If my unit is holding a gear, can I recycle a card to equip it to another unit even if they don't have weapon master?

No — not while it's already attached to another unit.

When a gear is attached, its printed Rules Text (including the Equip ability) becomes Inactive (Rules 135.4, 718.2). Inactive abilities "cannot be activated" (Rule 721.2). So the Equip cost that includes "Recycle 2 from your trash" is unavailable — you can't pay it to move the gear directly.

The only built-in exception is Weaponmaster, which is specifically allowed to reference an attached gear's Inactive Equip ability (Rule 725.3) and transfer it.

How you can do it without Weaponmaster:

1. Let the unit die — unattached gear at a battlefield gets Recalled to your Base during the next Cleanup (Rule 452.1). Once it's back at your Base unattached, its Rules Text becomes Active again, and you can activate the Equip ability normally (paying the recycle + power cost) to attach it to a different unit.

2. Play it fresh — if the gear is in your hand or at your Base unattached, you can activate its Equip ability right away. For Last Rites, that means paying [C] and recycling 2 cards from your trash to attach it to the unit you want.