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GS 850G what gear oil to use

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    GS 850G what gear oil to use

    I see on the secondary cover has to use 'sae 90' but I can't find it in the auto stores. Is sae 80-90 or so just as good or not?

    #2
    Yes, any 80w-90 or 75w-90 gear oil will be fine. The important part is that they are marked "GL-5" and/or "hypoid", which pretty much all gear oils are these days.

    You can find 90W gear oil intended for boat motors, but there's no point in paying the extra money.

    Don't use the 140 weight gear oils -- they're way too thick.
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      #3
      Thank You for your response.

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        #4
        Here's what I use:

        Charles
        --
        1979 Suzuki GS850G

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          #5
          I use the far superior synthetic 75W-140 GL-5 gear oil in all of my shafties. Pick a brand, any brand. Even Wally World sells their brand for the same price as Dino oil.

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            #6
            Originally posted by GSX1000E View Post
            I use the far superior synthetic 75W-140 GL-5 gear oil in all of my shafties. Pick a brand, any brand. Even Wally World sells their brand for the same price as Dino oil.
            Lipstick on a pig
            GSX1300R NT650 XV535

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              #7
              Originally posted by derwood View Post
              Lipstick on a pig
              Pretty much. The same as running 93 octane premium in a stock GS when 87 octane regular performs just as well.

              Oops, that's another thread altogether! LOL

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                #8
                Originally posted by GSX1000E View Post
                I use the far superior synthetic 75W-140 GL-5 gear oil in all of my shafties. Pick a brand, any brand. Even Wally World sells their brand for the same price as Dino oil.
                Knowing that the feed stock for synthetic oil comes from the same ground through the same type of well that any other oil and gas comes from, why do you call distilled oil "Dino"?
                sigpic Too old, too many bikes, too many cars, too many things

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by bwringer View Post
                  Yes, any 80w-90 or 75w-90 gear oil will be fine. The important part is that they are marked "GL-5" and/or "hypoid", which pretty much all gear oils are these days.

                  You can find 90W gear oil intended for boat motors, but there's no point in paying the extra money.

                  Don't use the 140 weight gear oils -- they're way too thick.

                  Old thread but thanks for posting this. I got some 90w gear oil at Napa for the last change but it's been about 8K miles and time for another change. I am heading to wal mart for some other stuff and may pick it up there. I remember asking for Hypoid at Napa and getting the deer in the headlight look from the guy behind the counter. The stuff I used did have the GL-5 rating though.

                  This should work just fine right?
                  Roger

                  Us states ridden (2024_10_06 18_48_44 UTC).png

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                    #10
                    That will work fine, Roger.

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                      #11
                      I don't remember what the specified replacement frequency is, I just change the gear oils and lube the splines every time I change a rear tire.

                      .
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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Steve View Post
                        I don't remember what the specified replacement frequency is, I just change the gear oils and lube the splines every time I change a rear tire.

                        .
                        7500 miles is what the book says. When I bought this 850, the PO said he never changed it though. It looked like truck stop coffee coming out, yuk!

                        Thats a very good interval, Steve. I've gotten just over 8k miles on this Dunlop 404 but it's at 2mm tread depth. Real soon I'll put new tires on.
                        Roger

                        Us states ridden (2024_10_06 18_48_44 UTC).png

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                          #13
                          My main reason for the gear oil change now is to see if any engine oil is in there. I just drained out 600ml and its supposed to hold 340-400ml. I may have overfilled it last time but can't be sure. Just added 350ml and it just started to dribble out of the screw hole.

                          Last 800 mile trip used more engine oil than i had expected, about 750ml. No smoke, no leaks, what's happening? Damn oil theives, siphoning at night....
                          Roger

                          Us states ridden (2024_10_06 18_48_44 UTC).png

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