You mean remove the fan belt? How would that affect the crankcase? EDIT: Do you mean so that the fumes blowing out of the breather would be visible instead of being blown away by the fan?
I do plan to adjust the valves as soon as I get a chance. Then I'll redo the compression test. I think you're suggesting to do it cold just to make sure the temperature is the same for all of the cylinders? I believe last time I did it I rechecked 1 and 2 after finishing the others, just to see if anything changed as the block cooled in the interim. But I'm not positive I did that.
I've looked at the choke with the engine idling and air cleaner off, but I don't have a sense for how fully it should close and how quickly it should open at a given ambient temperature. Maybe I can post a video of it.