Gen 1 running really lean

[1967fazer]

More problems with the old girl, after getting the new gearbox fitted and then re-fitting the engine and then getting the exup valve to work and then setting the exup valve correctly, I thought, yeah, it should be lovely now....but no! The bike is now running incredibly lean, to the point of it "pinking" when under load, plus it doesn't seem to have much grunt low down either!
Is there anything I should be looking for? Is it worth checking on the TPS setting? ANy other suggestions? 
The carbs haven't been touched during the strip down and rebuild, but could do with balancing. There is no Ivans fitted, which would probably cure a lot of issues, but I can't afford that just now!
Help!

[Falcon 269]

Just seen this.  Did you remove the carbs when you did the engine removal?  I assume the answer is 'yes'.  If so, have you secured the intake boot clamps?

No reason I can think of for the motor suddenly to start running lean unless you've induced an air leak.  Don't assume what you think is 'pinking' is because of lean fuelling.

Go back over the installation and make sure everything is secure and correctly fitted.  It most likely has to be something you've done during the rebuild which has caused your present issue.

I'll think overnight and get back to you tomorrow.

[1967fazer]

Thanks for the reply Falcon, really am stumped on this, I've been thinking about it some more and when I think about it, the bike was running ok for a while after the rebuild and after I got the exup supposedly set up correctly, it seemed to be fine. Now its seems to be slightly down on low range grunt and this 'pinking' has arrived. So it literally has happened over the last week!
Could it down to something as simple as dodgy fuel?
Will have good check over it this weekend and make sure all correctly fastened, its possible something has worked it self loose over the last couple of hundred miles.
 

[Falcon 269]

Are you hearing a tinkling noise under load?  Is that what's making you say it's pinking?

If so, it could be the EXUP rattling.  All the parts were there on re-assembly, right?  Particularly the bush on the far end valve spindle?

Are you sure you've got the cables on the right way?  You don't seem 100% sure that you got the EXUP set-up right but it's not difficult.  If you've encountered problems, that could be the reason for the low end power loss and the rattling noise you call 'pinking'.

[1967fazer]

Interesting you mention the exup valve, I know every thing is in place down below as I put it together, but still not sure about the cables being set correctly as I didn't take them off when dismantling the bike for the gearbox, it was a combined effort with my mechanic mate. I'm not 100% sure they were put on correctly and it also makes me wander if they could somehow of re-adjusted themselves as it seemed ok to start off with. Think I need to A: get a second opinion on the "pinking" noise, and B: find someone more knowledgeable on all things exup, as I don't think my mate has a clue. Was set up originally, after the rebuild, using an R1 workshop manual. Not sure if that makes a difference.

[Falcon 269]

The early model R1 EXUP is the same valve unit as the Fazer but to be sure, here's the definitive guide to EXUP maintenance:

http://www.cartestsoftware.com/fz1/exupmaintenance.html

Pay particular attention to which cable goes where on the pulley.  I've seen a few that have been connected up the wrong way round, which makes correct adjustment impossible.