New to AJS and classic bikes, any advice appreciated.

[Gibbo]

Hello,
I've recently bought a tidy AJS 31 which runs well. I've have changed all oils and cleaned the filters, but am unsure about a " sludge trap".
Does my bike have this? If so, any advice on how to go about cleaning it would be greatly appreciated, also any other tips or pearls of wisdom about owning and maintaining a 31 would be marvellous.

Kind regards

Andy Gibbon

[Rob Harknett]

Instruction book, workshop manual & parts lists. I assume you got those first of all, so have used the correct oil. If the engine has been using correct oil and you have now used detergent oil, you may find a lot of sludge being loosened and blocking oil ways. the workshop manual will answer and show you the way, as to sludge tap etc. Which you should has sorted out before putting new oil in.

Every new bike was supplied with an Instruction book. This vital part is usually missing when you buy a S/H bike.

[Duncan]

Andy

The sludge trap consists of two screw plugged drillings on either side of the crankshaft so it would be a full engine strip if you feel the need to investigate.

[clive]

Andy

The sludge trap consists of two screw plugged drillings on either side of the crankshaft so it would be a full engine strip if you feel the need to investigate.

Wait until you need to split the crankcases, Duncan is playing Devil's advocate. If you feel the need to investigate you may as well take the bike off the road while you check every thing. Ride, enjoy and fix the faults as they appear!

[Gibbo]

Thanks Duncan and Clive.
My approach is definitely ride it and fix things if they need fixing. In fact I went out for what turned out being a 100+ miles last weekend on a first proper run (tool bag tied to the seat!) and except for a little bit of oil leaking from the primary chain case she ran sweet as a nut.
Cheers
Andy

[Gibbo]

Thanks Rob,
I've got the instruction book and parts list. Could you advise where I could get the workshop manual?
I have used the correct oils, so should be ok.
Cheers

[SPRIDDLER]

Welcome, Andy.
It's a real treat to read of a new owner who can tell us how well the bike is running, rather than a list of woes !!

The workshop manual can be found here:
http://archives.jampot.dk/book/

plus masses of historical and technical info and articles about AMC on that site's Home page here:
http://archives.jampot.dk/

[Gibbo]

Welcome, Andy.
It's a real treat to read of a new owner who can tell us how well the bike is running, rather than a list of woes !!

The workshop manual can be found here:
http://archives.jampot.dk/book/

plus masses of historical and technical info and articles about AMC on that site's Home page here:
http://archives.jampot.dk/

Thanks for the links. More things to read
Going to be doing much more riding than reading though, so might never get to all of them

Andy