Please forgive me for the complete beginners question...

T'was a tight squeeze this evening putting the clutch cover back on. It has a really thin plastic gasket which approximately one inch fell away as I rubbed it against the engine.

It's about half way up the casing.

My question is will I need to replace the whole thing? Is this going to be a critical thing? (My guestimate is 'no' as the oil pressure around the clutch and gearbox is running at near atmosphere)

I told you I was a beginner!

i would expect a slow drip, when running. Really should have a new gasket if it gets damaged, though i never did.

you will leak oil and need to replace the gasket mate

they go brittle each time the cover is took off over a period of time

clean the area and put a new one on

I've been discussing this on the yahoo bike-engined-cars list.
The general consensus is a new clutch gasket is preferable. If not that then you can use liquid gasket, just try not to get too much inside the casing otherwise it can block the oil pickup resulting in a shagged engine!!!

Thanks for the advice chaps, I'm off to buy a new gasket today - shouldn't be too expensive me hopes.

One positive point to come out of the last 24 hours tinkering is that the clutch now appears firmer and has a more aggressive bite on hard acceleration - top banana!

1 problem down, several to go