KX 85 dirty oil

[flynorange]

New to us 08 KX85. New the guy that had it before us and his kid was a hard rider. They take excellent care of their equipment. We get the bike and i notice the oil turns pretty black after a few motos. My kid is use to hammering the clutch on his 65 yet the oil always looked new for a long time through the sight glass. Wondering if the 85 is due for a clutch? Just gettting thoughts before i tear it apart. Is this normal for the 85's oil to turn black quickly. i'm nervous about this and change the oil after every 2nd moto until i fix it. Running amsoil this isn't cheap. What tranny oil are others using. Aside of this the bike is excellent and the kid loves it. any other tuning info would be great!

[hughes]

Sounds like you need a new clutch fiber and drive plates. I would use the steel drive plates. I'm a big fan of ATF Type F in the gear box.

[flynorange]

Thank you. I'll have to say I'm floored on the fact of using ATF fluid, didn't know it was possible or that it would hold up. We used it in our 50's but always felt the gears of the bigger bikes needed the different oil. I've used regular motor oil for years but not ATF. Have you noticed any any difference in clutch life or shift drums/gears using ATF? This is major for me as I'm one who changes the oil after every ride or practice and will save me huge in oil cost! Just afraid of making the change from something I've done for so long and haven't had any major failures in doing it yet always willing to try something different if it saves some bucks. I appriciate the info and sounds like new clutch fibers will be on the way.

Thanks again