Gearbox oil

[kyton]

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

[noobi]

Originally Posted by kyton

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[kyton]

Originally Posted by noobi

...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!