Many years ago Consumer Reports did a study of automotive oils in New York taxi's for the better part of a year and some millions of miles. After the test they did teardowns and measured parts as well as, I think, regular sampling and analysis of the engine oil. Their conclusions were that one could use any oil out there with confidence as long as it met the automaker's minimum standards. They also noted that their test was pretty much valid only for cars operated like NYC taxis - run for 12 hours at a crack and that they were extrapolating for normal people's driving habits. Fleet engines get up to operating temp and stay there all day, boiling off condensation that tends to eat up the additives in stop and go short trip driving. Absent a similar test for motorcycle engines, which are higher performance than most auto engines (putting out more hp per cu inch, cc, or cubic furlong) we have to rely on the manufacturer's recommendations or our best informed guess as to what will work in our bikes.
Since I generally change oil at mfr's recommended intervals (or sooner), and I have read MCN's and the forums here, I think that any of a whole group of oils will be fine in my ST. However, for the very few $$ difference, I lean toward ST13Fred's attitude - the extra few bucks gives me peace of mind. And, should anything ever go wrong, I have the receipts for Honda's oil - not that I think in my wildest dreams that mother Honda will do anything for me at all.
Now oil filters are a different animal, and once I find a source for some of the alternative filters that were cut open and examined I'll probably use them. This year I popped for Honda oil and a Honda oem filter. Last year I did Rotella T6 synthetic. Next year? Who knows.
