ok at present ive got my head off for gasket replacemnt, and i was just wondering whether or not its a good idea to give the piston tops a clean while its off. one of the pistons/cylinders is spotless due to water seeping into the combustion chamber and giving it a nice clean, however the others are full of gunk/carbon. should i give them a clean? and if so how should i go about it? cheers

i did mine with a wirewheel, make sure the piston is up top so u cant damage the bore. just becarefull and go slow, make sure u clean all the crap out between the piston and bore, bit of carby cleaner and compressed air.

What he said perfectly - there is no other way to clean it. Just make sure piston it at TDC and that you clean EVERY bit of carbon that comes off the crown with compressed air.