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Hope you are right mate - makes total sense !

Where are these choke, plunger return springs you mentioned? I can't seem to remember this....

Wonder if you Could you try and push the plungers down by hand to see if you feel them seat better ?

Tried to attach some pics of the relevant parts manual pages but .pdf scans are nogo - have to take a photo instead and attach as a .jpeg.
In the meantime and to hopefully explain - the return spring sits under the starter plunger cap and pushes against the lip on the plunger "piston" (for lack of a better word); this spring is compressed when the choke lever is lifted to the "on" position, when the choke lever is pushed down ie "off" the spring SHOULD return the plunger to the fully closed position and shut off the enriching fuel system (choke).

Good Fortune!

I'm not sure those springs exist in the carbs on my bike now. WTF?
I'm going to slide the shaft out of my back up carbs, same year 26mm, and see if they are in those and maybe I lost the in ones on my bike from years ago rebuilds.

I don't remember having them.
Steve

No return springs, mmmm.....? unless someone has put some sort of pin through the plunger shaft under the collar (to give the choke lever something to push against to push the plungers down) they will stay up and the choke will be "on." - N'est pas?

On the VM carbs there is a bushing that holds the shaft and forks the move it up and down.
Steve

Editing Memo -- Part numbers and nomenclature have since been added to the previously posted diagram.

Good Fortune!

Right.... All three of my 26mm carb sets have that plastic clip the pushes and pulls the enrichment valve up and down.

Well, did some more on the carb problem last weekend - thoroughly investigated my theory that maybe the choke plungers were not coming down fully with the choke "off." Took each carb in turn and blew through a tube into the choke air inlet port while lifting then releasing the plunger by hand. In each case there was a positive opening and closing action and each plunger was definitely fully home when released. Also, in the fully closed position of the choke, each plunger was in the same position as when manually pushed down, without the choke lever connected. So that kind of rules that possibility out.
I spoke to a local Kawasaki mechanic about the problem - he said "That'll be your slides in back to front which is causing the fuel to be sucked directly in through the main jets, bypassing the pilot system." It sounded feasible, but I was pretty sure I'd got the slides in the right way round with the groove in the slides correctly engaged in the slide chamber locating pins. I checked anyway and was "disappointed" to see that this quickfix was not the answer!

IThought that I'd revisit the float levels as I had just about exhausted my patience (and options for a solution.) Looks like I have set them way too high! I should have been using the bottom part of the carb body where it meets the float bowl as reference point, Due to inexperience (and little attention to detail) I had been using the edge of the carb about 4mm above it, which meant that it was always going to be too high!
As most will be aware, a very small adjustment of the tang on the float results in quite a large change in fuel level. In this case it turned out that a change of only 0.3mm on each tang brought the fuel level down to the specification (using the clear tube test.) I'm yet to refit the carbs but will post results when I get a chance to retest the setup. Hope that this is what has been the problem all the time .
(Note to self - pay more attention to symptoms and follow procedures!)