Redsquirrel,
I do not have an original manual for my 201, just a .pdf free printout. I just checked and it does call for oil on the gears.
However I used Tri-Flow grease on those gears and it's worked just fine. Other Singer manuals I've got specifically state to NOT use oil on the gears, but to use grease. It makes no sense to me for one machine manual to call for oil on the gears which will be flung off as they spin leaving them dry, and another machine manual to state not to use oil, but to use grease.
So, I used the T-F grease. So far, so good.
Joe