To view or dip, that is the question

Firstly, let me say how much I enjoy your paper.

Lots of interesting things to read, even though I am primarily interested in Japanese machines.

In response to the The Japanese Oil Trick letter from Brian Ling in OBM427, he says “daft little oil check window... (what’s wrong with dipsticks?)” Well, let’s consider the use of each indicator system:

Oil window – make sure bike is level, look at window. Dipstick – make sure bike is level, find rag to wipe top of dipstick so your hands don’t get dirty, unscrew dipstick (wait, it’s stuck, go find pliers), wipe dipstick, re-insert dipstick, remove and check dipstick, replace dipstick.

With most Japanese bikes, top-up will be unnecessary, so you won’t need to touch the oil filler cap. My personal bugbear is the oil level plug – the type where you unscrew it and wait to see if oil dribbles out. Talk about making an easy job timeconsuming and dirty!

Dean Faria, Inskip, Lancashire.