is there some trick to getting them off. I loosened the screws to the boots. I've man handled them trying to get off, wiggling back and forth. I eventually got a crowbar and tried that and they just won't budge.

 

On a 91 cb750 nighthawk I used a blow torch to warm the rubber to try and get the boots into the airbox it could possibly work the opposite way.

 

Well, as great asan idea it is to take a blow torch to a fuel system I think you may want to veer away from that one.

Get yourself a bottle of WD-40 and spray it around the rubber boots, after doing that, take a flat-head screwdriver and gently try peeling the boots back a little all the way around the carb throats to loosen it up.

Give her another spray of WD-40.

They take a bit of convincing to yank out, rock them forward and back while applying constant force to pull them out... They'll come out you just have to work them for a while if they haven't been out for a long time. (the rubber dries up and it's like it's glued in!)

If you can, try to work one end free first so they come out at an angle, this way you're not fighting with all 4 rubber pieces at once.