Cycling And Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 3100, 13 August 1913, Page 56

Cycling And Motor Notes

B¥ DEMON.

| Attention is drawn to the notifioa- | lion appearing in another column that entries for the third Taranaki circular road ■ race, to be held on September 11 next, close with the secretary, New Plymouth, on Saturday, August 23. Tins race round Mount Kginout, starting and finishing at N ew Plymouth, is easily the most valuable in Australasia. In addition to the Britannia Tyre Challenge Cup, valued at lOOgs, £SO rash is allocated to the winner, £2O to the rider making the fastest time, while a further £6O odd in cash is divided among the place-getters, as well as six bicycles, sets of tyres, etc. —-—-A milkman in the North Island delivers liie goods per motor cycle and sidecarrier. Ho says the combination is as reliable and much faster than the horsedrawn vehicle. Christchurch cannot be I beaten, as it has many motor cycles and carriers in use, the latest of which is used for delivering sewing machines. During the course of at; inquiry into an application by the London County Council to have a speed limit imposed on motor cars between Hyde Park Corner and Vice tor hi Station, it was stated that 366 motor busts, 1800 motor cars and taxis, 570 j bicycles, and 990 homo-drawn vehicles passed | Hyde Park Corner in an hour. The police j witness stated that this was the busiest spot I for traffic in the world. Mixed Motor Items.—According to a I parlinmenary return furnished the House of j Commons in June, I hero are upwards of | 130,000 motor cyclists registered in the | United Kingdom.---The phrase ‘‘9o per cent. benzole ” is a scientific expression; but it I docs not mean a fuel containing SO per j cent, of pure benzole only, but a spirit 90 | per cent, of which distils at a temperature j of lOOdeg Centigrade.—South Africa has five ' motor cycle clubs, each with 100 members j or over; one, the Rand M.C.C., being 260 j strong. 'I lu re arc throe other clubs having | respectively, &0, 70, and 35 members. —In ;he j City of Springfield. Mass., no fewer than I 100 side-ears are in daily use, some being 1 utilised by tradesmen to carry their wares. 1 —ln an attempt to standardise the vari- | ous terms applied to motor vehicles, the Society of Automobile Engineers proposes that the phrase “ internal combustion ” bo discarded, and “ explosion ” be adopted. It would he in lino with " explosion motor ” used in Herman and French practice. A correspondent in the Autocar says he had an engine which, when run for any i length of time, persisted in popping back ! into the carburetter. Ho consulted the | makers and the local experts and mechanics j without obtaining a remedy; one and all i attributed it to insufficient petrol—too weak ; a mixture; but enrichment die! not provide I a remedy. The owner eventually overcame j the trouble himself by changing the plugs I for a set with a longer reach—projecting j further down into tho valve pocket. First he tried a mere change of plugs with the same reach, and this was useless; then lie tried the longer set, and tho cure was effected. Mr H, E. Smart Coulson, who is cycling round tho world, has arrived in Australia from Singapore by tho Paroo. Ho states that ho is making tho trip for a wager of £IOOO. Ho left Bombay on February 17, and cycled to Calcutta, where lie arrived on March 9. He then journeyed to Rangoon, and, after visiting Penang, j cycled through the Federated Malay States I as far as Kuala Lumpur. He then took j train for Johor Bahru, 15 miles north of Singapore, ns there were no roads. lie later crossed hy ferry to Woodlands, and 1 cycled into Singapore. A boat took him to

Java, and ho cycled from Batavia to Sourabaya. Before completing his journey Mr Oouleon will travel between 40,000 and 50,000 miles, and he has already covered 5530 miles. After leaving Australia ho will travel through America, Japan, and China; then from Manchuria to Siberia. After visiting St. Petersburg ho will go on to Germany, Austria, Italy, France, the British Isles, Africa, Egypt, and Ceylon, the termination of hig long ride. very ;mpo.rtant item on the programme of sport at the next Olympic Games, to bo held iu Berlin, is not being lost eight of in Australia, 'iho Cyclists’ Union, the body which governs amateur racing in New South Wales, has already set out to collect X/400, the sum necessary to enable two representatives, road and path cracks respectively, to be sent to Germany. The best amateurs of Europe and America will be :n attendance, and it is therefore only right that Australia should* be represented, seeing that some of the loading riders of the world at the present time, both amateur and professional, claim the Commonwealth as their birthplace. There are no fewer than --5 amateur c\ cling clubs in New South Wales, so it can be understood that the money required may yet be raised in that. Mate alone. Despite the fact that the scheme is a Sydney one. it is not intended “T representatives from Now South Wales alone; the two best riders in Australia are to bo chosen.

The owner-driver ponders the disadvantages of having no chauffeur when ho is inflating his tyres, and discovers that two or three of the tyro valves permit the air to whistle out almost as fast as the pump inject it. The remedy is usually obvious. Iho pin stem of the valve plunger has an inexplicable habit of becoming bent. Beyond question a pin that has nol boon seen or,handled for 2000 miles will suddenly bend. When bent, the pin may jam so that its mushroom head fails to seal the valve; or it may jam at a gentler angle, and simply prevent , the rubber head from bedding evenly into its seat; in either case the valve will leak, and pumping becomes valueless. It is not easy to true a pin plunger, and its cost is infinitesimal; a spare should be immediately fitted. If the pin bo straight and true and yet leak, the probability is that, over-zealous screwing down of the small inner valve cap has ground a minute fragment of rubber of! the washer, which reposes deep in the barrel of the cap. This fragment may have dropped into the valvo and bo jamming the pin, which has the same effect as a bent pin. The fragment should not be fished out with a pin, or the valve may bo further damaged. It is best to remove the valvo and screw its body (minus cap and plunger) on to tlie inflator. Two or three short, sudden strokes of the pump and the obstruction will fly out, after which the valve can bo reassembled and should prove airtight. from one “in the know’’ like Mr ,T. B. Clarkson, that there is a strong probability of motor-cycles being cheaper in the near future. Ho states that many of the large firms at Home are putting in enormous plants so that they will bo able to turn out an immense number of cycles per annum. It is anticipated that tho cost of production will be greatly lessoned, and this will bo helped by many firms specialising in different components, which will all help to bring the price down. When shall wo see a reliable £SO h.p. on tbe Now Zealand market?

it is claimed that congestion of traffic at difficult curves is avoided and collisions between cars are eliminated by a peculiar plan adopted at Redlands, (California. ft consists of a broad stripe of bright aluminium paint on the road surface with a guiding arrow at. each end, which plainly indicates, “Keep to the light” (the correct side to drive in America). This guiding lino runs down the centre of dangerously curved streets. In approaching a compound curve the driver of a swiftly moving vehicle has a tendency to take a straight course from kerb to kerb, instead of remaining on his own side of the road, and as this is likely to result in confusion where there is other traffic, the [dan of painted guide lines was hit upon as a remedy. This seems a good idea, and municipal authorities in New Zealand might take m*te of it.

Figures quoted in an American paper giving the output of a certain make of light car, well known and popular in New Zealand, are scarcely believable. The 1 inoks of the firm show that during the months of October, November, December, January, February, and March last, this company did a business approximately amounting to £29.400,000. These months constituted the first half of the company’s fiscal year. When the sun went down on March 31 the records showed that 78,462 cars had been sold and delivered, approximately 3000 more than were sold and delivered during all of lust year. This astounding output of cars swelled llie total of these cars in use to the sum of 234.753, nearly a quarter million of the same family. Tin’s is by far the largest number of" cars of a single model in existence. The company feels satisfied with its showing for the first half of the year, and expects that the second half will set even a greater record. use in motor cars has been invented, winch, it is claimed, goes far towards overcoming the fuel problem, which has become so acute in consequence of the high [trice of petrol. It is stated that by its use a saving of at least 15 per cent, on the average fuel consumption can he obtained, while increased power and flexibility of the engine are other features claimed for it. Several of these “economisers” are are already in use, and it has been decided to conduct an exhaustive test of a car fitted with the device, so that motor ear users may bo able to judge of its utility for themselves from the record of the trial. The “economiser” is produced by a patent [lower jet and atomiser. Ihe mechanism is very simple, and can he fitted to any make of jet carburet tor. It consists of a wide-mouthed jet which is almost filled with sensitive wire strands, These wires vibrato n.s the petrol passes up the jot and break mi the spirit so effectively' that an almost perfect mixture is obtained and consumption reduced accordingly. A series of trials which has already been carried out with a taxi-cab fitted with the device show very satisfactory results, 24 or 25 miles per gallon having been recorded on each day’s run, while the average consumption of the car was one gallon to every 21 miles.

A WONDERFUL HIGHWAY. By the hist mail I (‘’Fortin,” in the Australasian) received a marked copy of a paper from one of the Australians tour in" on the Continent, in. which there is a do-

! script ion of a tour along- the Grande Corniche—a beautiful roadway following the Mediterranean from Monte Carlo to "Nice. There is no international highway more beautiful than this remarkable road.' British and Continental motorists are well acquainted with it, for the Reviera is a most popular touring district. While the Grande Corniche has the natural defect of being very winding, it has the artificial defect of possessing a double row of tram lines, which taka up a large share of the somewhat narrow road, and oblige the drivers of motor cars to exorcise the greatest caution. For the timid motorist the charm of this road, cut out of the face of the cliff, is spoiled by its danger. In consideration of the value of motorists as moans of revenue to the Riviera, the authorities have undertaken the construction of a new roadway, to bo known as the Moyenne Corniche; it is cut along the face of the cliff about half-way-up. “Being in the neighbourhood with a new Darracq," runs the account, “Wo had, without particular incident, a tour of exploration. Within five minutes of leaving Monte Carlo we were on a broad, wellmade highway, with a footpath on the outside. and a stout stone wall as a protection against a drop to the depths below. For about five miles the road winds along the hillside with fairly easy . gradients, there being a magnificent view at all times of the Mediterranean. Below can bo seen the white lino of the Grande Corniche, with its tramways, its constant procession of cars, and its palatial hotels and private residences at frequent intervals. The new road, however, is not yet completed, and will not, bo out of the workmen’s hands for over two veai-s. ’’

BIRTH OF THE PNEUMATIC TYRE. Representatives of the Institution of Automobile Engineers and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (England) visited the United States officially in June last, and among the number was Mr J. 13. Dunlop, inventor of the pneumatic tyre. With customary enterprise, the American motor journals interviewed Mr Dunlop, and obtained from him very many interesting details of his labours in the initial stages of constructing tho air-tyre. Asked if tie had ever heard of Thompson, who some 40 years before had invented a pneumatic, ho replied in the negative, adding, “ Nor of anyone else, it seems, for Thompson’s patent, which, though taken out when I was seven years old, said nothing whatever about a pneumatic tyre; the specification is entitled, ‘An Improvement on Carriage Wheels,’ and gave no hint of the real nature of tho patent. Apparently no one over thought of the Thompson patent until my tyre had been on tho market for several years.” In elucidation of tho reason for the greater speed of tho pneumatic over the solid tyre, Mr Dunlop said: “Rubber, you see, 13 an incompressible substance;it can bo distorted, hut it cannot bo compressed. If a depression is made in a block of rubber an equal muss of the substance will he displaced—the sides will bulge out; consequently, with the solid tyro, there is always a lump of rubber in front of tho point of contact between tho tyro and tho road, and it is the resistance of this lump of rubber that renders Hie solid tyre slow.” In recognising that defect, and in setting about to overcome it, bo did not immediately think of the pneumatic principle; as a matter of fact, lie experimented largely with resilient wheels of spring steel. At the same time he believed that tho steel wheel was slightly faster than the pneumatic though he had doubts of its ability to wear, which were demonstrated. It probably will be news to the hundreds of inventors who have attempted' to perfect a shnilar “substitute.” if they knew of Air Dunlop’s laiiures with spring wheels. However, they have not served to discourage them. Vast sums of money have been expended hi

attempts to discover, and then to popularise, those “discoveries " which promised well as substitutes for the pneumatic tyre. But the tyre of air and rubber remains unrivalled, and, as a matter of fact, it law never been seriously approached. The materials used in constructing: the first tyro seem now a curious medley. Among- them wore a piece of sheet rubber, a penknife, cement, a feeding-tube from a baby’s bottle, portion of linen lining of a lady’s dress, a few tacks, and' ft football mnnp.

Having made a tyro and taeked it to a wooden disc, the inventor obtained another

wheel of the same size equipped with a solid tyre. He then invited several persons ■who were interested in the tyre to witness ti 10 tests, for he vvds, even at that time, convinced the pneumatie-tyred wheel would he much the faster. He first rolled bis patent wheel the length of his - workshop. and, striking tho doors at the farther end, it rebounded a considerable distance. The solid-tyred wheel was then treated in a similar manner, but it scarcely traversed the length of tho workshop. Several ol those present attempted to make tho

"solid ” roll as well as the patent tyre, but all efforts ended in failure. The experiment, crude as it may seem, was a splendid test from Its very simplicity. It confirmed all Air Dunlop’s hopes, and he forthwith set about to construct tvres for l:is son’s tricycle, and. later, Ills bicycle, and at once sent an order to an Kdinburgh manufacturer for some complete tubes. The merchant ridiculed the idea; he sa : d it was the most absurd tiling he had heard of. and it was not until a deal of warm correspondence had passed—also a fair amount of tune—that he at” length received the tubes. The fir.-t tyres took a long time to manufacture. and, when finished, were a success, although, owing to porosity of the rubber, they bad to bo pumped every day. The original bievelo. with tho original tyres on it. is now in the Ruva! Museum in Kdinburgli, to which institution it was given bv Mr Dunlop. The tyro was patentee! in July, 1838. At first tho inventor would not consent To the formation of a company to manufacture and exploit the tyre, but be eventual!v yielded to Messrs Du Cros. per© of fils Mr Ditnolp admitted that he made 1:50.000 out. of his invention, but was not) deposed to sav how much lie realised on the sale of his patents, and. while he clung to his profession of veterinary surgeon, the Du Cros family, and many of their intimates and associates, became millionaires.

Speaking at a veterans’ reunion at Wellington on the 4th Inst, (says the Post) Tanal Liverpool referred regretfully to the diininishincr number of those entitled to wear Afghan and Crimean medals. There was, he understood, only one man on the active list in England entitled to wear the Crimean medal —Sir Evelyn Wood. There had been two until the death of Lord Wolseley. Near Wellington, lie believed, thev had an older soldier still Captain Bailhe— who saw service as far back its 1843 at Chillianwallah.