Final Gear Oil Question

[painman]

Well, Eskimo's rock. Besides anyone who could build and live in an igloo is pretty gutsy. But I wouldn't "even" go into the whale oil vs. monkeybutt powder debate though, especially with our good friend Odot.

Now the oil thing, I always use the Bel-Ray 80-90w for the final drive and use the semi-synthetic Bel-Ray motor 10-40w motor oil but that's getting off track here. The main thing though is to not go over 600 mi. when the bike is new to do an oil change in the rear due to breakin and possible metal particles in the oil. Mine actually sparkled when in the sunlight from metal in the rear oil at first change. Hey, whatever trips your trigger with what brand to use and IMO oil threads are always fun to do. PM. <><

 

[Bearly Flying]

Well, Eskimo's rock. Besides anyone who could build and live in an igloo is pretty gutsy.

Uhmmmm..... Painman.. Odot lives in Dallas..... I'm thinking He probably has air conditioning in that Igloo.. :cold:

 

[odot]

Here's a michiganian igloo....won't work in cold weather but I imagine you could install an a/c unit.

what you lookin' at? :blink:

 

[Mike-H]

& you would know because ......

 

[Bounce]

I just buy the Yamaha stuff that is recommended.

yep. rtfm.

 

[Bustanut joker]

what you lookin' at? :blink:

No doubt the two Drunks... An that was early on.. won'it :dribble:

:jester:

 

[FJRBluesman]

Uhmmmm..... Painman.. Odot lives in Dallas..... I'm thinking He probably has air conditioning in that Igloo.. :cold:

Funny I have never seen any igloos in Dallas. What was the insentive to move there. Primo whale & seal hunting areas? Maybe less polar bears??? Just askin'.....
BTW - That Michigan igloo looks like a subprime igloo. Especially that subprime on the right....

 

[Bustanut joker]

BTW - That Michigan igloo looks like a subprime igloo. Especially that subprime on the right....

Son... Why ya wanna go talkin bad about yer Daddy like that??

18 years of Child Support, an this is the Thanks I get?

'mind me to slap yer Momma next time I see her. ya disrespectful Bastie..

:****:

:jester:

& you would know because ......

Cool it *******. I have dogs...

:jester:

 

[Ishkatan]

While all indications (and logic) say use 80w90 GL-5 oil, I confess that at about 10,000 miles ago I used the same oil that I used for the engine - 10W-40 or 15-40 Rotella at the time. Now I use Mobile 1 75W-90 gear oil for the rear gear and Mobile 1 10W-40 for the engine (getting hard to find at WMT). I change my final gear oil every time I change my regular oil every 4,000 miles or every year. I have 27,000 miles on the 2008 AE, or is it 29,000 have to go look but the year of using the wrong final shaft oil did not seem to harm anything and that was the year I was at 4000 miles. I do NOT push the bike hard - never went over 100 mph indicated (92 real?)
I just realized that you are supposed to do something to bearings... And am wondering when to expect the clutch to need replacing. I'm sure I will find out but it sounds like time for the 4 year shop visit.

 

[FJRBluesman]

You have me confused with odot. Did ya switch to that cheap whiskey or sometin'

 

[roger dodger]

OP, I also live in MN and just changed my Rear Drive oil.

#1 Don't rotate the tire, just drain and re-fill.

#2 Use Gear oil of suitable viscosity. I use synthetic every 25k miles.

#3 Fill to the brim and snug bolts.

No one has ever heard of a FJR having Drive issues if there is oil in there ... My son's '03 has 78k and my '13 has 50k with no issues. YMMV

 

[FJR Flyer]

While all indications (and logic) say use 80w90 GL-5 oil, I confess that at about 10,000 miles ago I used the same oil that I used for the engine - 10W-40 or 15-40 Rotella at the time. Now I use Mobile 1 75W-90 gear oil for the rear gear and Mobile 1 10W-40 for the engine (getting hard to find at WMT). I change my final gear oil every time I change my regular oil every 4,000 miles or every year. I have 27,000 miles on the 2008 AE, or is it 29,000 have to go look but the year of using the wrong final shaft oil did not seem to harm anything and that was the year I was at 4000 miles. I do NOT push the bike hard - never went over 100 mph indicated (92 real?)
I just realized that you are supposed to do something to bearings... And am wondering when to expect the clutch to need replacing. I'm sure I will find out but it sounds like time for the 4 year shop visit.

I change the gear oil with every tire change, which used to be about 16K miles with the PR2s and PR3s. Road 5s will be lucky to go 10K. My '06 had 129K miles on it when I got rid of it, and still had the original clutch. I put some moly lube on the shaft spline and gear.

 

[RossKean]

While all indications (and logic) say use 80w90 GL-5 oil, I confess that at about 10,000 miles ago I used the same oil that I used for the engine - 10W-40 or 15-40 Rotella at the time. Now I use Mobile 1 75W-90 gear oil for the rear gear and Mobile 1 10W-40 for the engine (getting hard to find at WMT). I change my final gear oil every time I change my regular oil every 4,000 miles or every year. I have 27,000 miles on the 2008 AE, or is it 29,000 have to go look but the year of using the wrong final shaft oil did not seem to harm anything and that was the year I was at 4000 miles. I do NOT push the bike hard - never went over 100 mph indicated (92 real?)
I just realized that you are supposed to do something to bearings... And am wondering when to expect the clutch to need replacing. I'm sure I will find out but it sounds like time for the 4 year shop visit.

No need to change the final drive lube that often, but it is easy and not terribly expensive. After the first tme, it comes out looking pretty much as it did going in. You are fortunate that using a very much lighter lube didn't hurt anything, but these have proven to be very robust - other than a few that developed seal leaks.

What are you supposed to do about bearings??? Which bearings??
Wheel? Steering stem? Suspension relay arm?

Have you done the valve clearance check?

Other than flushing fluid every two years and cleaning/lubricating the handlebar lever annually, I have done nothing with the clutch on the 2007 I sold with 295,000 km or on my current 2011 with 160,000 km. your AE doesn't have the lever but flushing the fluid is more of an ordeal. If you haven't flushed the clutch (and brake) hydraulic systems, you are WAY past due.

 

[Diablo1]

Since Yamaha decided that they needed to make a special differential oil - “Exclusive” for the FJR, this implies they found some issue with normal oil. I just use their Exclusive lube for peace of mind.

 

[RossKean]

Since Yamaha decided that they needed to make a special differential oil - “Exclusive” for the FJR, this implies they found some issue with normal oil. I just use their Exclusive lube for peace of mind.

Half million kilometers on two Gen II FJRs using mostly store brand synthetic 75W-90 gear oil in the rear drive. Zero issues.
Its not like Yamaha has their own refinery or resells enough to warrant a unique formulation! I would be surprised if the rear drive lube wasn't rebranded Mobil1 or other major manufacturer's synthetic. I bought both bikes lightly used but probably would have used the Yamaha **** during any warranty period.
(It's a fixed ratio "Final drive", not a differential which has two output shafts capable of running at different speeds.)

 

[Diablo1]

Half million kilometers on two Gen II FJRs using mostly store brand synthetic 75W-90 gear oil in the rear drive. Zero issues.
Its not like Yamaha has their own refinery or resells enough to warrant a unique formulation! I would be surprised if the rear drive lube wasn't rebranded Mobil1 or other major manufacturer's synthetic. I bought both bikes lightly used but probably would have used the Yamaha **** during any warranty period.
(It's a fixed ratio "Final drive", not a differential which has two output shafts capable of running at different speeds.)

Yamaha already had a standard differential oil they marketed, but say not to use it in the FJR and Vmax. So obviously Yamaha believes a unique formulation is required for the FJR. I find it hard to believe that Yamaha is pulling some sort of marketing scam to sell us a special lube if it’s not require. Not much profit to be made on gear lube.

https://www.chapmoto.com/yamalube-s...MI8Nu7ic-k_wIVqAitBh0eHgz5EAQYASABEgLRMPD_BwE

 

[Bugnatr]

Yamaha already had a standard differential oil they marketed, but say not to use it in the FJR and Vmax. So obviously Yamaha believes a unique formulation is required for the FJR. I find it hard to believe that Yamaha is pulling some sort of marketing scam to sell us a special lube if it’s not require. Not much profit to be made on gear lube.

https://www.chapmoto.com/yamalube-s...MI8Nu7ic-k_wIVqAitBh0eHgz5EAQYASABEgLRMPD_BwE

I don't understand your logic as in another thread you use Rotella 15-40 in the motor which is clearly NOT what Yamaha recommends for the FJR but you feel it's so important to follow Yamaha's gear oil requirements. Humm....

As a user of Rotella and 85-90 gear oil in my Tenere I don't worry about not using Yamaha's gear oil.

 

[Diablo1]

I don't understand your logic as in another thread you use Rotella 15-40 in the motor which is clearly NOT what Yamaha recommends for the FJR but you feel it's so important to follow Yamaha's gear oil requirements. Humm....

As a user of Rotella and 85-90 gear oil in my Tenere I don't worry about not using Yamaha's gear oil.

Yamaha manual says any SAE 20W-40 SE or better engine oil, it doesn’t require a special Yamaha oil. Rotella T6 5W-40 flows better at cold temperatures and thins out at high temperatures to the same 40 weight viscosity, and meets JASO specifications for a wet clutch. Rotella T6 also has more than 1000 ppm of ZDDP which reduces cam wear in flat tappet motors. Yamaha didn’t develop a new engine oil specific to the FJR, likely because any SAE 20W-40 SE or higher grade is sufficient, and Rotella T6 meets API SM grade. Only Yamaha knows why they had to develop the Exclusive gear oil, and they ain’t talking.

 

[SkooterG]

I am fairly certain that back in the day Yamaha marketed their FJR/VMax gear oil as containing anti-foam additives for high speed operation. Whatever. I do use the Yammy gear oil 80-90% of the time as it's cost per mile is negligible in the long run. But, I have not hesitated to use Mobil1 75W-90 gear oil on occasion. Let's face it - it's just gear oil.

Ride more, stress less.

 

[SkooterG]

Yamaha manual says any SAE 20W-40 SE or better engine oil,

You must have an older FJR. Nowadays, the owner's manual specifies several different viscosity oils dependent on ambient temperature.

 

[Diablo1]

You must have an older FJR. Nowadays, the owner's manual specifies several different viscosity oils dependent on ambient temperature.

My FJR is a 2006 AE. I’m surprised the newer bikes would require different viscosity oils depending on ambient temperature - that’s very strange.
So I looked in the 2022 owners manual and yes, Yamaha steers you to 10W-40 or 10W-50 at cold ambient temperatures and 50 weight oil at ambient temperature above 110F. A 10W-50 oil covers their entire temperature range, but who is going to ride at 110F+ ambient temperature? A 5W-40 isn’t on their chart, but flows better at frigid temperatures and should make starting easier.