The choke valve sounds like it could be slightly hung open, causing exess RPM at idle. speaking of upside down tranny's, I wonder if you can pull the gears out of say a 250r and reverse them so you shift down to go to a higher gear? Its always easier to "slap" the shifter with your foot that it is to pull up on it.
-Will
1985 Honda ATC 350X
2003 Yamaha Banshee
2003 Polaris Sportsman 500
There are 3 kinds of people in this world, Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what the hell happend.