SPIN King Shane Warne can avoid civil court action by admitting he was in the wrong and paying for damage to a cyclist's bike, the cyclist's lawyer says.

Cyclist Mathew Hollingsworth, 28, is seeking about $1500 from Warne to cover the cost of damage to his bike, his lawyer George Defteros says.

Warne and Mr Hollingsworth have told different versions of the run-in between them in afternoon peak-hour traffic on Melbourne's St Kilda Road on January 17.

Warne took to Twitter immediately after the incident to say the cyclist hit his car, thumped the bonnet, abused him and was "being very dangerous".

Mr Hollingsworth, a web designer, retaliated anonymously through a blog, saying Warne had been aggressive and "lurched his car forward, forcing my bike wheel and almost my leg under the front of his car".

Mr Defteros today said Mr Hollingsworth was seeking payment for damage to his bike from Warne's insurance company and, if it was not forthcoming, would consider civil court action.

"I think that if he's got an insurer then they'll take it up on his behalf," Mr Defteros told Fairfax Radio.



"And clearly an admission of liability insofar as the civil claim is concerned will have to be made, because if it's denied, then nature takes its course and proceedings follow."



Warne's manager, James Erskine, said neither he nor Warne would comment on the issue today and Warne has not updated his Twitter followers about his thoughts on the cyclist seeking payment.



While Warne has called for cyclists to pay registration fees and display number plates, Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said making cyclists pay registration was not on the government's agenda.



"The fact that people pick up bikes and use each other's bikes a lot, plus the cost, particularly for kids, I think everybody has come down in the past on the side of not doing that, and that's certainly the starting point for me," he told reporters in Melbourne today.



"I would've thought if people showed respect and common courtesy it would not be necessary."



The damage bill for Mr Hollingsworth's hi-tech bicycle came to $1575.



"I could hear pedestrian witnesses yelling, 'Get his rego', and some yelled out what sounded like a registration number," Mr Hollingsworth said.



"Once I was on the footpath, a young brunette woman in business clothing approached me offering assistance and asked, 'Are you OK? Are you going to follow it up? I have the rego', as she held her phone.



I said, 'No, it should be OK. It was Shane Warne'. She seemed as surprised as me."



However, Warne denied any wrongdoing, saying Mr Hollingsworth slapped his bonnet, stopped in front of him and refused to move.



"He was lucky I was polite and careful after smacking my car twice," Warne said.



"I do not hate cyclists ... bike riders, please obey the road laws and stop antagonising car drivers."



Mr Defteros said last night: "Cyclists' rights need to be adhered to at all times. The Government is pushing for more bike riders to be on the road, and therefore their rights must be protected."

- With AAP

