What is the best transmission oil?

I think my bike has about 28K on the speedo, but im not sure if its the actual miles on the bike. I changed my oil with some Redline full synthetic 20-50 and added about half quart of lucas oil stabilizer. I noticed HUGE improvements, what weight should I put in the trans? and how many quarts? I already know how to drain it by the way. thanks again guys!

I changed my oil with some Redline full synthetic 20-50 and added about half quart of lucas oil stabilizer. I noticed HUGE improvements

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I assume the oil change you mentioned is the engine oil. If so, what huge improvements did you notice?

Going by the book, you should be running straight 90 in the gearbox. Unless it's been contaminated there should be no reason to drain it, just use the level plug at the rear.

I use a fully synthetic EP90, EP90 is a gear oil with a viscosity equivalent to an engine straight 50. Gear oil on a Commando will go milky from water emulsification before it wears out, it still will need changing as the water can rust the gears.

Kommando is right. The water mostly comes from condensation. An open breather doesn't help either. Changing gear oil is very important.

71Norton750 said:

I think my bike has about 28K on the speedo, but im not sure if its the actual miles on the bike. I changed my oil with some Redline full synthetic 20-50 and added about half quart of lucas oil stabilizer. I noticed HUGE improvements, what weight should I put in the trans? and how many quarts? I already know how to drain it by the way. thanks again guys!

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WOW, I must get this Redline oil. All tuners will be out of business soon!

Seems like I wasted nearly £25K tuning and strengthening my motors to get them at 70Bhp!

Speaking of Redline, to the original poster's question, I use Redline Shockproof Heavy gear oil and like it a lot. It's a bit spendy, but I think it's worth it to protect the gearbox. Oh, and it's GL-5. Took me a while to take the plunge because of that, but I did.

JimC said:

I changed my oil with some Redline full synthetic 20-50 and added about half quart of lucas oil stabilizer. I noticed HUGE improvements

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I assume the oil change you mentioned is the engine oil. If so, what huge improvements did you notice?

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Well, the first thing i noticed was the leak I had that was spraying a mist of oil on the right side exhaust, and the other 2 under the bike just stopped instantly! I just fell like this oil freed up ALOT of friction and the motor is flowing like its supposed to! I recently finished the bike, so I have very little miles riding it, and this is my first norton. The bike just seemed like it was very hesitant and was not performing like it was supposed to. Then the day After I changed the oil the bike just drove like a monster! It just wants to lift up the front end! Now ,the only thing I did between my last 2 rides was change the oil, so unless all the planets just happened to alighn just right and game my bike some kind of super power, I have to say that all that performance came from changing the oil to full synthetic. its just the only answer I can come up with. I wish I had done this when I first got the bike! I would of enjoyed the little bit of riding a lot more. Now If I got that big of a improvement just from changing the engine oil, I wonder whats gonna happen if I change the trans?

I just refilled with Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil. 85 or 90 wt. $10/qt. When I get the Old Nail running again, I'll report back on how well the stuff works. What has been said about gear oil sucking water is true. Since the trans unit runs cold and is isolated from engine heat, condensation, emulsified by gear action turns the gear lube to a grayish slime after a while. I used to change it out every other oil change.

BrianK said:

Speaking of Redline, to the original poster's question, I use Redline Shockproof Heavy gear oil and like it a lot. It's a bit spendy, but I think it's worth it to protect the gearbox. Oh, and it's GL-5. Took me a while to take the plunge because of that, but I did.

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I think if the oil makes the bike even 1% better its worth it, a little more spent now will go a long way later!

I used Redline Shockproof in my Commando. It was quite a shock to find a gearbox full of gold flakes when I pulled it apart after only about a thousand miles. It destroyed all the bushes. Up until then I didn't really believe the stories that using GL 5 oil did cause damage to the "yellow" metals in the older gearboxes, no matter how many people told me otherwise. I nearly learnt the hard way that they were right. I definitely would NOT use it ever again.

Veefore said:

I used Redline Shockproof in my Commando. It was quite a shock to find a gearbox full of gold flakes when I pulled it apart after only about a thousand miles. It destroyed all the bushes. Up until then I didn't really believe the stories that using GL 5 oil did cause damage to the "yellow" metals in the older gearboxes, no matter how many people told me otherwise. I nearly learnt the hard way that they were right. I definitely would NOT use it ever again.

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hhhmmm, its weird, some people tell me its good and some tell me its bad. I dont know what to do..... :?

I thought in that other thread redline said gl5 is fine?

Anyway I've got redline mt90 (75w90 gl4) in mine.

I'm using a 90W Valvoline synth blend. Works good, stinks good and the transmission is happy. Change it every year in the spring after it has sat all winter. No worries.

71Norton750 said:

hhhmmm, its weird, some people tell me its good and some tell me its bad. I dont know what to do..... :?

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If you have someone you really trust who has been doing this for a long time follow their suggestions. But ask them if they have used what they are recommending for a decent amount of time first. Lots of people put stuff in their bikes and say "gee, it feels better" and recommend it to everyone else. Most of the blokes who have been running these bikes for decades don't seem to feel the need for expensive synthetics and they are getting pretty good results.

It took me a while to understand them though. I was a relative newbie to old bikes and found it hard to go from the position of always putting the latest and greatest oils etc. into my bikes to following what the old blokes told me and running inexpensive (not cheap) mineral oils. I felt like I was doing a disservice to my bike by not using the best. So when I came to my first gearbox oil change I thought I was doing the best by using Redline.

With my cars I always take oil samples and send them off for testing to ensure that I am using a decent product and that I have my intervals correct.

I was actually going to send a sample of my Redline gearbox oil off for testing at 1000miles just to prove I had made the right decision but when I saw the state of it didn't bother. Doing a sample with the next lot of oil would have been compromised by then so I didn't do one on the next
change either. I no longer have that bike so never did get to do a sampling.

I don't know for certain that it was because the oil was a GL5 that this damage occurred because I am not a scientist. I only know for a fact that it occurred only while using the Redline heavy duty shockproof oil. It never happened when I was using the Castrol or Valvoline gearbox oils that were in it previously or after. I am also not the first in my town to suffer mechanical damage while using Redline's products as recommended. One of the local VW race engine builders lost a couple of engines due to the products and last I heard was seeking legal recompense from the company.

Needless to say, I am now quite biased against the company. :x

In all the tests of motor and gearbox oil I have read, Redline has never even been on the radar, so I don't have a comment on its quality or lack thereof. But when you go with a tested brand, your results should be commensurate with its ranking in the tests. Mobil 1 and Amsoil products are always at or near the top of any tests, so those are what I use. Your results may be different, but these products haven't let me down yet.

Normally I don't care for someone's personal experience that contradicts testing, but I want to share this with everyone.

I had a piston top let go. When I disassembled the engine I found a cam lobe some .200 worn, I was running a Web 12A cam , so I contacted Web. I got the owner. She, yes it's a gal, asked what oil I'd been running. When I told her Mobil 1 she got a little agitated. Said some very uncomplimentary things about Mobil 1 and cam lobe wear. She did replace my cam, which I'd run some 13,000 miles and eight years, for $100 . I've not run Mobil 1 since. Now, I'm still not sure about the hardness of Web cams or the efficacy of Mobil 1. Does anyone else have experience with Web cams?

Buying the latest and greatest products makes a lot of people feel that they have done everything they can to increase the longevity of their machines; I am no exception. Spending money on my Norton or my mistress evokes very similar pleasant feelings; there are times, at my age,when the distinction between the two becomes very grey.

However...

GL-5 synthetic gear oil costs upwards of $16 (US) a quart around here and garden variety EP 85W/90/140 costs $3 (US), given the frequecy of the change you won't be stressing either lubricant. I change my gear oil every other engine oil change and make sure that the cog box has fresh oil in it for winter storage. I have heard from others that GL-5 is not suitable for the bushings found in the Norton gear box; enough so that I couldn't discount all such input.

I had an '07 BMW R1200 GS that specified GL-5 synthetic gear oil, mostly because the catalytic converter was directly under the transmission. I removed the cat and tried some garden variety oil and was amazed at how much better shifting felt. I have no doubt that synthetic oil will outlast and out perform their "green" oil equivalents, but "green" gear oils have considerably more zinc in them then their synthetic counter parts; the bushings in our Burman/AMC derived gear boxes love the zinc.

In the engine I am a staunch supporter of the greater protection that synthetic oil provides, especially on very hot days, after a proper break-in period.

RS

JimC said:

Does anyone else have experience with Web cams?

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CNW (as far as I know) uses Web Cams in all their rebuilds including mine. I was told not to use synthetic.

Hey Coco, what grind Web do you have?