i'm using the manual compression releases, because if the auto compression releases fail or don't close for some reason, it'd be a pain to replace them. mine being new do tend to stick sometimes and i have to lift up on the black plastic top cover. no big deal. some guys have mentioned that blipping the throttle will close them. they sure are easy to replace or to service=clean, etc, if needed. just pay attention and instead of using an asbestos top or anything like that, you may want to keep a left glove handy. looking where the compression releases are and pushing on those rather than head bolt helps too. just sayin'