[ROVERMAN]

Sorry Scottie J but the notion that modern car engines are pre run in and have their oil changed before delivery is not true. Modern car engines survive because they are well designed and built and have the very best lubricants. To days engines far exceed the life expectancy of anything from "the good old days". 300,000 mi is not unusual.
Roverman.

[Ducati Scotty]

I visited the GM engine assembly plant in the late 80s.  They hook up the completed engines and run them for a minute or so to make sure they work.  Then they go into cars.

Scott

[gashousegorilla]

Modern car engines survive because they are well designed and built and have the very best lubricants. To days engines far exceed the life expectancy of anything from "the good old days". 300,000 mi is not unusual.
Roverman.

  +1   And cleanliness during engine assembly, kinda sorta helps too.     EFI ain't bad either.   I would dump that oil, clean the screen, change the filter as soon as I rode the bike home from the dealer.... After 20-50 miles. 

[ROVERMAN]

Yeah GHG, my first oil change produced an average amount of crap compared to others i have seen. Point is, there really shouln't be any foriegn material in a modern engine, i.e. rag bits and so forth. That is just sloppy quality, but on the plus side we do have the "cats and dogs" screen.By the by, my dealer did swap out the factory oil (shout out to Detroit Iron Cycles) before delivery.
Roverman.

[gashousegorilla]

Yeah GHG, my first oil change produced an average amount of crap compared to others i have seen. Point is, there really shouln't be any foriegn material in a modern engine, i.e. rag bits and so forth. That is just sloppy quality, but on the plus side we do have the "cats and dogs" screen.By the by, my dealer did swap out the factory oil (shout out to Detroit Iron Cycles) before delivery.
Roverman.

  Thats a good dealer.... The rag bits concern me with all the oil passages.  Well, and the aluminum shavings, and any hard metal grit we don't see ain't great ... But you would think that a simple switch to a lint free rag, if they have to use a rag at all, would be a no brainer at this point !  But probably, most of that debris gets blasted out of the oil passages pretty quick and winds up in the screen.

[ROVERMAN]

+1.

[Ducati Scotty]

+1 to all.  I think the brass screen catches all of this but I don't know any other machine I've ever owned that had more than just a few metal flecks on the magnetic drain plug on the first oil change.  The large pieces of metal, machine turnings, rag bits, and loose globs of silicon sealant all speak to sloppy procedures at the factory.

Scott

[heloego]

When I took mine in for the first service the mechanic FREAKED when he saw all the swarf. he was just too used to seeing nice clean engines from the various scooter factories, I guess. Richard at Centaur and I calmed him down and assured him he wouldn't have to do an overhaul. 
The mag plug only had a few filings on it when I changed it again at 1000 miles.

[Ducati Scotty]

Scooters are super clean, most don't share oil with the tranny.

Scott

[crush02342002]

I have built quite a few engines, all of which have been for cars or trucks and never a bike but I can tell you after an engine build your gonna have quit a bit of metal flake in the oil. It kinda shimmers in the sun light but is normal. With that being said I never have had large metal fillings in anypart of the engine and that's with hefty internal modifications (boring out, rethread/thread inserts, hone mains, ect). I look at it like this, its the whole Enfield experience and im happy to be a part of it even though everything in me tells me its wrong but it feels soooo right....lol

[barenekd]

If you change your oil at about 300 miles, then 1000 miles, the third change should look pretty good. I went to about 3600 for my third change, the ones after that at about 3600 or so miles spacings looked very clean except the very black oil. That's because there is a fair amount of old oil left in the crankcase after it's drained. The way they're made just doesn't let all the old oil drain out!
Bare

[Arizoni]

crush02342002

During the first couple of oil changes, there is a lot of those little chips in the oil that come from the motorcycles transmission.

The Royal Enfield transmissions shift by disengaging and engaging "dogs" on the various  gears.  They do not use synchronizers like a automobile transmission to get the next gear up to speed before the engagement occurs.
This results in small pieces of the dogs getting into the oil and ending up on the magnetic drain plugs or caught in the pump inlet screen.

[single]

Mine started to clear up at about 5000 miles.This could be because there is nothing left to come apart,but all seems well at 12,000 miles.Really great,actually.
I believe that if I were to buy one of these things new,I would try to get one still in the crate,if possible.Disassemble and "do it right".
Jolly hardly uses any oil,which could be because it is no longer circulating oil,but it runs cool,compared to my 920 Virago.

[gdaniels]

I just did my first oil change, and after seeing your picture and reading about other oil changes, I was prepared for the worst. Surprisingly, my screen was clean, and the magnetic plugs only had a little fuzz on them. The oil did look awful, and the last of it a good bit of sludge. What was surprising is that my oil filter cover has three screws in a triangle, instead of the two I have seen on the web. I hope i have attached a picture of the cover.

[Catbird]

... What was surprising is that my oil filter cover has three screws in a triangle, instead of the two I have seen on the web...

Mine also has 3 small bolts like in your picture.  I was surprised that no gasket was present when I removed it, but there was a 2-hole gasket in my oil change kit along with various size "O" rings and such.