I disconnected mine on my ZZR12. Ran ok except when I was in Canberra it wouldn't run smoothly and used mega fuel.
At the risk of digging up this tired thread, the heating to the carbs on the ZRX, and other bikes, was put there because of problems that, as I understand it, were pretty much confined to the Canberra area. My bike's heating circuit got clogged at the filter and the bike ran like a POS in winter in Canberra. Outside Canberra it seemed fine. If your bike starts running like a POS in Canberra in Winter remember to replace the filter gauze in the carb warming circuit.
The guys at Canberra Motorcycle Center were telling me that Kwak Australia fitted the warming circuits to the carbs because of the problems they had with bikes they sold there. Something to do with the exact weather conditions - the humidity and the air temp. Doesn't seem logical because north America is much colder but they don't have the warming circuits. Who could guess what it is, but I'm not surprised you noticed the problem in Canberra.