If the needles are set at 48.5 mm that's a reasonable starting point. You have to unscrew them to make it leaner. Make sure that the needle is turning out of the holder (for lack of a better word). Then push the needle and holder back into the slide and turn both to put the round part of the needle toward the back of he carb. It also never hurts to measure it to make sure that it actually turned. It should be longer than 48.5 mm after you turn it out.