My carbs were very hard to remove (lots of swearing heard coming from the shed!!). Does anyone have any handy tips on anything that might make it easier to get them back on (and how to ensure that they are FULLY back on)?

Brand new carb rubbers help, if they are too old and brittle then they are a pain in the arse.

The rubbers being slightly warm can help soften them a bit.

As to gauging if they are all the way on, the mark one eye-ball is the only way to do that.

Thanks Greggo. Mark Ones aren't so good these days, but I will warm the carb rubbers as you suggest.

an old trick my m8 who does moto-x showed me is to leave them in a pot of boiling water
until the rubber goes soft, then wipe the inside till dry
he uses it to get new grips on 2.
laz