MOTOR-CYCLING

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22656, 10 March 1939, Page 16

MOTOR-CYCLING

CANTERBURY AUTO-CYCLE CLUB Fixtures March 18 —Novelty event. March 18 —Speedway evening, Monica Park. March 30 —Theatre party. Between 30 and 40 members made the trip last Saturday to Timaru, where a very enjoyable week-end was spent. On Sunday morning the visitors were the guests of the South Canterbury Club at a run to Pleasant Point, where a miniature trial was held. On Saturday evening, March 18, a series of races will be held at Monica Park. Intending competitors are as k® to place their entries with the motor shops immediately. , . . With only a fortnight to closing date for entries for the New Zealand Grand Prix. intending riders are busy tuning their machines. The introduction ot the shorter distance for the handicap race is being received very favourably by the owners of standard machines, as they will now have a better chance of being in the prize money. The course has been receiving much attention, and by Easter should be m excellent condition for high speeds. Working bees will be held at the course every Sunday up to the day of the race. Entries to date are D. Blackwell, A. Smith. G. Jennings, and S. Jones.

CORSAIR CLUB

For this week-end a social run will be held to the Ku Ku Pass. Members are advised to follow the main road through North Loburn past the school to Whiterock, and then turn right to the bridge over the Karetu river, where a stop will be made for lunch. In the afternoon a run will be made to the Ku Ku Pass, four miles farther on. , A party of riders will leave the depot at 9.30 a.m. on Sunday and proceed under the control of the club captain to the destination.

PIONEER MOTOR CLUB Fixtures. To-morrow, 2 p.m.—South Island beach championship meeting. March 19—Motor Sunday. Some well-known Tiders will contest the South Island beach championship at New Brighton (central) tomorrow afternoon. The presence of several new racing machines will also add great interest to the occasion. The 21mile race will provide an excellent opportunity for really fast riding, and some outstanding times are anticipated by the club. In addition to the main event, a supporting programme of exceptional importance has been arranged as follows: —Six mile open handicap, 350 c.c. club championship, and a 12-mile New Brighton handicap. Post entries will be accepted for these events. At a reunion of past and present members held last Tuesday evening, arrangements for the club’s participation in the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Pioneer Amateur Sports Club were discussed, and further announcements regarding them will be made in the coming week.

WHEN HEADLIGHTS FAIL

Motorists should remember that the traffic regulations require two headlamps in working order when driving at night, yet often cars are seen on the' roads with only one headlamp working. When the good lamp is on the near side, progress can be dangerous because approaching motorists can easily mistake the vehicle for a motor-cycle from its one lamp, and hit the unilluminated side of the “oneeyed” car. For this reason, spare headlamp bulbs should be a part of the tool kit, but when an owner is caught with one burned out, bu\b and no spares, there is a simple tip that is worth remembering. Practically all cars of to-day are fitted with double filament bulbs, one filament for the “high” beam and the other for the dipped beam. It is very rarely indeed that both filaments bum out, the fault generally being confined to the one mostly used—that of the “high” or-driving beam. Therefore, to restore two headlights, it is only necessary to dip the lights when the other filament will come into action. Naturally, the driving light will not be so good, but it will be quite good enough for travelling' at a reduced speed, while the owner will be within the law until a new bulb can be obtained. Unfortunately, of course, a burnt out lamp bulb is usually caused by some fault in the wiring. Before a new bulb is fitted, therefore, a careful examination of the wiring to that lamp must be made. However, it is possible for the fault to be caused by old age and fatigue of the lamp filament.

LOST HUB PLATES

The hub plates which conceal the fixing bolts of the road wheels, in the majority of cases are secured in place by a simple bayonet catch, but in some cars a central holding screw is used. While these rarely give trouble, there have been cases of the plates being lost simply because they generate a flvwheel effect, spin in relation to the wheels to which they are fitted, and unwind the holding screws. When this trouble occurs, perhaps the simplest remedy is to have small dowel pins fitted in the edges of each wheel hub, and in the edge of each hub plate file a groove to engage with the dowel. By this means, the plate is prevented from turning, and there should not be any more trouble with lost hub plates. The trouble described usually only occurs on the near side of a car, and is induced by the sudden retardation of the wheels under braking, inertia forces tending to make the plates keep spinning.

The authorities of the Golden Gate International Exhibition, which opened at San Francisco recently, have budgeted on 2,600,000 motoring tourists travelling in some 900,000 cars from other states visiting the great fair dur-