Some very interesting arguments and certainly food for thought for all of us.

I wonder if Nelly might give us his opinion from an everyday servicing perspective?

Cheers Shazaam:):)

while we talking oil- Ali raises a good point that i was thinking of at the weekend whilst changing the oil and filter in my car(audi) i always change oil and filter at every 3000 miles using an engine flush- i change oil frequently becuase of dohc 16v and hydraulic lifters etc- although the ducati engine (600SS)is a bit (dare i say it) a bit more basic- would an engine flush be advisable when i change the oil and filters on the bike?- i intend to change oil and filter at 1500 miles

Blimey, i change the oil in the car roughly every 15,000 miles and its cleanish when it comes out. Should i be changing it more often then? The car has done 65,000 miles. Oh and its also a double ohc 16 valve motor with hydraulic tappets.

[Edited on 17-1-2005 by rockhopper]

3000 is overkill
6000 or 6 months for a car

1) If you have an engine that has been standing and you want to 'flush' it before using a good oil ... just buy a cheap unbranded oil, and fill with that, run the engine at tickover until it is properly hot, and then change the oil for a good brand.
To be sure, you should change the filter too, if you dont know how long its been in there.
And definitely check the screen filter - because (as we all know) the cartridge-filtered-oil only goes to the crank and the screen is the only filter for the oil that goes to the heads (strange but true !)
2) If you are thinking of changing your oil 'for the winter' - remember that used oil will always have an acid build up, so the best time to change it is before or during the lay up, not before starting riding again.

(Oh, and I use any old branded semi in the due, and any old branded synth in the ottovalvole, according to what is a good price when I'm buying. It's changing it regularly that makes the difference ! I have between 6 and 8 bikes on the road at any one time !)

An oils high temp rating (40,50 or 60 ) does not determine its ability to endure stress at critical points like the valve gear.
The designers of engines take into consideration the intended oil and the tolerances they require. using a thicker oil is not a good idea.

The great oil debate again. Use whatever you are happy with and change it as often as you like.
It is quite rare for ****e oil to be the root cause of engine failure. It is far more likely to be poor oil supply/feed to the component, oil too hot, oil too cold, surge, flaws in the design of the engine, not changed often enough, etc, etc.

Ray.

Fantastic piece of advice !!!

Nice Advice :P