Hi,
I am trying to find out just what LFZ and LFY prefix engines were about, and information seems to be VERY thin on the ground. All I read just says approx. 1934 long-stroke, non-detachable head Flying Squirrel. Now earlier long-stroke engines were of course the much better known RZ,RY,PZ, and PY prefix type, ie. the “Powerplus” engine, which morphed into the DPZ/DPY detachable cylinder head Powerplus type.
So how do the LFZ and LFY engines fit into the equation ? Were they less “tuned” than the Powerplus ? – and if so, WHY ? Did they have cylinder-wall oiling connections like the blindhead Powerplus engines ? If not, I would expect to have seen long-stroke blindhead barrels without provision for cylinder-wall oiling, but I don’t remember ever seeing one….
Looking in the factory ledgers is of no real help because usually, engine number prefixes are not shown, something that has vexed my enquiries a few times ! I wonder how many LFZ/LFY engines were built. Probably not many at all, because production figures for most of the 1930’s were very low. Perhaps they were originally intended for non-motorcycle use, maybe for stationary engines, but escaped into bikes when the factory were even more desperate than usual.
All comments gratefully received as this topic is something of a void in my research material for the book.
Brian
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