One of the earliest 1000cc Square Fours

[Steven.Carter]

Bet you're glad you found that problem.

Steve

[paul.jameson]

Remarkably, Simon, the noise level has changed little although it obviously sounds better (ie smoother) now. These engines are not terribly quiet anyway and my coupling gears have seen a lot of previous use. One really odd thing, before we found the problem, was that the left side exhaust gases were hot while the right side ones were not. The rocker box lid problem was on the right, but the worst oiled plug was left front.

Yes, Steve, I am very glad to have found this one.

[paul.jameson]

Sometimes, you are lucky.

Yesterday was the Dambusters Run 2016 around the WWII airfields of Lincolnshire. Having lived in that County for 17 years, it seemed a good first run for the Square. So she was entered, somewhat before completion. After Stafford, the task of sorting the bike out began in earnest. It quickly became evident that, apart from the misfire previously described, the bike had a tendency to leak oil - in large quantities. So it was that last week I stripped down the primary side, took off the coupling gear cover, and fitted the crankshaft bearing oil seal as recommended by CW Waller. A 30 mile test ride demonstrated vastly reduced oil consumption and a much cleaner back end of the bike.
So of to Lincolnshire we went, cheating somewhat by trailering the bike there. But on Saturday morning, off we went, Maggie on the pillion, to solve the remaining clues relating to the various airfields. We visited Fiskerton, Bardney, Woodhall Spa and Coningsby before meeting up with son Rob and his wife Dawn at East Kirkby. As the bike was going well, we left them to go up the Bluestone Heath road to Ludford Magna airfield. This road is perhaps the best demonstration that Lincolnshire is not all treeless flat lands but it did, yesterday, receive the benefit of a northerly wind across the North Sea. Maggie became cold, despite some high quality Hein Gericke clothing. So we returned to Lincoln and I proceeded alone after that. Scampton, Hemswell and Blyton airfields were visited and the questions on the sheet answered. Then it was back to Lincoln, pick Maggie up and on to the Dambusters Inn in Scampton for the evening.

Having lived in Lincolnshire for many years and ridden a 1948 4G extensively then, I have to say I prefer the handling of the 1936 girder fork version. On roads I knew well with the 1948 model, the 1936 one gave much more confidence on the bends. So much for progress and telescopic forks. There were complaints about the comfort of the pillion seat / flapper bracket though.

I put about half a litre of oil into the tank at the half way point but the oil consumption declined steadily as mileage was covered. Total for the day was about 160, bringing mileage to date up to 286. The bike goes well, is smooth, and has some serious acceleration if needed ( like all Squares). Even the brakes work well.

So back home we came today, bike on trailer. On arrival, I notice that the (1930s) mirror bracket had failed and the (much later) mirror, plus bracket, was retained only by the choke cable. There was no damage to the petrol tank or paintwork.

Sometimes, you are lucky.

[paul.jameson]

I had an excuse today to give the Square some exercise as I needed to deliver a refurbished PA Speedo to Abergavenny. The B4521 from just north of Ross-on-Wye to Abergavenny is one of those roads where you can enjoy the handling of a bike. I always had problems with my old 1948 tele/rigid 4G when solo because I never felt it would go down into the bends as I wished it to. somehow, it always felt too upright - a bit like riding a bike with a bad pillion passenger. (With sidecar fitted it was great, incidentally.)
So my thoughts on the 1936 4G were very much those of being interested to see whether girder forks made a difference to the handling. After today's ride, I have to wonder why Ariel went for telescopic forks. The 4G steers every bit as well as the Red Hunter and will go over in the bends every bit as far as one could wish. The whole riding experience is without effort to get down in the corners - just as it should be. Obviously, when you hit a bump, things bounce about, but it is with the certainty of where you will end up characteristic of a rigid / girder Red Hunter instead of the interesting question posed by later Square Fours.
I had a great ride today - but she did use a bit of oil, mainly coming out through the breather. We are now on 369 miles since rebuild so there is little time left for the rings to bed in. Perhaps the pistons (which came out of my 1948 4G about 20 years ago) were worn out after all. Meanwhile, oil is cheap and the bike seems to be going like stink.

[Steven.Carter]

I'm guessing that Ariel had to go telescopic. All the other manufacturers were changing to them and couldn't be left out.
It would be fun though to design the perfect Ariel today. I'd agree with girders, and also that lovely clip that holds the headlight rim in the shell. Much easier to deal with then a nacelle. I wonder what year could be described as the perfect Ariel year? Maybe 1936

Steve

[wade.edwards]

Love looking at your pictures, Paul. Certainly this model is one of the most attractive motorcycles ever made and your green one is over the top!

[Leejm]

Great work Paul, and I'm starting to think I need a four in my life too.

[malcolm.johnson]

Found myself at a loose end today and filled the time reading All the posts on your 4G Paul. Glad I did, as it has rekindled my interest in my first Ariel which is a 1947 rigid/teles 4G that has sat under a dustsheet since I last rode it in October 2014. Like you I had done a full restoration over 2 years and covered 460 miles after finishing, but plagued by a bad misfire, leaks, overheating and one breakdown, I lost faith and then interest and returned to my BSA`s. The short amount of riding I did when it was running well, gave me a big grin and the bike certainly drew a crowd when stationary. Your posts have given me a new impetus to lift the dustsheet and to solve the problems and look forward to posting a picture of it (if I can work out how to do that). Your bike is lovely Paul - very well done.

[paul.jameson]

Towards the end of last year, the Square developed a habit of leaking oil. So I spent quite a bit of time on it over the winter, attending to where I thought the oil was coming out. I have had little chance to use it so far this year (the KH doing most of the work so far, purely because it has rear suspension) but every time I have taken the Square out, the main oil leak has persisted. I finally tracked this down to the end cap on the front crank offside. This was a new old stock item complete with new old stock gasket. I tried tightening it. I tried removing it, cleaning off, giving the mating faces a coat of silicone and reassembling. I tried tightening again, which improved things. I tried cleaning off with thinners, giving the mating faces a coat of blue hylomar, reassembling and leaving for a week to let the solvents escape. Still the oil came out.

So this afternoon I rode it home in disgust, took the new old stock end cap and gasket off and replaced them with new Draganfly supplied items - without even bothering to clean off the remains of the blue hylomar from the previous attempt. Not only did the bike survive the 10 mile test trip without leaking but it also managed the 60 mile round trip to the Sidevalve rally site without leaking.

At the Rally site I met Roger Gwynn of Draganfly, so I congratulated him on the excellence of these products. I am only too well aware of those who are quick to criticise Draganfly products, sometimes due to their own ineptitude in fitting such products, so I thought it only right to give praise where praise is due. Roger explained that the original crankshaft end caps are made of Mazak, which has a habit of deteriorating with age. Hence the new old stock old cap was simply unable to hold the gasket well enough for it to maintain a seal. Draganfly's new caps are made from a more stable alloy. They work.

Well done Draganfly !

[simon.holyfield]

Roger explained that the original crankshaft end caps are made of Mazak, which has a habit of deteriorating with age. Hence the new old stock old cap was simply unable to hold the gasket well enough for it to maintain a seal. Draganfly's new caps are made from a more stable alloy. They work.

Well done Draganfly !

I have one on my Four. Fits, doesn't leak, looks great and doesn't cost a fortune.