Hi all... me again.. here is some info on the pads... from :

http://www.mcmaster.com/

Absorb water, acids, bases, chemicals, and coolants in addition to oils and other petroleum-based products. Standard sorbents have a dimpled cover, except sock which is smooth. Color is gray. Heavy duty sorbents are white.

Absorption Each
Capacity, Partial Full
Size gal. pkg. Qty. Pkg. Pkg.
Heavy Duty
Pad 18" Wd. x 18" Lg. 25 100 7291T812 $1.24 $0.89

OK, I hated to list any company, but this place has the most choices I could find. I am sure you can find the same or similar products over there... As you can see the pads are very inexpensive.

As to how this all looks, well the obvious answer is it depends on the bike. On a bike with a full fairing with an integral belly pan, then it is easy, build up a dam at the back and toss a couple of pads in... not visible at all. Then on open bikes it is more of a challenge.. but it is mandatory over here in the states, we just got over it.... Some guys use a baking pan and safety wire it to the bottom of the engine... not the prettiest, but then it works... On a dry sump bike, some guys just use some chicken wire with a couple of pads and zip tie or safety wire them to the bottom of the frame, almost invisible... well almost...

The other issue is the type of engine design, wet sump or dry sump... the dry sumps have an advantage in that they do not dump all the oil in a short period of time. The wet sumps have a slightly bigger potential to dump oil in larger quantities in a short(er) period of time.

Yes, some guys will complain, I guarantee that... but it is a safety issue. As per asking for more rules... well... I have only been to the IOM 5 times now, and EVERY time I have been there, there has always been an oil spill somewhere or another... even IF it did not cause any crashes, it does make the Marshalls "do something" if only waving the appropriate flag... and the less of that the better...! (I won't go in to the environmental stuff...) but less spillage is better, no matter what. Is it perfect..? Not likely.. nothing is.. but other than it looks ugly, or it will take some work to do it, may have to modify something... well.. it just makes sense.. And if the word gets out pretty soon, the more time everyone has to make the change.

I hope this helps...

Cheers..!

Ron