SPEED TRIALS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 31 August 1929, Page 14

SPEED TRIALS.

INFLUENCE ON DESIGN,

Whenever fatal accidents happen in motor cycle racing, motor car racing or flying, or in any new pursuit, one is inclined to ask'whether the progress made is iworth the cost in lives. If we take the world’s greatest motor cycle speed tests, the English Tourist Trophy races, which were first held in 1907, it is fairly obvious that the progress made in the production of the really safe and fast motor-cycle has saved far more lives than have been lost in these races. The 1907 race was won at 38 m.p.k., the 1911 race, in the practising for which the first fatality occurred, was won at about 50 m.p.h., while this year the senior was won by Dodson on a Sunbeam at '72 m.p.h. The proportion of fatalities, or casualties of any kind, has not gone up, although the speed has nearly doubled. There is no doubt, whatever ithat. the Tourist. Trophy races and similar competitions have increased the safety as well as the speed of the motor cycle more than anything else has done. To come down to details, the same pair of tyres on the “ Velo-cette” which won the Junior T.T. and came in sixth in the Senior race were .practically unworn; and the rest of the machines were in extraordinarily good condition.

The stopping power of the brakes, road-holding at all speeds and acceleration. all of which make for safety, have been improved enormously. Chains, sparking plugs, springs, and so forth are all subjected to the severest stresses in these road races. In a few hours they are put to a strain they would not be subjected to in a year’s ordinary riding and the lessons learned In- the manufacturer are passed on to the public in the shape of stronger, faster, and better motor cycles and components. The tendency of recent years has been more and more to make the racing machine of to-day the touring machine of to-morrow. 'The fact that practically standard machines arc raced’ is conclusive proof of this tendenev.

It is interesting .to trace exactly hoiw this happens. 'Such a very “touring” attribute as comfort would not appear to have much to do with racing, but it is to racing that we can trace the improved tyres, saddles, springing and riding position of modern machines. The reason is not hard to see, for what, is merely discomfort at touring speeds spells danger at. racing speeds. It is the same with road-holding, steering and reliability of engine and cycle parts. The strains imposed by a race such as the T.T. seek out the weak parts, and it is by providing a margin of strength in respects of Ibigger bearing surfaces, webbed steering beads and crankcases, braced forks, etc., that reliability is obtained. The tourist points out that he decs not use high speeds and therefore docs not need such a fast or heavy machine as the T.T. produces. A machine is reliable when it is running well within its capabilities. That is why an 80 m.p.h. machine, designed on T.T. experience gives more reliable service to an ordinary road user than a 40 m.p.h. lightweight iWliicli is driven much nearer its maximum speed. As for weight, it is a well-known fact that for ordinary road work it helps stability and road-j holding, besides ensuring that all the components have an ample margin of strength for their work.