ATF as Gear Lube

[BDI]

i run only ..  30 wieght non synthtic moter oil  like,,valveoline  my trans looks perfect inside..  i have lots of these transmisions  apart  some of the gears in the k5 trans are not bushed like a car automatic there steel on steel .. i also use clutch kits that have steel plates,,,not aluimnium  like stock.. what does  factory kaw recomend 

 
   I'm now runing a factory clutch kit in my bike, they are supposedly the same guys that have been making the clutches for the Japan factories forever hence the name. The kit has kevlar fiber plates and steel metal plates with springs that take man strength to pull. I have chosen to go with with the trade off of weight and clutch hub life for a kit that will put up with the horse power. I think if you go buy stock stuff you will get aluminum plates.

[Hillclimb#42]

I personally also saw a heavy coating of carbon on top of piston.

are you contributing that to ATF in the gear box?
[/quote]
 
Naa. Obviously just rambling off symptoms that were odd. I put a hinson basket in it and new clutches and steels, ran with the magura hydraulic awhile ago, and its super smooth. It just had a weird failure while warming it up. Maybe coincidentally, shortly after changing to ATF, but I additionally had a bunch of stuff in there according to my mechanic, which seems odd with 20-25 hours of ride time. I had always ran 10w30 valvoline, until switching to ATF, which is the same price here, by the way.
 I can't make myself buy a case of oil thats 15 bucks a quart.( Synthetics) Maybe if it changed color when it needed changed after several hours of abuse. The problem is, you have to change frequently, to clear clutch fiber debris, check that the water pump seal is holding, and with my aftermarket crap to be sure theres oil in it. (No windows or check screws)  I don't know what caused the lock up or stuff in there. SUcked on the Timing, that I do know...

[jfabmotorsports.com]

Clutches of every material, needle bearing, roller bearing, shafts with bushings and shafts without bushing, and gears of all designs transmitting mind blowing HP in auto transmissions, all on ATF. 

[GREENKAW24]

Not too long ago I noticed a banshee at the races that had a see through clutch cover, and I asked my buddy that used to dirt track and road race if that was ATF in there (it was red), and he said "yeah, you don't use that?" I said no, I never though of it. He said he always used it in his motors for dirt track and road race, and told me why. Nevertheless, I started using it and it works great.

[pmskreta]

I guess I'm doing it wrong. Over a year ago, I put Redline Lightweight Shockproof gear oil in the trans of my 04 K5. I live in Vegas, primarilly ride the desert and race on occasion. It's been on the MX course too. It's never lost any fluid and it's barely discolored. I think this time I'll try the Redline 80W gear oil with shockproof. I'm becoming a fan of Redline more and more. I only use The Racing two-stroke oil for premix. It runs great!

[martinfan30]

i run only ..  30 wieght non synthtic moter oil  like,,valveoline  my trans looks perfect inside..  i have lots of these transmisions  apart  some of the gears in the k5 trans are not bushed like a car automatic there steel on steel .. i also use clutch kits that have steel plates,,,not aluimnium  like stock.. what does  factory kaw recomend 

A straight 30w, or multigrade?

[martinfan30]

Also, I went to a local dealer and told him the bike I have. He sold me some 85w BelRay Gear Saver tranny oil.

Good choice?

[shiggins37]

I joined the ATF club last week. Man it was nice spending $1.50 instead of $10. Call me cheap Hope it works well as I bought my bike used and have no idea how old the clutch is.

[shiggins37]

How long between oil changes would you guys suggest with the ATF I don't imagine it comes out much darker than when it goes in, so I know that won't be a good indicator for how often to change it.

[martinfan30]

I still do the 80wt thing but after many, many years of good luck with it I'm scared to try something else. My trany is a very expensive and trustworthy partner in my life. I don't feel the need to go experimenting with it. I can't recall ever losing a race and saying, d**n it if only I had different tranny oil.  I have conciderd using mobile one full synthetic gear oil like you would put in the rear diff of a car or truck but I'm not sure if it would be clutch compatible.I havn't even done the research It was one of those passing thoughts.

Yours is the only post in here I've found referencing 80 or 85w oil in the box. I was sold a quart or two of Bel-Ray 85w "gear-saver" oil as the "kind" for the KX5 box.

Any opinions on using this thick oil? I am going to try it this weekend.

[GDubb]

How long between oil changes would you guys suggest with the ATF I don't imagine it comes out much darker than when it goes in, so I know that won't be a good indicator for how often to change it.

The good thing about ATF is that its cheap and its not a big hit in the wallet every time you have to buy a quart so you can change it as much as you want. I would change it at least every 2 to 3 rides like I do with ANY gear oil in my bike but with the price of ATF I like to change it every other ride and sometimes even every ride.


-G

[Friar-Tuck]

 Martin,
 The gear oil you have is not the same as 80-90 diff lube. I will try to find a legit explanation and post up.
 It will appear to be the viscosity of atf or 10-40... Please stand by...
  Tuck\o/

       Oil viscosity Chart   http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/visc.html

   28pg white paper...  www.americas-oil.com/A%20Study%20of%20Motorcycle%20Oils%20White%20Pap... -

 when talking about "gear oil" they use different standards so a 80W gear oil ins not like a 80W motor oil ("ATF is in SAE motor viscosity) equivalent to a 10W20 oil. 80W gear oil (AGMA scale, ) translates into a 40W (10W-40 or 20W-40) SAE motor oil.")  The Bel-Ray isn't much thicker than ATF.

[KXcam22]

Tuck has it right.  The 85W sounds heavy but it does not use the same viscosity rating as motor oil.  I ran Bardahl 10W40 last year in my 450 trans and will be switching to ATF this year.  It's ironic that I used the same Bardahl in my minibike 37 years ago. Hmmm.  My KX500 shifted great with ATF and the clutch action was superior. On my new Tundra the ATF is supposed to stay in the trans for life. Thats tough! 

Martin,
  I would suggest using up the Belray you bought and then some trying ATF and forming your own opinion.  Cam.

[k5power]

Might sound like a stupid question but you guys think wal-mart would carry ATF? Picking up my bike tomorrow and from what everyones been saying in this post i dont see why not to run it.  At this price the oil will be changed every single ride no questions asked.  Oh and one more thing is ATF different than type F? While reading i was confused if it was a type of atf or

[GDubb]

It's both... The bottle will say ATF Type F.  Or if for some reason it only says Type F, then thats the same stuff. ATF just means Automatic Transmission Fluid.


-G