I have my carbs balanced to within a half bar of each other, and the bike runs really smooth, up until the band that I mentioned. However, that is also where the spark advance opens up on the ignitech.
Some people have mentioned balancing their carbs at a higher RPM, and then others say not to - I didn't, as I am not sure it is an accurate way of doing things.
I have been looking for larger grips - thanks for the link Shep, I might have to try those out, since they are pretty cheap.
Mike