MOTOR-CYCLING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19221, 9 January 1926, Page 12 (Supplement)

MOTOR-CYCLING.

192G PRODUCTIONS. For the most part, unknown to the general buying public, the prices they will pay and the value they will get in theirnew season'si mounts is already decided! for them at the big American and English shows held toward the end of each year in one of the principal cities of e.'ich country. As practically the whole of our motor-cycles come from these two countries, the happenings there in the ; matter of design and price are reflected a I little later in our market, j American Production. I On the American side, the trend has I been toward following the English manu- ■ facturer by offering a light single 2J h.p. machine as well as a big heavy twin so typical of the American. A novelty peculiar to the American side by side valve type of motor is the detachable head which may be removed in a short space of time, leaving the valves and piston exposed for any attentions such as cleaning. In their 'two big twins no radical alterations have been made, but balloon tyres have been practically standardised, ■ while comfort and appearance have been j given deep consideration. British Advance. On the opposite side of the Atlantic, great steps have been made during the year in the matter of design—2J h.p. side valve machines being offered complete at a very nominal price, whilo one of these, completely equipped, has already been officially timed over a mile at Brooklands at over 70 m.p.h. The wonderful advance here can be understood when it is borno j in mind that at the beginning of 1925 J a 2J h.p. side valve machine that aver- ! aged 50 m.p.h. over a mile, even when stripped and lightened, was considered a very nippy machine. Turning to the overhead valve typo —- a typo that the Englishman has specialised j in, one finds that during the year one , of these had actually been brought to such a stage of efficiency as to be able, for the first time in history, to exceed 100 m.p.h. That such performances are of vital interest to the average motorcyclist is proved by the fact that, two years ago, an overhead valve machine was considered a freak only and not adaptable to road work, whereas, to-day, almost every British machine lists an overhead-valve model. It is regrettable that, with no American motor-cycling' body affiliated to the International Federation of Motorcyclists, records established in America are not officially recognised by the International body, with the result that the list of world's records as tabulated by the Federation does not. include those claimed to be made in America. It is apparent, however, . that' in the matter of big twins the Americans are in. no ways behind the Englishman in high speeds, both makes having covered with a big twin over 100 miles in the hour. In the small machine, however, the Englishman, in the matter of speed, is far and away in the lead, having as previously stated, actually averaged over 100 m.p.h. with a 2£ h.p. machine and 105 m.p.h. with a h.p.. machine. Turning to local performances and conditions, one finds machines offerad at £BS or so, in January of 1925, being listed complete with improvements at about £6O at the present time. NOTES. Motor-cycle races will be held by the Manawatu Club on January 23. There are 120,000 workmen employed in Britain in the motor-cycle industry.' Eighty per cent, of the world's records are held by British-made motor-cycles. Builtr in 1865, the "Boneshaker" had a "'twist-grip control" to the rear brake. Motor-cyclists contribute over one and a-half million pounds annually in taxation in Great Britain.' Should ond button not lift the throttle sufficiently, two may be used, one being placed on top of the other. The next race meeting to be held under the auspices of the Auckland Motor Racing Club, will be run on the Takapunn course on March 6. An English motor-cycle firm, manufacturing three powers, 2£ h.p. 2-J h.p. and 7 h.p., advise that the proportionate demand for these is approximately as follows: 2i h.p., 57 per cent; 2J h.p., 40 per cent; 7 h.p., 3 per cent. Long-distance racing constitutes one of the most vigorous tests of reliability in existence. Two hundred miles on the track will show up the faults, not apparent after two thousand on the road. : Again and again, long-distance races have shown that victory is not necessarily for the fastest machine, but rather the machine with a fair turn of speed, backed up by unfailing reliability. Should the throttle wire, of the B. and B. carburetter break, there is no need to. stop and change the wires, or have the original cable repaired, if one's destination be reasonably near* A very simple got-yon-home scheme is to a trouser button under the throttle slide. This holds the slide open and allows the plunger needle to project through one of the holes in the button. The exhaust lifter is, of course, used when it is -desired to stop. The following extract from an English motor-cycle paper, applies equally to Auckland and a lesson could well be learned from it by local riders. "In a recent case a motor-cyclist, charged in court with travelling at 35-40 m.p.h., replied to the magistrate that he estimated his speed at 6 m.p.h. • This practice is rather too frequently employed, we think, with a mistaken idea of influencing the powers that be. Such influence, however, borders on the ridiculous, and when a further statement in the case outlined was made to the effect that the motorcyclist proceeded 23 yards with his rear wheel locked, the case was, of course, considered proved. In some instances there is no doubt that the police estimate of speed is on the generous side, but to counteract that by stating an absurdly small speed lays the defendant open to derision."