Oil/gear oil

Having trouble? Need more info on something mechanical? Ask here!

Moderator: Modsquad

trigg123
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 3:05 pm
Location: Cornwall UK

Oil/gear oil

Post by trigg123 »

Can someone tell me what the difference is between 10w/30 engine oil and gear oil of the same grade? Is it ok to use engine oil in the final drive ?
Cheers in advance
Scoots so far- Peugeot jetforce 125,honda Dylan 125,yamaha x max 125,honda pcx 125,honda nss300 forza ;-) and bikes were kh250, zxr750L1,zx9B1,zx9c1,wr426,xjr1300sp,09-z1000
jkhawaii
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 82
Joined: Sat Sep 07, 2013 2:16 pm
Location: Pearl City, HI

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by jkhawaii »

Per Honda use the same 10w30 oil used in the engine, in the gearbox. Gear oil has more additive for gear protection but, not really needed for the type of gears used in our scooters. Some other manufactures do call for gear oil though, in those applications follow the manufactures recommendation
trigg123
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 3:05 pm
Location: Cornwall UK

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by trigg123 »

Thanks a lot for that , I change it regularly ,so will use engine oil I think
Cheers
Scoots so far- Peugeot jetforce 125,honda Dylan 125,yamaha x max 125,honda pcx 125,honda nss300 forza ;-) and bikes were kh250, zxr750L1,zx9B1,zx9c1,wr426,xjr1300sp,09-z1000
User avatar
gn2
Forum Benefactor
Forum Benefactor
Posts: 7767
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 7:54 pm
Year: None
Location: NE Scotland

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by gn2 »

AFAIK the crankcase and the final drive are linked via the airbox vents so might be an idea to use the same product in both as recommended by Honda.
Four decades on two wheels has taught me nothing, all advice given is guaranteed to be wrong
grndslm
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 197
Joined: Wed May 10, 2017 10:14 pm
Year: 2013
Color: Black
Location: Mississippi, USA

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by grndslm »

gn2 wrote:AFAIK the crankcase and the final drive are linked via the airbox vents so might be an idea to use the same product in both as recommended by Honda.
BOOM!!

If that's correct... then that definitely answers the question as to whether using gear oil might be better.

Amazing.
glencoeman
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 109
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2014 10:53 am

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by glencoeman »

The owners manual specifies engine oil for the final drive.
springer1
Forum Benefactor
Forum Benefactor
Posts: 787
Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2017 10:28 pm
Year: 2018
Color: white
Location: SE PA

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by springer1 »

It turns out that the engine requires slightly less than 1 quart and the remaining amount will fill the final drive gear. So 1 quart will fill both.
Austins
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 157
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2020 4:56 am
Year: 2016 Forza 300
Color: White
Location: Phuket, Thailand

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by Austins »

Honda as usual just been cheap...! lol , I use 80w90 Motul gear oil in my final drive...
iceman
Forum Benefactor
Forum Benefactor
Posts: 2860
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2013 11:43 pm
Year: 2014 125 (LED)
Color: White
Location: London, England

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by iceman »

Why use anything other than what Honda suggests? The final drive oil comes out looking as good as it went in - so hardly has a hard life.
Image
springer1
Forum Benefactor
Forum Benefactor
Posts: 787
Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2017 10:28 pm
Year: 2018
Color: white
Location: SE PA

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by springer1 »

iceman wrote:Why use anything other than what Honda suggests? The final drive oil comes out looking as good as it went in - so hardly has a hard life.
+1
davenowherejones
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 1839
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2015 12:06 pm
Year: 2014
Color: Silver
Location: Hope, BC, Canada

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by davenowherejones »

My Honda seems to work with any oil.

I bet fish oil would even work. Sockeye salmon oil?
User avatar
Conelite
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 345
Joined: Sun Jan 21, 2018 11:53 am
Year: 2017
Color: Blue

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by Conelite »

gn2 wrote:AFAIK the crankcase and the final drive are linked via the airbox vents so might be an idea to use the same product in both as recommended by Honda.
What if you eliminated the stock airbox?

Would it be better to run Gear oil? Then again I change the oil every 1k miles no matter what, so maybe just run engine oil in everything. lol
2017 PCX 150
Wirus Win Exhaust
Steady Garage Intake
Z-Bars
NCY Variator
Coasting
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 114
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 5:53 am
Year: 2014

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by Coasting »

iceman wrote:The final drive oil comes out looking as good as it went in - so hardly has a hard life.
I changed my final drive oil just the other day because it hadn't been done for a while. As we all know, all engine oil quickly turns black in car or bike engines - but the engine oil I'd previously used in the final drive LITERALLY did still look the same colour as when it went in - which I found quite remarkable considering that it had probably done 30,000 to 40,000km.
grndslm
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 197
Joined: Wed May 10, 2017 10:14 pm
Year: 2013
Color: Black
Location: Mississippi, USA

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by grndslm »

iceman wrote:Why use anything other than what Honda suggests? The final drive oil comes out looking as good as it went in - so hardly has a hard life.
I haven't changed my final drive yet. Definitely doing that very, very soon.

But most people say that the STOCK oil smells like gear oil!! It's a pretty distinct smell, so then the question becomes... Why does Honda recommend something different from what they use from the factory?
Austins
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 157
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2020 4:56 am
Year: 2016 Forza 300
Color: White
Location: Phuket, Thailand

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by Austins »

grndslm wrote:
But most people say that the STOCK oil smells like gear oil!! It's a pretty distinct smell, so then the question becomes... Why does Honda recommend something different from what they use from the factory?
Because Honda wants to save money when you take the bike to them for a service, but still charge you an arm and a leg...lol, also no need to stock gear oil in their dealerships, just use the same same , who cares...!
User avatar
relic
Forum Benefactor
Forum Benefactor
Posts: 516
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2014 8:24 pm
Year: 2013
Color: red white
Location: BC Canada

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by relic »

I know in heavy class 8 trucks pulling 100,000 lbs plus, the manufacturers recommend a 500,000 mile change interval with a synthetic 90 weight gear oil.
Scaling it down to a pcx that extra 10/30 engine oil one has left after an oil change is probably fine for your final drive.
davenowherejones
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 1839
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2015 12:06 pm
Year: 2014
Color: Silver
Location: Hope, BC, Canada

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by davenowherejones »

Just make sure you change it every 1000 km or buy a new motorcycle to go to Starbucks.
User avatar
you you
What's a wot?
What's a wot?
Posts: 10001
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:37 pm
Location: Between Lulu and Chichi

Re: Oil/gear oil

Post by you you »

Don't be tempted to use EP oils as the additives are quite nasty and the final drive isn't designed for them.
Post Reply