It would not surprise me at all to learn that they used a synthetic lube in the I2 gearboxes. That just sounds like a Kamen solution - Go with the best, not the cheapest
I think they learned a lot from the first gen machines and they incorporated several changes in the I2's - Some of them were BIG changes. Segways were designed by a team of engineers led by another engineer with basically very few constraints placed on them by the usual 'bean counters' who rein in the engineering types to ensure that the final product will be reasonably enough priced to make it fairly easy to sell. Reading the 'Ginger' book was a look inside the development of an idea that we almost never get to see. They were *hoping* for a much lower price, but the solutions to many of the problems they encountered really drove up the final price. It turned out in the end that they made a high quality product which unfortunately was also priced so high they couldn't sell very many. That really dashed any chance of it becoming the revolutionary transportation innovation everyone was predicting - That part's very sad. Still, it's amazing to see what a team of engineers can accomplish when they aren't forced to design something to a set price point
The I2 didn't cost much more and is a much better machine for the dollar than the first gen. The best solution was chosen time after time rather than the cheapest solution - They all wanted to make something they could be very proud of . . . . . it just wound up costing twice what they anticipated
A used, low mileage I2 at half (or even less) of the original price is a terrific value - If it had been designed like the miniPro (constrained by being limited to a sellable price) a used machine with only a few thousand miles on it would probably be essentially junk and worth very little except for spare parts
I know very little about the first gen machines. When I decided we wanted to buy a pair of Segways, I did a lot of reading (some of it here) and quickly came to the conclusion I didn't want to buy first gen machines, even if I could pick up a pair of them up for only a few hundred dollars. We had already ridden rental I2's with tons of hard miles on them which were still going strong (some were quiet and some not so) and that gave us the confidence to look for good used, low mileage I2's. Without that experience, we would have bought new ones for sure - I didn't want to buy someone else's junk at any price
The changes to several things including the gearboxes have made the I2 much more reliable and much less likely to break than the early version - Look what a used set of first gen handlebars sells for!! Many parts of both look very much alike, but after several thousand miles, the differences become pretty clear - It would not surprise me at all if synthetic lubricant was chosen as part of the solution to the earlier gearbox problems . . . . along with small changes to the gears, bearings and shafts. Successful changes
If I ever get to the point where I think my gearbox oil needs changing, it will be with some synthetic lubricant for sure . . . . and likely *before* the gearbox begins to get noisy. Our highest mileage machine only has 2500 miles on it now - Just under 1000 miles on the other one and so far, both of them are equally quiet . . . . but if the higher mileage one ever begins to make even a little bit of gear whine, I won't hesitate to put a little heavier oil in it. It won't be 75W 90, but it will be something synthetic for sure
Don
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