Gearbox oil

[bazzagas]

I use Maxima MTL Ultra Light 75wt in mine, smooth shift and no squeal from the clutch no matter how much use it gets. I put in 900ml when I do an oil change.

 

[Wheelieman69]

900 here


Wheelieman

 

[djroggen]

2-Strokes take gearbox oil?

Spectro Clutch Saver, because the name makes me feel like it saves my clutch!

 

[sevenfourate]

I changed my 2006 EC gearbox oil to a Rock 'Light' oil just after i first got it. Ive had no clutch problems at all, apart from some drag (Like all GG's suffer from what i read), so all good there and ive just purchased a couple more litres.

Some people suggested 900ml - some said to just pour the whole 1 litre in...... Which is rightly or wrongly what i did !

Ive done a couple, or perhaps three: 100 mile rides since then (Approx 15 hours riding) maximum. Should i be changing again about now, or whats the 'normal' frequency ??????

Also - has anyone experimented with LESS than 900ml of gearbox oil to try to reduce clutch drag ??? [I gather this is a very common trick with GG Trials bikes].

Cheers.

 

[AZRickD]

2011 EC250 with Rekluse -- 1,000 ml of Walmart ATF.

 

[Zman]

I have had very good luck with using half ATF and half synthetic 5w-40 diesel engine oil. I like its performance better than many cycle trans oils (great clutch action without the drag) and it is considerably less expensive than cycle trans oil.

 

[Rick]

900.ml is what the manual calls for.......in my 99 EC 200. Motul Transoil works for me........I have moved on to Rock Oil as well.

 

[j_franich]

http://www.gasgasrider.org/html/gear_oil_evaluation.html
I use Amsoil 0W40 and am happy with it.

I've used the Amsoil 0w40 in my 200 and 250. With and w/o Rekluse.....no squeal, no chatter, shifts great.

 

[kyton]

would any of the below work. 1L is half the price of the belray gear saver 80w

Caltex GEAR OIl EP - thuban gls sae 80w-90 api gl-5 , mt-1

castrol syntrans multivehicle 75w-90 apgl4

castrol axle epx 80w90 api gl5

 

[sweeper]

Ive done a couple, or perhaps three: 100 mile rides since then (Approx 15 hours riding) maximum. Should i be changing again about now, or whats the 'normal' frequency ??????

That will depend on how hard you ride the bike.The heat you build in the gear box and the wear on the fiber is your gauge.
People in general just dont ride as hard as they used too.This has more to do with availability of riding areas and proximity to them.Also there is a different mentality these days,where looks seem to trump the actually riding.So these intervals will vary.
Two schools of thought also.Some riders prefer to use more expensive gear box oils and change it out less often.Others go the cheaper route,relatively speaking of course this is not a good place to cheap out,and change the gear box oil more frequently.Myself,.and most I ride with like to change the gear box oil often and dont use that fancy crap.In the end it comes down to viscosity at max operating temps and the breakdown of the oil you use combined with friction wear and other contaminants.
It should always look clean,feel slick and smell right,yep the old pull it off the dipstick with your index finger and thumb and rub them together and give it a smell style.Unless of course you have a fancy hour meter which really wont tell you much since 6 hours from rider A could be equal to 20 hours from rider B.The condition of the oil itself, how the clutch feels when you are hammering it down and how long the clutch lasts will tell you the most.Not just the friction plates but the entire clutch will tell the story.

 

[kyton]

After reading this, i am still confused what oil to use. Personally something good, but not costly.

 

[noobi]

After reading this, i am still confused what oil to use. Personally something good, but not costly.

Whatever your local bike shop sells is easiest if you're not confident about oils.

 

[kyton]

no local gas gas dealer close to me. i see a lot of people talking about rotella t 15w40. My 04 manual says 10w30.

 

[swazi_matt]

I would suggest you start with the cheapest (eg rotella, avoid oils with friction additives, you need friction for your clutch) and if you get a lot of clutch squeal then move up a $ or 2 to the next and try that.

In all my previous bikes i ran basic engine oil 40w or diesel engine specific oil 15w40 and changed it according to the amount of abuse i had given the clutch (sometimes after 1 ride if that ride included a multiple bike boiling climb in it) and never had to replace any clutch or gearbox. With the GG however i found that those oils gave quite a lot of clutch squeal and found that the bellray gearsaver worked well and was the cheapest bike specific oil available so have not moved on from that.

Having said that i recently drowned my bike properly (it almost floated past me upside down!) and had to flush out the oil. normally i use parafin oil (benzine/lamp oil in the usa?) but as i did not have any at hand i used some atf dex3 to flush the g box and rode around the garden to mix it up before draining, and i must say the bike felt really nice, the gear changes felt nice and smooth and the clutch engagement good. I have heard that some of the GG stalwarts here in SAafrica use the Motorex ATF so may give that a bash next

 

[sweeper]

ATF is basicly 10 wt oil.And higher quality ATF is good stuff.
A good example of an oil that works and is relatively cheap.So it can be bought in bulk and changed out more often.Just check the clutch once in awhile and see how its looking.You are gonna want to be a precision shifter with a lighter weight oil.Smooth and fully engage the shifter and good clutch work.Same thing when kicking the bike over,nice and smooth.A thicker viscosity oil will give you some cushion between the hard parts in the gear box.The thinner the oil the more exact you have to be when you are working the internals in the gear box.ATF is an old school racers trick,their is less drag in the gear box,but you have to be precise.

I also like Rotella products.

 

[noobi]

no local gas gas dealer close to me. i see a lot of people talking about rotella t 15w40. My 04 manual says 10w30.

...Any bike shop that deals with dirt bikes.

 

[kyton]

...Any bike shop that deals with dirt bikes.

Ktm guys here are using Motorex top speed 4t 15w50. will check the price on that, the Belray gear saver 80 w and the Rotela T 15w40 which i think will be the cheapest. Read a lot where people use the Rotela with no issues.

 

[motopsycho87]

I'm currently using the same fully synthetic 5w30 I put in my car, smooth as silk!