welp, i met up with him tonight for a test drive.
all is well. car starts right up, clutch feels fine, and rides pretty good.
overall though, i'm not really impressed with the car at all. I don't know what the big deal is about these things. It will suit me well for a winter mobile, but anything more than that, and I'd have to say that the 2.5RS is the most over-rated car i've driven.
ohh well, she'll be here next weekend