Honda gear oil black
 

I have recently bought a second hand Honda 2 HP motor which has
allegedly never been used. I filled the sump with the supplied honda
oil and I also decided to chech the gearbox oil, which was black in
colour. I've never seen this in an engine before and wondered if it was
maybe a certain type of oil for running in or have I just been had ?
The engine was certainly free of fuel and oil smells and it does
'smell' new when running.