MUST) be some blubbering, but it should clear up immediately at about 1/16 throttle."  That makes it sound like what I find annoying is "normal." 

That quote is from the first post here:
  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=5410
It is in item 2 under the heading, "How do I tune the carbs?":

[Mikep328]

Today I went out on the bike for the first time since completely going through/reinstalling the carbs.  All carb settings were completely stock with all original parts except the Orings.  Air screw position was 2 turns out.  Float level to spec and idle set at 1200RPM and choke/fast idle set per Honda shop manual.

The results:  Frankly, it could not have run better!  No bog at all, smooth 1200 RPM idle, and it takes throttle from any position with no hesitation/stuttering or any other bad behavior!!   

As mentioned in earlier posts, I had been thinking about adjusting the needle position and making extreme airscrew adjustments in hopes of eliminating the bog/get the bike running as it should and then I got to thinking (usually hazardous for me but it paid off this time),  "When the bike was new, did it bog while taking the throttle?"  I searched and found an original Cycle World 1977 road test of the bike.  Quite the contrary, they commented on how well it took the throttle going to WOT from any throttle position in any gear.  As an aside, they also commented that the brakes were strong but they weren't too impressed with the suspension when pushing hard.

So based on that I figured that it SHOULD run perfectly if everything was set per spec and functioning properly.  And it does! 

In my case three things were "changed."  As I mentioned in an earlier post, two of the pilot jets were slightly bent and had a couple of the emulsion holes restricted/egg-shaped so I replaced those with new "genuine" pilot jets (in Honda plastic bags and with the Kiehen logo on the jets).  Also the float levels were at 24mm so I reset them to spec.  Additionally, although I had cleaned the carbs the first time I pulled them, clearly I did not clean them well enough to ensure all passages were clear.  One of the (good) original pilot jets was totally blocked.  I had sprayed carb cleaner through it the first time I disassembled the carbs but this time I cleaned all passages/jets out with a guitar string.

Of course, I should have done that the first time which reminds me of an old saying, "If you don't TAKE the time to do it right, you will have to MAKE time to do it over!