Motul 80w/90 GL 5 - Final drive oil - Black ???

JJames

JJames

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Nov 22, 2020
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Location
Norway
Bike
2000 ST 1100 ABS II
I'm doing a full Service on my new Baby - ST 1100 . So far so good. Today I changed the oil on the final drive hub. I couldn't find anyone who had SAE 80 GL-5 , but MC dealer sold me a jug of Motul 80w/90 GL -5. That oil dosent look like any diff oil Ive seen before, its shinny Black stuff . Yea I'm skeptical ! Can some tell me this is ok / or not ? Thanks
 
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It's OK, use it and don't worry about it.
 
It's black because it's Moly fortified.
It's heavy duty gear oil, for gearboxes, diffs and transfer boxes. It should be capable of handling the ST11 and its relatively small loads.
If it's what the bike shop stocks then I presume it's there preferred lube for diffs, go back and speak to them to reassure yourself and then, probably, use it.
But as always you will be told anything between ride and DON'T use it or the world will end :nuke1:, hell you could probably fill it with olive oil.
Upt'North.
 
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After some you tube research , well - the oil is grey/black . Just, never seen new oil in that color before . Should be good. As for the folks in the motorcycle store here - Lets put it this way- I don't think they get their hands dirty. Thanks !
 
GGely said:
Because?
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I’m just teasing, do whatever you want. As an aircraft mechanic for @ 40 years with a hobby of maintaining and rebuilding all types of motorcycles I wouldn’t use black colored moly based oil in a final drive. My reason being a technician checks the clarity/color of oil as part of inspection when changing oil, can’t do this with the moly based oil. I only use 75/90 wt synthetic.
 
Our final drives are very reliable and have no history of giving trouble over the entire life of the bike - even multiple hundreds of thousands of miles. Honda has done a fantastic job giving us a final drive that requires no attention beyond a simple change of fluid at 24,000 miles and even the lubricant spec is simple and easy to follow. Synthetic if you want but Honda doesn't require or recommend syn over mineral oil base. They don't even spec GL-5. SAE 80 or SAE 80/90 hypoid gear oil is fine - no matter the color.

If there is any part of the system that is less than optimal is that the aluminum fill cap is easily cracked. 9 ft lbs torque is very low and if the sealing O-ring is not changed occasionally to provide some feel or give when approaching 9 ft/lbs, then 9 ft/lbs comes up with little to no warning and the fill cap cracks. Rut-Ro. The O-ring part number is 91302-001-020. The service manual says to lightly grease and replace the O-ring with a new one every oil change. Many of us over-service the FD and change the lube much sooner than 24,000 miles so it probably doesn't need replacing every 8,000 miles but every 2nd or 3rd change replace it and the cap will give no issue for the life of the bike.
 
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dduelin said:
Our final drives are very reliable and have no history of giving trouble over the entire life of the bike - even multiple hundreds of thousands of miles. Honda has done a fantastic job giving us a final drive that requires no attention beyond a simple change of fluid at 24,000 miles and even the lubricant spec is simple and easy to follow. Synthetic if you want but Honda doesn't require or recommend syn over mineral oil base. They don't even spec GL-5. SAE 80 or SAE 80/90 hypoid gear oil is fine - no matter the color.
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I agree with everything you put here, and it doesn’t matter to me if you put peanut oil in your final drive. I’m sitting here bored at the moment with my coffee reading post in one of my fav forums and decided to put my input on a subject I’m kind of an expert on. Take it or leave it- it don’t matter - I’m not looking for a debate
 
There have been folks that bought oil only to find out someone returned it w/used oil in the containers. That was my first idea when I read the post as all the gear oil I've ever seen is similar in look as normal oil only it stinks.. lol.. Never tried Motul gear oil or any moly based oil that I'm aware of. I think that goes into the ST at the factory because when it comes out it's dark and has a silver sheen to it which to me calls out 'used'.
 
Mellow said:
There have been folks that bought oil only to find out someone returned it w/used oil in the containers. That was my first idea when I read the post as all the gear oil I've ever seen is similar in look as normal oil only it stinks.. lol.. Never tried Motul gear oil or any moly based oil that I'm aware of. I think that goes into the ST at the factory because when it comes out it's dark and has a silver sheen to it which to me calls out 'used'.
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Exactly !!
 
Note to self: check new oil containers for intact foil sealing under the cap and to look and make sure the molded plastic sealing "ring" below the removable cap is intact just in case lightning is about to strike you when you walk out into the parking lot.
 
jonjonboo said:
I’m just teasing, do whatever you want. As an aircraft mechanic for @ 40 years with a hobby of maintaining and rebuilding all types of motorcycles I wouldn’t use black colored moly based oil in a final drive. My reason being a technician checks the clarity/color of oil as part of inspection when changing oil, can’t do this with the moly based oil. I only use 75/90 wt synthetic.
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I also would like to see what comes out ,when next time I change the oil. That is not going be possible with this stuff. Might just get something else
 
JJames said:
I also would like to see what comes out ,when next time I change the oil. That is not going be possible with this stuff. Might just get something else
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I usually change mine at every rear tire change, about every 20k miles. It always comes out "looking" new.
 
Mellow said:
There have been folks that bought oil only to find out someone returned it w/used oil in the containers. That was my first idea when I read the post as all the gear oil I've ever seen is similar in look as normal oil only it stinks.. lol.. Never tried Motul gear oil or any moly based oil that I'm aware of. I think that goes into the ST at the factory because when it comes out it's dark and has a silver sheen to it which to me calls out 'used'.
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The shop I used to work for carried Motul products. Besides Honda we sold and serviced Aprilia and previously were also a Ducati dealer. Motul seemed to be very popular with owners of European brands. That bit about getting used oil off the shelf sounds like urban legend more than fact based but I suppose anything is possible. Most if not all oils I use (typically Honda or Castrol) have double sealed containers with foil sealing the actual container and a security ring as part of the removable cap. When the cap is removed the ring separates from the cap or breaks off to allow the cap to be unscrewed. It should be apparent the container cap has been removed just looking at it in the store.
JJames said:
I also would like to see what comes out ,when next time I change the oil. That is not going be possible with this stuff. Might just get something else
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Of course it's possible to see what comes out. Did you know that the important thing to look at is the "fuzz" that collects inside the drain bolt of the final drive? There is a hole in the bolt that collects a sample of solids if they are circulating in the final drive oil. That hole is where bits of metal otherwise in oil suspension get trapped. Usually a pencil eraser-sized of fuzzy goo collects there. It might feel ever so slightly gritty between your fingertips but never crunchy, then smear it across a clean cloth or paper towel to look closely. Odds are none of us will ever see shiny bits of metal there, not with a Honda anyway!
 
I've mentioned this before a few times over the years, so why not say it again for the new guy.

At 30k miles I did my first final drive oil change. My wife had a business relationship with Maxima oils at the time, and had the owner's phone number. She told him I ride and he said to call him anytime with questions, so I did. His advice was "change it with synthetic, and forget it, don't bother changing it every 30k miles". I mentioned it was a bike that I planned on putting over 100k miles on, he said that didn't matter. So I followed his advice. About 10 years later I changed it again just in case. So, two changes in 23 years and 116k miles, with no issues. People like to discuss lubrication related matters like its a life-or-death decision, but its really not that big a deal if you pour the right oil for the application into the hole (and the OP did).

You can change it as often as you like, but I'll take the word of someone who founded and owns a motorcycle-based lubrication company any day.
 
"Experts" do have credibility.
But not everyone listens to "experts", which can eventually lead to varying degrees of disappointment and disaster.
If changing oil (engine, transmission, final drive, whatever) more often than is recommended, for plain old peace of mind, I don't believe that will normally fall into the category of either disappointment OR disaster.
 
Ok , has anyone used this type of oil ? - Motul 80w/90 mineral transmission oil - . No mention of moly. And If so, can confirm that it has a non transparent grey/black color ?( looks like used diesel engine oil ,with a hint of water in it , but smells like transmission oil). Thats what I'd like to know.
 
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