The opinion of most modern oil producers is that, the rate of the engine wear is highest during the first few miles of each trip. Sufficient lubrication during the first crucial minutes after start up is critical, helping to prevent engine wear and potentially provide longer engine life.

Articles have been written and many discussions have taken place as to the cause of premature wear of the Ducati rocker arms.

It is an accepted fact that when the Ducati 4 valve Desmodromic engine is left standing, the oil slowly drains to the sump. After a period of time the camshafts and rockers can become dry.

Many people believe that the rocker problems are start-up related. We do as well.

The more we thought about it, the idea of fitting four or five new rocker arms during a rebuild, and once more subjecting them to abuse every start-up seemed crazy......The thought of the engine running for one and a half to two minutes, waiting for an oil supply, filled us with dread.

In the Autumn of 2005 we began working on different systems. The following Spring, we had arrived at a working prototype. The summer was spent road testing and bench testing.

The road testing consisted of a daily commute of 120 miles round trip to work, and at weekends the 600 hundred mile round trip to Cornwall and back. Several thousand miles soon racked up, with no problems.

The bench testing consisted of running the pump continuously for 61,200 strokes - the equivalent of 6.7 years' use: 5 pumps, 5 times a day, 365 days a year. On stripping the pump we found little or no sign of wear.

During the design of the system we have tried to keep it as uncomplicated as possible, allowing the rider or mechanic to install the system with minimum effort.

Before starting the engine, 5-6 pumps of the RockerLube is all it takes. Time taken? 10 - 15 seconds.

The warm up period should still be practised, in the knowledge that all your cams and rockers are fully lubricated.

Valve clearances must be maintained correctly and you should always use the recommended oil.

See the Video

To see just how easy it is, view our video (wmv or mpg format)