BajaRon
Well-known member
A customer has asked about changing the Gearbox & Final Drive oil on their Ryker, and I thought I'd answer here, because the Ryker has some idiosyncrasies that might surprise some.
I did address this subject from a different angle some time back in this thread:
https://www.spyderlovers.com/thread...rbox-oil-specs-make-sense.153093/post-1663213
But I wanted to fill in some gaps today.
First, the OEM and BRP recommended lubricants are as follows:
Gearbox - 5w-40 Synthetic Engine Oil or 75w-140 Gear Oil (Approximately 17oz.) Be sure to pull the fill level plug so you don’t overfill. Be careful to get the right one.
Final Drive - 75w-90 Gear Oil (Approximately 11.5oz)
Don't get these confused. It is important to put the correct weight oil in the correct drive component. The fact that the gearbox calls for a heavier weight lubricant is testimony to it running hotter.
My point here is that I would not use motor oil of any quality in the gearbox. No, it's not the end of the world if you do, and in my experience, the Ryker comes with motor oil in the gearbox. However, the Ryker gearbox is known to run quite hot. This, coupled with the constant crushing forces involved in a gear abundant environment, can be more than a motor oil is designed to handle. If that oil breaks down, you will lose a significant amount of metal on metal protection.
A Hypoid Gear Oil is specifically designed to deal with both issues better than any motor oil.
So, if you’re going to change the oil in these components, it’s not much more trouble to install a better, longer-lasting, higher performance product, the gear box being more important in this matter than the final drive. The final drive runs somewhat cooler, and it comes with a hypoid gear oil installed.
You will need to pull the rear wheel to do the final drive.
I did address this subject from a different angle some time back in this thread:
https://www.spyderlovers.com/thread...rbox-oil-specs-make-sense.153093/post-1663213
But I wanted to fill in some gaps today.
First, the OEM and BRP recommended lubricants are as follows:
Gearbox - 5w-40 Synthetic Engine Oil or 75w-140 Gear Oil (Approximately 17oz.) Be sure to pull the fill level plug so you don’t overfill. Be careful to get the right one.
Final Drive - 75w-90 Gear Oil (Approximately 11.5oz)
Don't get these confused. It is important to put the correct weight oil in the correct drive component. The fact that the gearbox calls for a heavier weight lubricant is testimony to it running hotter.
My point here is that I would not use motor oil of any quality in the gearbox. No, it's not the end of the world if you do, and in my experience, the Ryker comes with motor oil in the gearbox. However, the Ryker gearbox is known to run quite hot. This, coupled with the constant crushing forces involved in a gear abundant environment, can be more than a motor oil is designed to handle. If that oil breaks down, you will lose a significant amount of metal on metal protection.
A Hypoid Gear Oil is specifically designed to deal with both issues better than any motor oil.
So, if you’re going to change the oil in these components, it’s not much more trouble to install a better, longer-lasting, higher performance product, the gear box being more important in this matter than the final drive. The final drive runs somewhat cooler, and it comes with a hypoid gear oil installed.
You will need to pull the rear wheel to do the final drive.
