I just took the carb off, took off the 4 stubborn screws holding the float bowl and everything was badly tarnished.I soaked the jets and the fuel bowl for about 10 minutes in Pinesol while I ran to get allen head screws for the bowl. The pilot jet was completely clogged but after a soak and clean and reassembly, the bike is running great. No backfire, no sluggishness and no choke even to start it. Thanks to all who replied and thanks for an old post about using Pinesol. The power of Pinesol baby.
great forum.