Great shots of some lovely bikes, well done all of you.

Bob.

Does it use grease?

My 1931 Sturmey Archer LS gearbox uses a heavy oil.
I just bought 3 kilos of EP00 'slumping oil' from Smith and Allan:

20250812_121847.jpg

The 'LS' has a fill/level plug in line with the kick-start shaft, but the box is mounted level in the Panther, yours has the appearance ...

Wow!, that would be a nice ride.

Bob

Interesting ABSAF motor, what sort of BHP does the 500cc version produce?
I had a 1959 AJS model 16 (Sceptre) that produced 16bhp, supposedly. The 500 model was rated at 18bhp.
I put a 500 top-end on my bike, it made a deeper note but still wouldn't keep up with the traffic!

Bob.

From memory (it was a long time ago), the sludge traps had something in them but were nowhere full.

The motor was spotless inside when I started and with regular oil changes it stayed that way.

It had new 7.2:1 pistons in new liners, so minimal blow-by.

I sold it in 1973 after moving from my ...

Why would anyone run a SQ4 without a filter?


If I had a Square Four today, it would have a filter.

But, back in 1968 when I started restoring the £10 basket case I had bought such things were not the norm.

Oils were different as well. I ran it on Castrol Grand Prix - straight 50. That got ...

Where would the liberated sludge go -apart from the centrifugal sludge traps??
These then fill up and block the oil ways to the big ends !!

I used to change the oil every 1,000 miles and strip the motor annually (c. 20,000 miles PA back then).

Bob.

Slightly related - does the 'members list' show both club and forum members?

I thought it only showed Club members (but I have been known to be wrong).

Bob.

My mistake, apologies.

Bob.

Another interesting thing was the light blue paint on the top surface of the ES-2's gas tank (between the International and the purple Commando). It was a 1952 or '53 so the blue may be to celebrate Elizabeth II's coronation like the light blue Ariels. Anyone know for sure?


Err, it looks like a ...