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Well that's something mate, other than the injury to your shoulder you got off light with the damage, AMG Merc good lord you don't do things lightly do you? What are we looking at here 1/4 million price tag on that tank of a thing? Then to run away!! WTF were they thinking? Still if they can afford a £250 thousand pound priced car they can at the very least by you a new foot peg and a set of exhausts.

Oh sorry about that mate! Have you tried going down to your local Yammie shop and asking their mechanics if they have an idea about your problem? They just might know of a fix that is easy and inexpensive (yeah right !!) still always worth a go you have nothing to lose. Good luck.

Find someone local with an ultrasonic cleaner and pay them to do it for you. This will not harm the rubbers and it's supposed to be really effective.

Ah come on guys he's trying !!!!

Yeah but it was the content that interested me.

Yep Muc-off spray bottle and a bucket of water is all you really need. Costs about 6quid for a bottle and 10 minutes to get the shit off of your bike.

Your right Noise Chris Evans is a tit! But why don't the BBC do something different rather than do the same thing over and over till it gets pointless, what's the saying? " Same shit different day" I didn't even bother to watch to be honest.

Hi Ratchet, this sounds odd to me, I don't know your bike but it's unusual to have a bolt or foot rest that stops you getting the oil filter off, not saying it's not like that just an odd design for them to do. Bung up a photo mate so we can get a view of the problem area, it's always easier if you can see what folks are talking about. I had a look round and found this, seems an odd way to go about it but this shows how to change the oil (not what you needed I know) and how to change the oil strainer, your right this seems like a right pain in the arse! Anyhow this might help?

Hi Danny, welcome to the YOC.

Sorry to hear that mate, we've all been there I'm afraid just part of the joys of riding, glad to hear that your not to badly injured but how's the bike? I was in the Ambulance service 30 years and can tell you from experience it's uncanny how many times we came across some poor sod laying in the road just by chance! Most memorable was a VW beetle that overtook us at an amazing speed and then when we came round the corner it was sliding away from us on it's roof, we followed it till it stopped and dragged out the young driver who was very embarrassed as my crew mate was his DAD!

I had cancer 15 years ago, they told me I had 6 months! Treatment is horrible but still here and McMillan helped just with advice and someone to talk to, good luck with your ride, stay safe.

Hi DeeG and welcome to the YOC.

2 things that I can think of that make that sound, exhaust baffles loose or the clutch basket is worn, as it stops when you pull the clutch in I would hazard a guess that it's the clutch basket, make a video of it and bung it up on youtube then copy across here, that way we can have a better idea of the noise it's making and help out if we can. But if it is the clutch basket then you will need to change it, an easy job if you have the tools and skill for it or an expensive one if you don't, lot's of youtube videos on this subject so pop over there and type in something like "clutch rattle" or "motorbike rattle" and see what comes up. Best of luck. This guy has some ideas? You don't have to take the engine out to do the clutch this guy just did for some reason, so don't panic about it.

Christ Noise you almost lost your left arse cheek mate.

As above Grouch, plus youtube is your friend nowadays, I confess to watching videos on there even if I think I know how to do it, surprising what you can learn from seeing other folks doing the same job, little wrinkles that they have come up with to make it easier or quicker that never occur to you if you only follow what it says in the book. Plus here of course but it's a right pain trying to describe how to do a job when it's so much easier to watch someone do it, monkey see monkey do. Oh and you can buy decent tools with the money you save by not going to the service centre. Stick with it buddy.

Hi Derek, welcome to the YOC.

Wiring is usually bike specific, you can't for instance take a loom off of a American import and fit it to a UK bike cos the plugs are different, same applies to the same bike but different years as they uprate or "improve" the wiring as the years pass, so if you have a loom that comes from a similar bike but newer than yours then the chances are that you need a manual for the bike you took it off of rather than the bike your working on cos the loom you have is nothing like the one you had. As for plug attachments that don't match this is part of the "improvement" mentioned earlier, your headlight,tail light, CDI and loads of other things have been changed by now and unless you chop off all of the plugs from your new loom and solder all the old plugs to the new loom your on a hiding to nothing as there is no way your going to get them to match. Best advice, buy the loom for your bike regardless of price or location as then it will fit. I bought a USA loom for my UK spec XJ750 and it took me 3 days of cutting and soldering to get it to work plus I had to change all the wire code colours to match the loom I had and not the loom it was supposed to be. Best of luck with your restoration mate. Oh and it's always nice if you say hello in the new members section if your going to stick around. Folks are waryof peeps that ask for advice before they say hello, just sayin!

Oh that's a bummer Noise. Clutch pushrod should be ok tho as it only runs through the engine and nothing else is attached to it, casings are easy to replace and sprockets are not a major problem it's just all that work fucked up cos of a rabbit, wanna borrow my gun?

Ok just one question "WHAT?" I truly am NOT being funny or taking the piss but your question makes no sense at all.

Ok then, not sure what your skill level is so from the beginning. Take the brake lever off, after you have marked the lever and the shaft to show where it was, then rotate down wards till you have it in the place you feel comfortable then just run it back onto the splines of the shaft and do it up. But be aware that if you lower it to much then it can dig in the ground if you get to enthusiastic with it, you will have to adjust the brake pivot point as well to allow for the brake light switch. Should be fairly easy.

Hi Louis.

Well to be honest unless you know the measurements of both types of lever it's a bit of a crap shoot, usually the smaller the bike the smaller the parts but in the case of a gear shift lever it might be that as they perform the same function they are near enough the same. But if you put a lever on with a significantly larger toe piece then you run the risk of putting to much pressure on the gearbox selector inside the box. Just my best guess really but if you need it then try it!

Back to your original question Grouch, as Drewpy says a FSH is the same be it "official" or not, as long as the work is done to a good standard and you don't lie about what you have done then most folks will be more than happy that you changed the oil and filters on time, but some will say it's not the same so when you come to sell the bike say up front it's been serviced by the owner and you should have no probs mate.

Hi Louis, if the spring is loose then it don't matter what way round you put it the thing will still be loose, best bet buy a new spring and refit it. Just make sure you have it fitted correctly before you fork out on a new one. As an aside if your centre stand is wobbling up and down when you ride it can catch the road if you corner hard and spit you off. Best way to refit a centre stand spring I have found is to take one of the mounting bolts off, fit the spring to the hooks then using the stand as a lever force the stand inwards while a mate bungs the bolt back through, you can do it yourself but I guarantee you'll skin your knuckles. Best of luck. One other thing, it's always nice if you say hello in the new members section!

Sacha I'm with Cynic, I have always written down any mods to the bike in the back of the manual, plus keep bills and any paperwork in an envelope with the name written large on the outside. In the UK we use the Haynes but I think yours would be the Clymer manual? Nothing like spending a wet weekend in a cold garage swearing at your bike !