Friday 13 March 2009

When to change Oil on the Ducati

Thinking about my bike service with the engine oil and when to change. I have been looking in the service book and it is every 10000km or 12 months, with a quick google conversion this works out at 6000 miles. The last time I changed the oil was at 22k in June 2008.

Looking into wikipedia and the service book and with memories of discussing with friends. It is a emotive subject and I heard a story from Jon when dispatching that he used frying oil in his bike to prove a point. That it is better to change often than to use a high grade oil and leave longer in the bike. He ran a bike for a week and changed the oil to prove it would work ok. I also noticed a top ten that ran a honda c90 without oil to see how long it would last. Not something I would recommend. Another issue is the use of the bike that affects the oil. On short journeys the oil is broken down and needs changing sooner. On long journeys the bike does not need changing as often.

So for now I will top up the bike oil and leave for a few more months till June.

Monday 9 March 2009

The ace cafe and british bikes


Found myself near the ace cafe and decided to pop in. I understand the history of the cafe was a meeting place for British bikes, preparing for a night out. Now there is so much traffic and speed cameras around I can see how its changed.
On Saturday I could see lots of Japanese cars and bikes but very little Bsa's or Nortons. Plenty of Japanese bikes. I guess it is a sign of the times.
pic on twitter
Vinny

Monday 2 March 2009

Box hill and the Ducati


The weather was cold but no rain which is the main reason for me that I managed to get the bike out. There was quite a few bikes in the car park at box hill. If you do not know there has always been motorbikes meeting up there for as long as I can remember. I have always seen a variety of different makes and it makes me wonder about bike riders as the car park was also full up of friendly bikers talking to each other. Ducatis, Harley Davidsons, Yamahas, Kawasakis, Hondas, Ktms, Moto guzzis, choppers and sidecars etc.
I also sent a pic by twitter with the location on google maps.
Vinny