Cycling and Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 2980, 26 April 1911, Page 59

Cycling and Motor Notes

BY DEMON.

Mr Maedonald, of Timaru, -was in Dunedin last week with his 15 h.p. StrakerSquire car. Mr Macdcnald toured through to Invercargilh but on the return trip ho trucked th© car over itho Gore-Clinton section owing to the rough c< ndition of the roads.

' —— Mr Hag.gitt, of Tnvorcargill, was a. visitor to Dunedin. during Easter. He d;ov© his Ford car through, and used it during his fitay in this city. The purchase of Overland cars in Canterbury has been extraordinary. £14,460 worth of orders for these cars has been booked in two months. Model 46, Vrith a two-seated torpedo body and a 20 h.p. engine, has taken the fancy of some of the Canterbury doctors, > amongst whom are Dr Norman, of Amberley, Dr Drake, and Dr Simpson. Mr H. Wimpenny toured through to Lake Manapouri at Easter on the firms model 42 Overland car. "With a full complement of passengers and camping outfit, th© car left the garage in Dunedin at 6.15 a.m., and arrived at Lake Manapouri at 6.45 p.m. the same day. Had this been a scaled bonnet contest the Overland would have scoped full marks, as the bonnet was not lifted! after leaving Dunedin until arrival at Lake Manapouri. The run back was equally free from the slightest trouble. Th© roads are at present a most severe tast for any car, and the neirforniance of the Overland under these trying conditions sneaks well for the constructional details and material i Mr W. Newlands has purchased a Regal car from Messrs Wimpenny Bros. This is the small car previously owned by Mr "W. T. M'Farlane, of Musselburgh. i Mr P. R. Sargcod has just landed a 38 h.p. Maudssley car. The body work has been specially constructed to Mr Sargood's design, and ha* a very neat appear- ' anc©. The coachpaiuting is laminated with two shades of green. i Judging from what has already been j mad© public of the difference at present | existing between the Christchureh Cycling and Mater Club and the N.C. Centre, it would app.sar to the lookor-on that it is most desirable that an impartial and search- j ing investigation into ' the cause of this i trouble should be held by th© chief | controlling authorities (says Christchuurch Spectator,) So far the club appears to have a very genuine Grievance, and it is well within its rights in asking j that an inquiry by a responsible and im- J partial tribunal should b© held. Why the centre should endeavour to stifle such inquiry is beyond understanding, and only tends to strengthen the attitude the club has taken up. Mr Liebius Hord.srin (brother to Messrs Sam and Anthony Hordern) has landed in Sydney the chassis of his 90 h.p. car, and the body will be built locally. The car will be the fastest in Australasia, and is to have a specially light, two-seater body fitted. Mr Hordern has intimated his intention of making an attempt to lower the Sydney to Melbourne record at some future date im his new racer.

The craze for light-weight cycles eeems now to be a thing of the post. What is required of the machine of to-day is efficiency. This, duality may be said to

be the ability of any machine or appliance to perform the task for which it is intended, with the highest possible degree of satisfaction and economy of labour. As applied to cycles, it may be taken to mean the attainment of the best possible results with the least expenditure of force; or, in other words, the direct utilisation of the maximum percentage of th© energy applied, with the minimum percentage of waste. This being the great end to which th© maker's efforts should be directed, lightness cam only be considered as one of the many contributing factors towards this end. F or the last 13 years the record by cycle from Fremantle to Coolgardie has stood to the credit of Frank White, the oldtime transcontinental cyclist, who occupied 4 days 13£ hours on the journey. This has now been completely eclipsed by Fred White (the youngest of the White brothers), who has reduced the time to 3 days 10i hours, thus beating his brother's performance by 16g hours. Many motorists accept the jolting of their cars as a necessary evil, apparently unaware that the worst tof it at least can be eliminated by the us© of shock-absorb-ing devices. The springing of cars has undergone much improvement in late years; still, the fact remains that they require some added means to check the rebound, which is usually the cause of much of the motorist's distress, both physically and financially. It is a fact that the first time many car users begin to appreciate the difference made by at least a partial reduction of the rebound is when the reax seats of their cars contain more or heavier passengers than is their usual complement. Th© added weight of itself adds a degree to that comfort which is obtainable by the us© of frhock-absofberi ait all times, and which teldom fails to excite remark. The thoroughly servioeabla motor spring should

possess two essential qualities in due proportion—resistance and resilience. -—: A number of amusing instances of claims made against motor insuring companies were (says the Autocar) detailed byMr George Dea.3, C.A., to the members of the Insurance Society of Edinburgh. DiffsiTcat months of the year, he said, have their distinctive claims. In August cyclists spend most of their time colliding with motors. Curiously enough:, the cyclists are very seldom hurt. In spring the sandwichman ia the streets delight to encounter cars. When hit they go rolling over and over inside their sandwich boa.rds, the car knocking at the outside more to the discomfort oT the driver than to the man inside. During the autumn months the skidding of cars on greasy streets is the chief cauee of claims, A COLONIAL UTILITY CAR. A num/ber of very interesting cars are being built in Scotland to the specification of an Australian land-owner, Mr Cotton, by Messrs Eennie and Prosser, of Glasgow. The Cotton car is a cross between a pleasure car and an agricultural motor. It is high built, having 15in road clearance, and magneto and carburetter are so disposed as to allow of a 3ft stream beinig forded without affecting the engine. The latter is a. 24 h.p. White and Poppe, with overhead drive for the magneto, which is placed in a case on the dash. Athwart the frame and in front of the radiator is a winch, worm driien from the shaft. One hundred yards of specially flexible wire rope is wound on the barrel, and enables the ca-r to wind itself out of soft places or up excessively steep banks. It can also be used for hoisting purposes, and it should be noticed that, driven from the rear of the gearbox, both winch and pulley have the 1 advantage of the three speeds and reverse.

The tyres are 920 mm by 120 mm, and the wheel base is 9ft lOin. The normal speeds are 10, 20, and 25 miles per hour, and equipper with a two-seated body, hood, screen, and rear folding seats, the car looks very smart. Extra large fuel and oil tanks are fitted", and all lighting is by a O.A.V. dynamo. Six car® are now in commission, and giving every satisfaction, the aeventh being despatched last week. It is the intention of the designer to market the car in South Africa and the Argentine «nd other countries where roads are few or non-existent. MOTOR CYCLE VERSUS AUTOMOBILE. In Georgia, U.S.A., there has just taken place a 135 miles race between an "Indian" motor bioycle and an automobile. The former won by 14min, and it' was no kid glove affair, if the newspaper reports present an unvarnished tale. We are told that the motor cyclist rode 21 miles in 40min in the dark, and would apparently have increased his mileage had it not been that he cannoned through a barged wire fence, arid then* picking himself up, encountered a pig, and, we are told l , lost a pedal. No reference is mado as to what the pig lost. Further on collision with a railroad rail buckled one wheel. In spite of all these adversities, the motor cyclist outpaced the motor car, though the latter had only one adventure, and that was a collision with a cow.

MOTOR BICYCLE EXPLODES. A somewhat unusual outbreak of fire took place at a house in Hobart occupied by Mr Ohlsen. The Rev. H. Feblberg, the pastor of the German Church in Hobart, was putting a motor bicycle in order, and, after cleaning it, was in the saddle endeavouring to start it, when if suddenly rburst into flames. The origin of the fire was a mystery to him, but it is thought possible that it may have been caused by the short-circuiting of the electric wires exploding the petrol. Mr Fehlberg was badly burnt about the hands and face, and suffered severe shock. Mrs Ohlsen was in the room at the time, the bicycle being between hor and the door. Terrified by the sudden outburst of flame, she made for the door in order to get out of the room, and scrambled over the bicycle, with the result that she was considerably burnt. The Fire Brigade was summoned, but the fire was put out by the inmates of the house before the brigade arrived upon the scene. 100,000 MILES WITH ONE CHAIN. There has been some controversy lately on the life of chains, and Mr Dugdale, of Hans Renold (Ltd.), sends a batch of remarkable records to the Irish Cyclist. In one case a chain has dome 13,000 miles, and is " stilt in quite good condition ; to another 14,400 miles have been covered, and the chain, which is unprotected, is •"good for another .6000 at least. Both (Aieee am rollers, but a block ohain, which

is still in use, has accomplished 18,828 miles.

These records, however, are quite eclipsed by that of a roller "which has done no fewer than 37,000, and is uncovered at that! While the palm is borne off by a chain protected by a gear case which, in round numbers, has worked its way through 100,000 miles! The name and address of the rider is given in each case. Mr Larrette, whose name is so well known to readers of the Athletic News, has had a chain in use for nine years, but he cannot give the mileage. Anyone who knows him, however, will be aware that it has not been allowed to rust in idleness. Mr Dugdale points out that it is rather hard to give the average life of the unprotected chain; conditions vary so much, and it is more often worn out with neglect during the time that the machine is put away, or from mal-adjustment, than from legitimate wear. Naturally, careful attention is necessary, if records of from 13,000 to 100,000 miles' wear are to be achieved. SOLID PETROL. —New Safety Product. — Man, ever- ingenious, is constantly producing something to benefit hia race, and, as has often been said, the future of the world lies in the hands of the chemist in particular. The latest production ifrom the latter source of human intelligence is solidified petroleum. Petrol, petroleum, chloroform, and other volatile liquids are ranked amongst the danger fluids of the world's produce, so a German chemist (Dr V. Rosculetz) has produced a method of converting all highly evaporative liquids into a solid form. This is of itself interesting, because the solidifying has been performed as a mechanical rather than a chemical change. The spirits so converted do not alter their constitution, but are held in suspension, as it were, in a jelly. The process of conversion is-by means of stearic acid or similar fatty acids after undergoing prolonged treatment with a mineral acid, which is dissolved at a high temperature in the hydro-carbons, such as petroleum, etc., to be solidified, and the solution mixed with an alcoholic solution of caustic soda. After cooling, the hydrocarbon (petrol) is no longer a liquid, but forms a solid mass.

Recently a demonstration of this solidified petroleum was given in London to show its safety in handling and its uses in a variety of forms. In appearance this solid is like boiled starch, which seems to hold the petrol in its minute cells as honey is held in the honeycomb, for by squeezing a portion of the jelly one could, so to speak, wring petrol from it as water from a sponge. At the sarnie time the evaporation is as rapid as in the liquid; yet it is free from the spreading danger if lighted, so easily can it be blown out or the flame smothered. The reason of this is that it does not melt, but burns as a candle, and can be extinguished as easily. It is possible that in time, motorists may adopt solid petrol in place of liquid fuel,

as the change would reduce the bulk by 20 per cent., and no carburetter would be needed, sinoe solid petrol vaporises immediately on being subject to currents of air. But in the field of gas-lighting solid petrol appears to have its greatest future.