961 Transmission oil thread

cliffa

cliffa

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Well it had to be done :rolleyes:

But seriously, I spotted this on the NOC forum, and wondered if anybody else had gone with a heavier grade transmission oil ? My bike is mechanically quiet until it warms up, which is the reason I ask.

" Oil Change
Bumped in to a fellow 961 owner yesterday. I mentioned the rather worrying rattles from my bike and my hope that an oil change might help. He said his was the same until he replaced the oil with ELF fully synthetic 10W60. "
 
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Cliffa the bad clatterin’ n clunkin’ comes from the primary not the engine. And the primary oil is shared with the gearbox. So, IMHO, care should be taken as to what one puts in there as it has to be suitable for the stresses in that old skool gearbox, and more importantly, for use with a wet clutch. Like this:

Sport Transmission Fluid

For the transmission and primary of Sportster® and Buell® Blast™ motorcycles.
www.belray.com
 
Apologies FE, I did mean transmission as I naturally presumed that was the subject on the NOC forum, so have changed the thread title. Thanks for the link !!
 
And not to be too pedantic I quote "and wondered if anybody else had gone with a heavier grade transmission oil " ;)
 
Considering trying 75W90 non EP, if it continues to be ok with the Sportster. Got a mention in another thread as having good results at the factory.
 
Claudio said:
I have always used Motul 7100 10w60 in the engine and gearbox, no problem
Click to expand...
On our NOC factory visit 2 weeks ago I did notice the “Motul “ stickers on top of the tank of the new 961 classics that had been built , the SG bikes were always Silkolene , Motul are the preferred partner now I guess
 
Fast Eddie said:
Cliffa the bad clatterin’ n clunkin’ comes from the primary not the engine. And the primary oil is shared with the gearbox. So, IMHO, care should be taken as to what one puts in there as it has to be suitable for the stresses in that old skool gearbox, and more importantly, for use with a wet clutch. Like this:

Sport Transmission Fluid

For the transmission and primary of Sportster® and Buell® Blast™ motorcycles.
www.belray.com
Click to expand...

I tried to check out the ELF oil mentioned to look for clutch compatibility, but couldn’t find any such info.

A lot of folk seem happy with a variety of none clutch compatible oils in the Norton clutch. Praps the ole air cooled lump doesn’t stress out the clutch too much, so it ain’t so fussy ?
 
BLIGHTYBRIT/SF said:
On our NOC factory visit 2 weeks ago I did notice the “Motul “ stickers on top of the tank of the new 961 classics that had been built , the SG bikes were always Silkolene , Motul are the preferred partner now I guess
Click to expand...
They switched to Motul just before the 2019 TT. They had a bigger range of products, apparently, and paid to have Motul on the TT bikes. Personally I continue to use Silkolene products on customersbikes. .
On the note of transmission fluids. They used 75w90 when they were nobbling the 961 through euro4. I dont know what spec though, I'd assume gl4...but assumptions can be the mother of all fuck ups. I'd probably get advice off someone like Opie oils.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Cliffa the bad clatterin’ n clunkin’ comes from the primary not the engine. And the primary oil is shared with the gearbox. So, IMHO, care should be taken as to what one puts in there as it has to be suitable for the stresses in that old skool gearbox, and more importantly, for use with a wet clutch. Like this:

Sport Transmission Fluid

For the transmission and primary of Sportster® and Buell® Blast™ motorcycles.
www.belray.com
Click to expand...
FE, being that the trans is a close relation to Harley / Buell that oil makes sense . And blimey I just noticed it's SAE 110W !! That must help on the quieting front.
 
cliffa said:
FE, being that the trans is a close relation to Harley / Buell that oil makes sense . And blimey I just noticed it's SAE 110W !! That must help on the quieting front.
Click to expand...
Well, it’s designed to quieten down agricultural HD boxes innit, so yes, I think it'll help.

And most importantly for the 961 IMHO it’s designed for a wet clutch.

I bought some for my 961 but never got round to putting it in. However, I now use it as the ‘standard’ gearbox oil on all my old clunkers and a really like it. It has been a noticeable improvement in terms of smoother shifting and ease of finding neutral at a standstill etc, which I take to be a good indicator of its lubricity properties.
 
I have been running 20w50 JASO MA full syn in my trans/primary and motor now for over two seasons . And it seems to quiet things down a bit and I like the clutch feel and shifting so I won't be going back to 10w40 ever . After seeing these results , I want to try the Bel-Ray Sport Transmission Fluid next ! Frankly , the only thing that has stopped me before now was the price of it and the availability. I like most all Bel-Ray products but they are pricey , I use the Super Clean chain spray .
 


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