Yup, whoever did the valves last had the shims backwards :huh: Considering the other cobbled up messes on this bike, I'm not really surprised. I promptly swapped the shims around using the zippy tie valve tool and a piece of 8 awg solid copper wire as a temp shim at the point when both were out. Swapped them around, checked the clearances again, and perfect.
Now that is out of the way, I'm going to install new spark plugs, not that the old ones are bad, it's that I just don't know how many miles are on them and if I'm going to sync the carbs, better to have them new anyway. Going to clean up the carbs on the outside so their not a mess to handle and work around, but I am thinking that I am going to put off tearing them apart at this time as they are working pretty well from all indications. No leaks or sticking needle valves, slides are working smooth as silk, etc.. The old saying, don't fix it if it ain't broke. One thing I did notice when I pulled the plugs was that 3 of the 4 were just North of being tight. I'm sure that they were loose enough to be leaking on compression. Just another one of a couple dozen little hay babies that have found their way onto this bike. But one by one they are getting fixed and if not factory right, at least a damn sight better than they are now.
I'll stop here as this is just the start of what I am sure will be many more posts. All you XJ experts out there, please toss in your
worth on this or any post I make. 
Mark