Hitchcocks Forum

i know you guys are gonna say not another thread about this subject ive got a bullet 350 4 speed box previous owner said he just kept toppingg up with ep 90 evn though it continualy leaked i know i can change the bearings to stop this just got some of mr h silkolene grease for the box book says to fill up with 750g of this, top up with oil would this be needed to be top right to the oi filler level on the side some threads say just mix in a little to a sludge but the silkolene seems fairly sludge consistency ? does it need the engine oil in as well as this thanks

Do not put engine oil in a gearbox. Dont where you are going, in a gearbox it is a semi-fluid or heavy oil.

hi ya ned thanks for the reply looked in the book again ive got two one saying to top up with ep 90 and the other with sae 20 50

Neddy: The viscosity grades are different for gear oil and engine oil. Engine oil SAE 30 is about as thick as gear oil SAE 80. And as the RE gearbox doesn't need hypoid oil, heavy engine oil should work just fine.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I use engine oil SAE 50 in my Albion gearbox in my 1953 Model G. This is according to the original manual. OK, it is not a Bullet, but I bet the techology is very similar.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- Btw: I too has to top up frequently, as the oil somehow seem to disappear all by itself during use......-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Regards, Anders F. R.

thanks Anders F.R i know where most of my oil is its on the garage floor also stops the main stand from rusting several people have said about the oil but still need to know is 700g of grease enough or do i have to top up with oil as well cheers ant

The grease on it's own will be fine.
Top up with grease or engine oil as required but don't use hypoid oil, it attacks the bronze bushes. I put a dollop of Black Moly in which seems to help.

Thanks for all the replys know what im doing tomorow now cheers

Peter, the Indian boxes don't have bronze bushes but steel ones,I assume it is probably a cast steel of some sort. I'm not sure how far back this goes but I would assume it has been that way for a long time

20/50 oil in my gear box no probs sealed bearings i used to work on waggons (volvo,s m.a.n,s etc )they always had engine oil in the gearboxes no probs so not sure where don,t put engine oil in a gear box came from royal enfield recomended engine oil to top the grease up?

Don`t fill it to the top, this will create pressure and cause more leaking; there should be a plug on the side facing the front of the bike, or it might be in another spot, remove this and fill till the oil/grease comes out. It might help if you removed the fill plug, drill a 1/8 hole in the flat facing the engine, then drill another hole from the bottom of the plug to meet the horizontal hole; this relieves the air pressure which forces the oil out.