Secondary gear oil

[veedub]

I changed the Secondary gear oil in my newly acquired 1979 gs850. Bikecliffs site and my manual both state it should take 11-13.5oz. The gearbox took almost a full bottle (quart 32oz) I'm not sure what could cause it to take this much. Any ideas?

[Flyboy]

Hi veedub, did you make sure to remove the little screw that indicates the full mark, and not jst fill it to the top?
There is a little bolt/screw about half way up the casing, you fill it until it starts to run out that hole, then it is full, replace screw and you are good to go.
These do not get filled all the way up, you will overheat the drive, and most definately blow a seal.

It is a bit hard to see, but it is #43 in this diagram, just above the drain plug, takes a 10mm spanner as I remember.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Don't fill the entire bevel gear case with oil. On pages 2 and 6 of the Secondary Gear Oil Change guide you will see the "Oil Level" screw. Take that screw out. Fill the gear case until it starts to dribble out that hole. Then put the screw back. You're done.

Over-filling the bevel gear case will block the breather mechanism and cause the secondary gears to run hotter than normal, maybe cooking the oil. That would not be so good.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[TheCafeKid]

if you knew it was only supposed to take 11-13oz why did ya keep filling it with th entire bottle silly?

The two other posters have hit the nail on the head. You can either pull the drain bolt and drain it into something that can catch it and fill it to the correct level, or pull the fill level bolt, and let it drain till it stops there. The latter will make a heck of a mess however..

[veedub]

Ah completely missed the part about the fill to plug. I thought it was odd that there wasnt one as there has been on ever other vehicle I have ever changed gear oil on. The line that confused me I think is on page 7 of the cliff page it says something about filling to the bottom of the spout in the fill hole. This takes something like 28 oz...Anyway it's draining now so it should be ready to ride to work.

[bwringer]

[gripweed]

I was just reading about this on Cliff's site. How do I know if my bike has this secondary gear oil? His posting mentioned not all bikes have it.

[rustybronco]

A chain drive bike doesn't have a secondary drive unit. 'Most' shaft drive bikes do.

[5t341th]

A chain drive bike doesn't have a secondary drive unit. 'Most' shaft drive bikes do.

i have a 85 gs700. i was doing the oil change and i opened up the wrong drain plug. this was 17mm. oil did come out of there, but i found out it was the wrong plug. could this have been the secondary gear oil plug? this is a chain driven bike

[BassCliff]

Hi,

i have a 85 gs700. i was doing the oil change and i opened up the wrong drain plug. this was 17mm. oil did come out of there, but i found out it was the wrong plug. could this have been the secondary gear oil plug? this is a chain driven bike

A chain drive bike doesn't have a secondary drive unit. 'Most' shaft drive bikes do.

OK?

(And I must apologize for the bezel gear oil guide. If you read the addendum you will find where I state that my method overfills the chamber and you should use the fill level plug. )

I've been away for a while so you probably haven't received the "mega-welcome". Visit my website for guides that cover most regular maintenance tasks. Here's the dealio...

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Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

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Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

i have a 85 gs700. i was doing the oil change and i opened up the wrong drain plug. this was 17mm. oil did come out of there, but i found out it was the wrong plug. could this have been the secondary gear oil plug? this is a chain driven bike

Did you read the post right above yours?

A chain drive bike doesn't have a secondary drive unit. 'Most' shaft drive bikes do.

The "secondary drive unit" is the gearset that turns the transmission output 90 degrees to go to the driveshaft.
Your chain-driven bike obviously does not have this device, please don't look for it.

.