Just seeing if anyone else has a similar gearbox design to my Cali Vintage (07). When I changed the gearbox oil today there are three screws to undo, described in the workshop manual as “A”, which is the filler, “B”, which is the level screw and “C”, which is the drain. “A” and “B” are where they should be on my bike, but “C” is directly above the exhaust “H” piece and this would need removing first, which seems daft. Then I noticed another, what appeared to be, drain plug on the rear casing of the gearbox below the clutch rod and near to the flange of the gearbox rear casing. I undid it and the oil came gushing out. After screwing it back in, I then filled the box through screw “A” hole until it started leaking out of the screw “B” hole, indicating it was at the right level.
I visited Moto Corsa this afternoon and they said they were aware that some re-designs had this extra screw “C” at the rear of the box, but many other designs require the “H” piece of the exhaust to be removed.
Just enquiring if anyone has any further knowledge about this extra drain screw and have I missed a trick somewhere (I haven’t ridden the bike yet, but I can’t see that have I done anything wrong, the gearbox has got the right amount of oil in it)?
Well that little enquiry wasn’t very successful, 22 views and didly-squat replies. Can’t say I am surprised, oil changing isn’t a subject that lights one’s fire.
Well actually that’s not entirely true, I just took the bike for a run and after a few miles stopped to check the gearbox and saw smoke rising! Turns out to be a bit of gearbox oil that had dripped onto the exhaust when I was filling it, and it disappeared as I watched it…phew!
The other surprise is how less clunky are the gears with some brand spanking new oil!
I use a suction pump to get nearly all the oil out then an absorbant sheet to catch the last few drips when I remove the plug, which I only do to check the magnet for ‘bits’ which I have never found.
Edited: Picture now added after setting up a Photobox account!
The first picture is the alternative drain plug on the gearbox rear-casing close to one of the allen screws, so is pretty near to the bottom of the gearbox. It is a straight forward set screw; I can’t see that it is anything other than an alternative drain plug, but any other thoughts greatly appreciated.
The second picture is the standard drain plug on the underside of the gearbox, but it is blocked by the “H” piece of the exhaust and there is no way I can get a spanner to it without taking off both silencers, then the “H” piece.
The third picture is the offending “H” piece with the standard drain plug above it.