So just over a week after discovering the problem with the plugs on the exhaust servo motor, I was able to call upon the engineering skills of my mate Dean to help swap them over. I've never been a very good solderer, normally making a mess akin to a 4yr old playing with spaghetti, but Dean is. His work is always top quality and when he put it all together, the joins were beautifully crisp and neat all individually wrapped afterwards. One hit of the starter and the bike burst into life, now with the preferred non-raspy exhaust note and without any warning on the dash. 
With the FireBlade all fixed, all I needed to do was put it back together again. Everything clicked together as expected, with the exception of the last fairing retaining bolt, which just so happened to be in a fairly inaccessable area at the front of the bike. When tightening it up, I managed to cross it and not being able to get a suitable grip on the nut, had to resort to violence. Out came the Dremmel, on went a cutting disc and soon the head of the bolt pinged onto the floor of the garage. I didn't even mark the fairing. Sorted.

In other news, I've been spending a little time exploring some of the ranges of custom retro bikes from manufactures such as Herald, AJS, and Brixton and visited a local dealer called All2Wheelers.
Situated on an industrial estate, the team were very welcoming and on the mezzanine of their garage they had a cool little showroom area with the bikes taking pride of place. 
The bikes are really interesting and are fundamentally uncomplicated bikes that are highly customisable. With a simple frame and 'old fashioned' engine configurations, these little things allow the owners to have the type of bike they want, but don't have to pay the earth for. The bike here for example, is the beautiful Herald Maverick 125 and its not a physically small bike. Learner friendly, it doesn't put out huge power, but then its not designed to compete with sportsbikes or tourers. These bikes are great way to potter around on and/or provide very affordable transport. How affordable you ask, well this Herald is £2600 brand new!
In our world there will always be a place for the £20k missiles, but these little retros are forging their place in the market. Not only will they provide new riders with an affordable bike they can feel proud of (no longer being forced to ride around on a knackered CBF125), but they are also providing the experienced rider something fun and different to ride just for fun. Isn't that what biking should be after all, fun.

Sometimes it just isn't your day. Things may look like they are going well, but the final hurdle catches your trailing foot and pulls you down to the floor in a heap.
With the faulty exhaust servo successfully removed from the FireBlade I searched for a reputable dealer and ordered up a good second hand unit, saving nearly £200 over a brand new part.
It arrived quickly and today I had some spare time so I made about getting the replacement part installed.
I'd made good notes regarding the arrangement of the servo cables and managed to slide the new part in without too much hassle. There is a fair amount of space under the tank of the FireBlade, but I still had to make sure that I hadn't snagged any cabling or tubing. It was here that I realised my problem. The replacement part has come off a 2003 CBR954RR, which is for all intents and purposes the same bike as my 2002 CBR954RR. However, the problem I've encountered is that the block plugs, used to connect the servo to the loom, are slightly different. 
The block plugs themselves look very similar from the outside, but one is wider than the other, meaning it won't fit. I'm feeling a mix of disappointment and anger as I only noticed this after I did all the hard work. I can't blame the seller, because in reality it could very easily be my bike that is the problem. All very frustrating really, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I should, with a little help from a more electrics comfortable friend, be able to swap one or both of the blocks around and get everything up and running as it should. Well, that's the plan anyway.