Bandit carb cleaning - advice for a novice

[SteveSmith]

I have a Bandit 600Y which is running a bit rough and in particular has a flat spot around 5000-6000 rpm. I'm in the process of changing filters etc (I discovered the air filter drain tube yesterday hence a load of cruddy water on my garage floor!), but if that doesn't work I'm planning to strip and clean the carbs.

I haven't done that before, and on reading the Haynes manual it keeps talking about replacing all the o-rings and gaskets. A couple of questions :

1) How important is it in real life to use new o-rings / gaskets each time?

2) If it is important, where can I get the o-rings and gaskets from without buying a full carb overhaul kit with new jets, screws and other stuff I don't want?

3) Once they are re-built, do I need to fill the float bowls with petrol, or will it pull enough through on the starter motor to start the engine before it flattens the battery?

Thanks very much, and if anyone has any other advice or stuff I ought to know before I start the job, I'd really appreciate it. I know roughly which end of a screwdriver to hold, but I'm certainly not an expert!

Cheers,

Steve.

[temeluchus]