I'm a prat......

[SwissBrit]

AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!! feck feck feck!

So after having the bike (2001 Sprint ST) for a good 200 miles this weekend, it's time to take it back to the shop. Most bike shops over here are closed on Mondays so no time pressure, I can take a leisurely ride over there.

As I'm coming out, my Landlord happens to be outside. He owns a Suzuki dealership and whilst he doesn't know much about Trumpets, he's 99% sure that the noise (tick tick) I was hearing is something to do with the chain and sprocket (at least, thats what I translated him as saying).

Anyway, I'm now in a good position for my discussion with the dealer. Both sides are scratched (previous owner), the rear tyre needs doing in the next 1000kms and they've been trying to get rid of it for ages.

Nice ride over there, and when I pull into the parking lot and turn the engine off and go to put the stand down, my bloody hayfever kicks in and I suddenly have a sneezing fit.

Next thing you know the bike is on it's left hand side on the floor. Slight scratching on the 1 pannier that didn't have any damage, and one of the old scratches that was (badly) touched up is now white again. The worst part is that the end ball on the bloody clutch handle snapped off. Bang goes all my bloody leaverage with trying to get a sodding discount. gggrrrrrrrrrr. Whats even worse is that when I stood it up again, and put it on the stand, I noticed that there was a small driping of oil coming from what looked to be the gear shift area.

Were I a bit of a fly by night character and nobody was actually there when it went down, I would be tempted not to own up to it and say it must have happened after I gave it back. However, being the (prat) upstanding citizen I am, I guess I'm going to have to come clean on Tuesday when they open.

So now the questions:

If that ticking sound is something to do with the chain or maybe even Cam tensioner, is that an expensive job? Anybody have any experience with this sort of thing?

Oil leak in the shifter area. Have I buggered the bike up, or is this just oil spilling out after a light drop? It wasn't a heavy impact so I'm hoping that for some reason there was just a bit of oil spilling over the top. Again if anybody else has had this after a drop, please let me know your experiences.

The bike was scratched up from the previous owner a lot, and baring the ticking sound, I was really happy with the bike and looking forward to buying her and restoring her to her former glory. Now I'm worried that I'm about to get a large dent in my wallet....

[coolie569]

Ouch sorry to hear about the drop.   On a positive note. I've dropped my Sprint on the left side. Went to bed with oil stain/dripping in the garage, woke up rode for a while no more oil drippings. Hopefully that's the case with your bike. Can I call it your bike?  

[SwissBrit]

Depending how tomorrow morning goes, hopefully!

Before I say any more, let me just tell you guys that prices in Switzerland are very different to the rest of the world.  Things here are VVVVVVVV expensive.

The dealer wants chf 3800 for the bike.  That is without something called an MFK.  The MFK is an inspection that all vehicles in Switzerland must have once every 2 years (like the MOT in the UK or the Tüv in Germany).  As he's changed that handlebars, the MFK is no longer valid and it must be reinspected.  This will cost about chf500.  I'm going to say I'll take the bike for the asking price, but he has to throw in the MFK (the clutch handle I'll pay for doh!).

Hopefully he'll go for it.  Fingers crossed!