Hm, having time on my hands i'm inclined to give another crack at the bike (he can't take it till wednesday now).
I've pulled the carbs off (still attached) a few times.
Removed float bowls, float needle (looks fine to me) and normal needle. All has been liberally sprayed with carb cleaner.
Thus far, no joy in terms of stopping the leaking and the bike still takes a bit of 'coaxing' to start.
Do we think i should remove the carbs entirely? (and if so how worried do i have to be about the throttle link)
if not the carbs, is there anything else it could be?
Thanks for your time and patience on this one, just keen to get riding!
Ant