I guess I have a hard time envisioning a wet crankcase with the very small clearances between the flywheels and crankpin with the cases, especially the lower cases. I would think the ineritial losses that would result would pretty much cancel out any power gains you've made in the upper end.
And this is without considering the oil that is going to be slinging around, especially up into the lower jug, where the best control ring and drains just aren't gonna get it all.
As far as running the gears in the same oil as the engine, (i think thats what was implied), the viscosity of engine L.O. will change substantially from start-up to tie-up, and that doesn't sound like a very desirable characteristic with which to operate a drivetrain. Not to mention that some of the worst aspects of the combustion process end up in the L.O., : i.e. carbon, sulphur, water, sulphuric acid, as well as the facets of engine wear, iron, aluminum, bronze, silica (okay, thats only some of us).
In the photos of the engine I looked at, I would think the bulls-eye (sightglass), is indeed for the sump, hopefully segregated from the crankcase.
There is a vent (or something similar) far back on the right side case, and outboard the countershaft sprocket. (Crankcase/sump vent?) There appears to be a "thread-in type filler cap forward of that, just inboard of the kicker. The nest of gears, which Kevin M. has said is pretty much the same as the current 5-speed package, appears to be in a segregated, although contiguous case (Unit construction) with the main package, and that having the traditional vertical split. (Yeah!).
That primary drive is indeed chain, and that with its proprietary case also, but that clutch pack looks to be a whole lot fatter.
I think overall, the entire lower case package looks to be a little fatter.
If they did what I think they did with the oils, I'll buy one.
Sorry to ramble here people, it's my marine surveying background.
Here's one for the suggestion box. Why don't they offer, in the forum, an "Ask Kevin" segment? Or whoever. A rumour mill alleviator?
Just a thought anyway.
SteveJay