After some 3000 km, this mid-drive motor is grossly overdue for some maintenance. I can see the specks of eroded metal mixed in the dark, gunky remains of whatever factory grease they used in here.
I don’t know where locally to get the Mobilegrease 28 that everyone recommends, but I did find some high-temp white lithium from the auto store. But just removing the old grease has already consumed half a roll of paper towel. And I can’t exactly dunk a motor into gasoline as degreaser.
I’ll carry on wiping.
When they stuff it full of new grease any gas that didn’t evaporate will be pushed out.
They will be fine.
Inside a gasket-sealed motor housing, gasoline that remains stuck inside would have nowhere to evaporate to, and would dissolve and interact with the new grease. Plus, stuffing a motor housing full of grease would be more relevant for marine applications, where the grease keeps water out. But in a land vehicle, the grease just needs to coat the moving parts for lubrication. A correctly-chosen grease won’t fling off the gears at high RPM.