After reading Bamboo's post I had another look and between Clymer's (which tells you what to do but not how to do it) and staring at it very sternly I figured out to use a punch to remove the float's pivot pin. Then I removed the float assembly from the needle valve by accidentally-correctly sliding it off.
The needle was still in place.
Oh, by the way, did I mention the carburetor is still on the bike? That's right! I'm doing this Aussie Style!
So I take some old needle nose pliers and grab it and pull. And pull. AND PULL. The whole thing is over a metal paint tray I am using to collect the fuel. With the final pull it comes out and I hear a sharp "CLINK-RATTLE" as something else come away and lands in the metal tray.
I'm thinking, "Oh great. A mini-micro washer or pin or something tiny but important". As I'm looking in there all I see is what looks like a small rock. I tilt the pan a bit to see what I see and the rock moves making the same sound! That mico rock thing was jammed up there wedging the needle open, or at least making it impossible to close.
It looks like Bamboo was right on the money!
Now to get it back together. The needle won't stay put now and it's right-side-up on the bike. So I'll have to attach it to the float assembly and sort of feed it all together up there at the same time?
I did turn the fuel on and have a good look at the hose connection. That looked dry. I think that's okay for now.
Heading back out there now. Any advise or ideas are appreciated.
Now I'm wondering where the hell did that little black rock come from??
Do you have inline filters or the screens in the tank? New fuel hose? You can loosen the clamps fore and aft of the carb and twist it on its axis for a bit better access. It helps to have three hands, but it can be done. The float pivot pins are thicker on one end with splines and the other end has a slight taper. Don't force it, one direction of insertion will be better than the other. Those castings break too easy.
