To be fair to Baines, whilst the general remit was 'Give it a good look over and make it fit for the road', I was under the impression from the previous owner that the 'clutch had recently been replaced', plus it looked pretty new through the air vents, and it operated very smoothly with no excessive noise, grabbing, or slipping. I mentioned this to Jeff when I dropped it off, and Derek also took it out on a 30 mile ride with no problems, so in an effort to keep the costs down, I think we decided that this was one thing that could be left. The bill was split by about £900 for parts, £700 for labour and the rest was VAT.
I'll speak to them anyway, but I'm not convinced that I can pin this one on them !
Thanks anyway, and I've started to collect the parts for me to replace it - it's coming to about £300 so far !
BTW the AA man who brought me home says that in his 30 year experience, Jap bikes are no more reliable.