Cycling And Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 3105, 17 September 1913, Page 60

Cycling And Motor Notes

BY DEMOS.

--—Mr Stedman informs me that ho is experiencing some little difficulty in obtaining deliveries of Bayards, owing to the recent strike in the Trench motor works. A number of new cars is, however, due to arrive in a dav or two.

1 had a look over Mr G. R. Ritchie’s new 14-28 norse-powor Minerva the other it is a beautifully-finished machine, and the engine is very flexible, us can be seen by the log range of horse-power. Mrs R. Hudson, sen., lias also purchased a Minerva from Mr S. R. Stedman. This is a splendid-looking, comfortable car, sixscator, and 18-40 horse-power. The Swift cycle car which has been purchased by Mr Thompson, of Thompson and Hercus, solicitors, is doing excellent work on the local hills, taking any on the main on the second gear with two up. This machine is made on very substantial lines.

Mr J. Blair (Outram) and Mr Bcgg Hillend) have taken delivery of 25 horse-

power Buicks. Messrs AV. T. M'Farlanc (Musselburgh), James Findlay (Mosgiel), A. Matheson (Tomahawk), and Brook (Beaumont) are recent purchasers of 25 horse power Buicks, while Mr Le Cren has bought a 30 horsepower. Messrs Cooko-Howlison, and Co. are landing* next month a Morris-Oxford light car. These machines are very highly spoken of in British motoring circles. i he Morris-Oxford will bo the first of its kind to ooirw to Dunedin. , A correspondent supplies me with the following interesting information concerning the running of the motor car service between Palmerston and Ranfurly: The stoppage of the Otago Central railway traffic created a slight boom in hiring circles. I here were four cars on from Cromwell to Dunedin, one from Clyde to Dunedin, one from Alexandra to Dunedin, five from Ranfurly to Palmerston,, and five from Dunedin to Ranfurly. Sixteen cars livened the old road over the Pigroot, bringing back recollections of the old coaching days, with its ‘ pub about everv 10 miles. The road was in good order considering the weather, the surfacemen quickly attending to any scorning by the creeks. Record-breaking between Ranfurly and Palmerston was very common—somewhere about three and a-naif hours having been accomplished for the return trip (over 90 miles). The trip, if a little more expensive than the train journey, was thoroughly enjoyed by the passengers a run over Pigroot and down the Shapf Valley, over Kilmog and Mount Cargill, being much more pleasurable than the train journey down the Taicri Gorge. As one wag put it to his mate (who was paying four fares—£s,—and was looking rather C-um as the end of the journev was approaching); Keep your pecker up. bill, and enjoy it while it lasts. He’s not collecting the fares yet The same wag it was who remarked, as .be car rounded a sharp bend; and the acetylene headlights revealed a lad washing milk cans in a small stream: “Filling up for the morning, lad?” to the huge merriment of the passengers and the bewilderment ot tlie —— In connection with the recent breakdown of the Otago Central railway service a motor car driver informs me that the veryfirst load taken over the new route—Palmer: ston Fouth to Ranfurly—consisted of beer The Australian racing cracks are still doing well in America. The* latest word to hand from Neward (U.S.A.) states that A J. Clark beat the Danish champion. in two matches, whilst A. T. Goidlct, defeated F. Kramer, the American speed king, in the five miles championship. The “Tour do Francef’ the greatest road race in the world, has just been concluded, and. apart from its sporting interest, it proves in a remarkable manner what a snlend’d instrument of travel the b-cyc.e is. The “Tour dc France” is no child s may, for the course includes some of the stilt eat mountain climbs in France, total ( istance covered during the race is 3400 miks, spread over 15 stages, which were negotiated on alternate davs, the riders spelling every second day. The contest drew 142 starters, but towards the end of the ride only a handful of the hardened campaigners were left in the race. The final classification was:—P. Thys (Belgium) first. t. ? ta riding time 197 hr 54mm; Barngo (Franco) second 198 hr Imin 37scc; and Buysse (Belgium) third, in 201 hr 24min s&seo. The race is easily the most strenuous held in the world, and only those riders who have proper organised trade assistance have any hope of success. Indeed, isolated riders have verylittle chance of completing the course, and practically none of winning. An idea of the difficulties to be overcome in this -rigantic contest can he gathered from the fact that three of the mountain passes that had to be negotiated were respectively 7500 ft 9000 ft. and 6700 ft high, with snow banked „p on each side of the road Many of the contestants bad motor cars following thorn throughout. r Hie winner’s average speed was over 17 miles an hour—a remarkable performance. , ...., _ A fitting which pays for a little odin„ Ls the side brake rack and its paw! I hese parts generally get their share of water when the car is wasned. and arc often i usty so that the pawl works st.fTlv on its pivot The result is that the side brake does not pull or push on easily, and when on does Sot always stay there owing to the paw failing to’drop into the catch nroperlv. The catches of the side doors are also neglected; it is much nicer to hear the door close with a well-greased click than to have to slam it two or three times before it catches. __The enormous growth and success of the motor bus traffic in London can be gauged from the fact that the London, General Omnibus Company now has 2800 motor buses on the streets of London- and the number of passengers earned daily m about two millions. No wonder the London tramway services are having a precarious time. . , ft will interest motorists to learn that no trouble was experienced bv the drivers of the Sunbeam cars built without differential gears, who took part >‘n the recent French Grand Prix Motor Gar Race. Dc Resta, the well-known racing crack, who

drove one of these cars (finishing sixth), stated, when interviewed on the subject, tiia.tr if any difference in the steering of the Sunbea.ni racers was at ail noticeable, that might be put down to the cmiss.on of differential gears. "It was certainly not, as one would expect, at the corners, said i>e fiesta. " Every car than takes u corner at soeed is bound to skid to come smaller or large extent, and I noticed that without a differential it is easier to straighten ofu after a skid than with a differential. But where I noticed a marked difference was oil the straight. Here the oar was quite free from those involuntary little skids tnat racing cars sometimes develop at high speeds over rough ground. ihe car held the road beautifiuiiy indeed, I do not hesitate tq say that in all my long experience of racing "I have never travelled in a car that hold the road so well as the car x drove in this year’s Grand Fnx. It was quite casv to steer a perfectly straight course at epoods of about 100 miles per hour, which 1 attained on the downhill runs, and f put this fine, holding the road down to the even grip of both rear wheels, _wli.cn was never disturbed through the action of a differential gear." One of the most annoying minor troubles with a car is a minute leak in rha radiator, which causes a few, drops ot water to drip down the front of the radiator when the car is left standing for a night. It is often caused by a too officious friend try-in-ff to move the car in a garage putmipo- at the radiator. It is not always easy to"locate, and it will not be found easy to cure. One retnedv of inserting a few spoonfule of flour into the water was not fancied bv a writer in the Autocar. He feared choking up the minute passages in the radiator. He made a first attempt by plastering a patent iron cement on the outside, but this was washed away. Then a mixture of white lead and red load was tried repeatedly, but it always worked off in the course of a few weeks. 'Finally-, a perfect cure was obtained by draining the radiator and dabbing ovor the minute crack a small coating of thick “ ropy ” paint. When this vvas dry two more coats were applied, and since then there has been im more_ trouble with the weeping radiator. The point of appleition must, however, bo quite dry when the paint is put on. The average motorist who docs not realise fully- the enormous power of his car would peril ans have a better notion of this if he had been a witness of a rather unusual test in California. A 40 horse-power touring machine was attached by means ot a. strong cable to a 100-ton railway locomotive. r lhe cable ran from the back axle of the car to the cowcatcher of the locomotive. The start was made from a dead standstill. For some time the motor car groaned, and vibrated to no purpose. lh© _ wheels refused, to Unci a purchase, ana slipped around and around, finally, halt a dozen men were put into the car to do duty as ballast. The additional weight had the desired, effect. With slow reluctance the wheels of the monster in tow began to revolve. and the automobile had achieved the seemingly impossible task of draw ing so tremendous a weight. No injury to the car resulted from th s great and unusual strain, and for some distance over the rails the mass of iron obediently tagged after its puny pilot. The demonstration was made bv an automobile agent to show what a reallv powerful machine the motor car of to-day is Q f p, s ts recently conducted in England has demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that the addition of camphor to petrol as a dope ’ makes absolutely no difference in either fuel consumption or speed, and it may convince or console manv motorists who have been tempted to adulterate the spirit with camphor to learn the results of the experiments. It was further demonstrated that the engine does not start up any the casiei with the mixture. The tests were conducted on the road under service conditions by an expert with two cars at his disposal, oho of 10 h.p., and the other of 25 h.p. The camphor was the ordinary article of commerce (Japanese), and the quantity added to the fuel was ioz to the gallon in some tests, and io* to the gallon in others; but ro difference in the operation of the cars eon Id he detected one way or the other. Several nrivate owners, however, w-ho had previously made some tests, had declared tine rho engine resDondcd more quickly and powerfully after' the addition of the camphor. OVER THE SAHARA. A very successful aeroplane flight oyer the desert of Sahara was recently made bv four Furman biplanes mounted by French army pilots. What is noteworthy is that the trip, covering about 500 miles distance, was made above the desert region, whore any kind of aid is-ffrt possible. Starting out from the military aeroplane post which was recently established at Biskra, on the edge of the desert and in the Algerian region, the partv nroeeeded with the object of making the' flight to Touggonrt, a military station lying in one of the oases and tins was done very easily by the whole nartv. Then the return trio w-as made w’thcnt «ey inc dmita. clearly showing the value of the aeroplane in making communication over desert country. As thy French army possesses a number of mil'tary posts in f.ie regions of Algeria and Morocco, the aeroplane is eorfain to be of great value in the future in making a rapid connection.

TRAPPING motorists. In view of the activity of the local police in trapping motorist* for alleged breaches of the Motor Act. the following article m the Cycloear, bv John Gilpin jun anent the same question in England, will be ot interest to local motorists. He writes;— <4 A modern Hilbert and Sullivan opera would hardly m : ss the humour of the present-dav energies of the police. We have d party of fanatical women absolutely setting the law at defiance with impunity. Country mansions are burnt down, all forms of amusement and sport are interfered with, and manv escapades indulged in without the police being any the wiser. Crime may not be on the increase, but I do not suppose that the number of country house burglaries is any loss since system of trapping motorists was begun. Now it probably never strikes the layman—he who never drives a motor of any description that if yon use the police chiefly for trapping motorists,' their energies are going to be very severely curtailed in their legitimate pursuits. The real object of the establishment of the police force in this country was not. I fancy, to enable the county funds to bo swelled by a systematic persecution and extortion of any one section of the community bv unfair methods of trapping. That it has got to this stage in certain parts of the country is deplorable, but true. When, as is often the case,

t]io entire police staff devotes the whole of Saturday and Sunday—and sometimes Monday as well —to trapping motorists, disguised aa farm labourers, cyclists, or gasfitters assistants, hiding in, ditches or bemud hedges, it cannot be said that the lives and private property of the community arc receiving adequate attention. If that protection can be dispensed with, then the ponce force is really quite unnecessary. Engaged all day busily trapping, policemen cannot possibly be expected to continue their duties at night.” PETROL AND SUBSTITUTES. It was decided at the Imperial Motor Transport Conference, opened last month at Olympia by Lord Crewe, to investigate the substitution of alcohol for petrol as a means of locomotive power, Sir Boverton Redwood said that in alcohol we have amotor spirit, which could be made continuously in almost unlimited quantity. There was reason to believe That the objection to its use in motor vehicles might be overcome. Colonel R. E. B. Crompton, however, pointed out that engines using alcohol would require a great deal of modification from the present type. A year or so ago, when motorists wore anxiously demanding a reason for the rapid and continuous rise in the price of petrol, they were assured by the experts that the cause lay in the demand exceeding the supply, which had bcome stationary. The records of the past six months imports show that nearly '50,000,000 gallons were imported, as compared with 36,000,000 gallons in the corresponding- period of 1912. The Petrol Substitutes Joint Committee, which is composed of representatives from the Royal Automobile Club, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and the Automobile Association and Motor Union, visited the Frankett Works at Acton, England, last month, and spent some hours inspecting a special plant for the treatment of peat under a process invented and patented by Herr Franke, one of the chief by-products being motor spirit. The members of the committee also had a short run in a Fiat car driven on the motor spirit thus produced. QUESTION OF OIL FUEL. The Field states; —The First Lord of the Admiralty, in his otherwise lucid exposition in Parliament of tho oil fuel situation and the intentions of the Admiralty, did not allude to our petrol supply. Yet the Admiralty is one of tho largest consumers of it, and in all probability, despite any advance in engine construction permitting tho use of heavier fuels, will continue for years to remain dependent upon petrol for it* submarine and flying services. If the Admiralty would only declare its readiness to substitute home-produced benzol for petrol for these purposes a fillip would be given to benzol production of inestimable value to the entire motoring movement in this country, and to the nation in tho unfortunate event of war. The country has. some right to assistance of this kind from its own services; but it seems useless even to hope that it will bo given, however direct and urgent the appeal. As matters stand, any cataclysm affecting our sea-borne supplies -within tho next two years must profoundly affect not merely the motoring movement in this country, but the nation at large. Wo do not carry a month’s supply of petrol, and we are not evincing any disposition to develop our native sources simply for lack of a definite lead and some encouragement for those who can provide us with a substitute if they can secure a guarantee that they will not be left in the lurch by market operations and financial squeezing. The Admiralty apparently is taking steps to safeguard itself from such operations. Cannot it assist to safeguard the British public? FROM OAPE TO CAIRO. In connection with the projected trip from tho Capo to Cairo to be undertaken shortly bv Captain R. N. Kelsey, and referred to in last week’s notes, tho same officer was to have accompanied Air B. F. J. Bentley, an English explorer, on a similar trip two and a-half years ago. Having hoard no more of it since tho notification that it was postponed from November, 1910, to Febru-

1911, it may bo assumed that the ptojeet fell through, as did that of a German officer,’ Lieutenant D. Schmude, which was to have started -two weeks after the British party. Messrs Bentley and Kelsey’s route was to have been from Capetown to Bloemfontein, Victoria Falls, Livingstonia, Bismarckburgh, Lake Tanganyika, Visbumbi, Kodok, Khartoum, Wady Haifa, and Cairo, some 6090 miles. The same route may be adhered to on the trip now to be taken. In the first instance the supply of fuel was considered to be a. matter of great difficulty, and probably will be so to-day, though not in the same degree. A cable message" from Capetown, under date August 30, advises that Captain Kelsey 7, accompanied by Mr J. C. Pickersgill C ur| l'ff e . Count Cornegliano, Messrs J. Scott-Brown, J. M. Gilliland, and Angus Macasgill, left that day on the motor expedition north. The last-named member of the party is a motor expert and mechanic, and was selected by the Argyle Automobile, Company because of his wide knowledge and great resource. Mr Cu.nliffc and the Count arc interested in big-game hunting, Mr Brown in photography, while Mr Gilliland is a pressman, representing the London Daily Telegraph, which journal has arranged that news of the progress and work of the party shall be transmitted to England at short intervals. Owing to the nature of the country, it is expected that much track-cutting will have to be done, and big streams forded, to say nothing of the risk in crossing fever-haunted swamp lands. Progress may be retarded in some sections and news of the car’s I'oeition be delayed in reaching the outer world. The motor was christened “Louise of Argyll” by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll.