sometimes for me, depending on the light, glare, etc. it can be deceiving, in those visibility challenges getting the dipstick horizontal immediately upon extracting it and rolling it on a paper towel is very obvious and accurate..I'd never add fluid if I wasn't 100% sure of the level

 

I use the paper towel if I have trouble seeing the erl..

 

Yep I do a black wire tie dip to check mine, factory dipstick is useless as condoms in a convent. Can't see the oil it's so thin.

 

I think you'll find that 85w140 gear oil isn't much heavier than 20w50 engine oil that a lot of guys run in their tranny. Gear oil and engine oil viscosities are measured differently. Does it make sense to run gear lube in a transmission rather than engine oil? Does to me and Bel Ray is great stuff!

 

I was going to say as worthless as **** on a cow but I like that one!

 

Spectro 75W-140 is red so I can see it easier. I honestly don't see there being an issue if the trans it a few ounces too low or too high. Not gonna hurt a thing or degrade performance at all.

 

I have used BelRay in my transmissions for years. I trust it completely. For reasons I can't explain I prefer it over Redline Heavy Shockproof, probably due to the Redline's weird appearance. I run mine at or slightly above the full line when hot. A couple ounces over won't hurt anything. I don't ride with the dipstick in the bike; I have another dipstick that I cut the stick off from and I run that on the bike and leave the dipstick in my toolbox. Probably a freak deal, but there have been a few cases of the stick metal fatiguing and dropping into the tranny and locking up the box. No thanks.

 

Same thing has been happening to me !
I'm still in the process of trying to find out where it's going.
It's definitely NOT leaking out !
I've looked at every possible explanation I can think of along with my main dealer mechanic , but it's still a puzzle !

 

Check out the "gear oil level" thread in the M8 section

 

Black wire tie dip??? What is that?