Cycling and Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 3224, 29 December 1915, Page 58

Cycling and Motor Notes

BY DEMON.

The South Canterbury Caledonian Society’s sports in Timaru arc creating a lot of interest throughout the Dominion, The directors have arranged for a halfmile championship for old-timers, and the following have signified their intention of being present:— Andy Ralston, Andy Calder, Paddy O’Connor, Dick Connell, Charley Hall, Ernie Crawford, Alf. Huston, George Sutherland, Maurio Randrup, Joey Barker, H. Amos, W. Hall, I. J. Bradley, and James Orr. The majority of these men have been off the track tor some years now, and each one has the idea that he is as good as he used to be. The whole of the profits arc to be handed over ,to the Sick and Wounded Fund.

are made about sparking plugs, these are proving wonderfully reliable of late years. The trouble is that the average motorist does not pay sufficient attention either to the purchase _ of suitable plugs for his engine, and this applies especially to users of small high-speed engines, or to the care of same. The average notion is that anything that will spark will do, and that so long as a spark is occurring in each cylinder, the quality of that spark does not much matter. Actually, however, suitable sparking plugs properly adjusted can have a very appreciable effect on the even, sweet running of an engine. The plugs should be of a correct length so as not to protrude too far into the combustion chamber, but at the same time should. be long enough to be within easy access of the gases. Another point which should bo borne in mind is that better results arc obtained if all the plugs in an engine are of a uniform type. Two Australian cyclists in F. Corry and G. Walker put up a very fine performance at Newark (U.S.A.) recently, defeating all the crack riders on the American circuit. The race was a teams one over miles, and was run on a points basis, points being awarded to the leading team at the end of each mile, and again at different stages throughout the - contest. The riders named led for the greatest number of laps, Corry eventually finishing up second. Australians in Goullet and Grenda ran second, whilst Spears and M'Narnara were third. The American champion, Kramer, teamed with J. Clark (Vic.), they finishing up fifth. The distance was covered in the fast time of Ihr lOmin 4.455ec. The difference in the riding of some cars is remarkable; ono_ will seemingly glide over all road inequalities, transmitting but little vibration, while another will register every shock, to the discomfort of the passengers. With the generality of the roads in their present condition, no car is free from vibration, and it is surprising that no sustained efforts are being made by the manufacturers to eliminate or check the transmission of road shocks from the chassis to the bodywork. The incorporation of rubber buffers or pneumatic cushions between the chassis and body appears to offer many advantages, for there is little doubt that the insulation of the body would very considerably' lessen road shock, which in the present-day car is transmitted from the frame to the bodywork, and thonco to the passengers. Pneumatic cushion suspension of the body would, no doubt, afford greatly increased comfort to the occupants. A correspondent to one of the English motor papers asked if water could not bo utilised to deaden vibration, in something after the same way as it is used to break the recoil of the big guns on warships. AMERICAN SENSATIONALISM. —— People sometimes speculate, when the speed of modern progress suddenly strikes them, on what our forefathers would say could they come to life and view the marked difference in general conditions between now and 150 years ago. And the primary instigator of the thought is, of course, the motor car. There was not very long ago a prisoner ✓-released after a very lengthy incarceration, and an enterprising journalist got hold of him and recorded his impressions. America has gone one bettor. A murderer has just been set free from Sing Sing prison after 21 years of confinement there, and the Society for Electrical Development immediately took the opportunity of giving him some “shocks."' The old man —he is 84 —was taken on a tour by a lady owner of an electric vehicle, and shown all the wonders in electricity which America has developed during those fateful 21 years. The electric cars which abound in New York apparently mystified and interested him oven more than a specially electrical ly-cookcd luncheon to which ho was bidden. Ono would think that the excitement of it all would prove very trying for a man of that advanced age. But what strikes one most about the affair is the Americanism of it all ! The released murderer taken charge of, toured round and feted, so that his impressions might bo noted. It smacks strongly of the American lovo of sensationalism. MOTOR SIDECAR. Ono of the most obvious developments of motoring during the past few years has been the great advance in popularity of the motor cycle sidecar. It seems natural in motor cycling, as in motor-earring- coin a word, —as soon as the technique of the single or small-powered machine is mas-

tercel, to desire something more powerful and more companionable. But there is something more than that underneath the practical universality of the motor cyele-cum-sidocar attachment, and it is to bo found in the fact that while the motor cycle, unfortunately, is the special prey of side-slips and skids on greasy surfaces, and is in other ways the least stable of all forms of horseless traction, as soon as a side-wheel attachment is fitted its stability and safety are at least equal to that of the motor car. That partly explains why the threatened opposition of the

eo-callcd ctclo car failed in any way to arrest or injure the popularity of the motor bicycle-cum-sideoar-fashion. The cost of a sidecar outfit is not far short of the figure that will purchase some of the very* cheap American light cars; but the economy of running, speed, and comfort of the sidecar equipment has gained this typo oi outfit a popularity that' will not only endure, but grow.

FUEL ECONOMY. Some time ago there was performed in America a motor car fuel demonstration

that provides material for close study by car-drivers. The car that was used has a normal consumption of 20 miles to the gallon; but in the skilled hands of the performers they got 75 miles to the gallon, at the first attempt, and at the second attempt close upon 100 miles to the gallon—duly authenticated,—which seems an incredible performance. The car, it was admitted, was prepared with the greatest exactitude in several respects. It had a specially high' top gear, and very carefully proportioned gears to suit every hill on the route. Iho carburetter had been “tuned,” as the phrase goes, to the limit. The feat, however, dapended in the. main on the skill of the driver. Curiously enough he seemed to work on the main principle that drivers of electric trains have long adopted to get the bonus awarded for saving current, and that is to work up to full speed—i.o., accelerate very rapidly, shut off the power, and then “coast” along to the next stopping place. The driver never ran the engine except when absolutely necessary, his chief anxiety being to keep the throttle closed —as nearly as possible. He coasted with clutch out down every hill, and rushed up the next by momentum as far as he could, and then let the engine pull to the tpp, with a carefullyselected gear ratio engaged. The brakes were not used except when absolutely recurred in an emergency, because it was realised that the use of _ brakes meant so much dead loss of fuel in the dissipation of the energy of momentum. The utmost use was made of the ignition control, so that with the least possible amount of mixture and spark set to full advance they could get along on the level with a large economy of fuel. No “racing” of the engine was permitted, and no idle running; every inch the pistons moved had, if possible, to bo translated into car motion, which is, after all, simply the application of fundamental facts and principles reduced to a fine art. Ihe performance was not by any moans a conjuring feat, and if the average car-owner would keep this in mind, and act upon it, he would be in a fair way to reacii that elusive desideratum of fuel economy.

THE MOTOR CYCLE AND ITS DRAWBACKS.

There are certain disadvantages connected with the motor cycle which, no doubt, tend to operate against its more general use; it would be an exceptional machine indeed were it entirely free from drawbacks. The rider must be prepared to withstand considerable vibration and the effects oi it; but even this disadvantage has of late years been materially lessened, thanks, first, to the incorporation of well-sprung forks; second, to the vast improvement of saddles and auxiliary springs either attached or fitted in the seat-pillar; third, to the use of tyres of a more generous size than once thought sufficient; and, fourth, to the adoption of the spring frame; now in a state of evolution, though there are one or two designs which promise to be entirely satisfactory. Another drawback to the machine is that it is not yet so equipped as to make it an ideal all-weather mount, the more so since motor cycling is essentially an outdoor pursuit, to be followed chiefly in the weather and on dry roads. A considerable proportion of the average rider’s mileage is covered under conditions opposite to the ideal —that is to say, he will be compelled to use his machine part of the time in wet weather and on muddy roads. And this latter introduces another disadvantage, that of side-slipping, which might easily lead to disaster. To ho really satisfactory for winter use, or, for the matter of that, at any time of the year, the machine should bo so equipped that the rider is protected, approximately, to the same degree of completeness as is the driver of a car; and yet not merely the rider, but also the major portion of the machine itself. This desirable condition of things is quite possible if the manufacturers will only give the matter their direct attention. Again, there is scone for improvement respecting _ the carrying capacity of the machine —provision for better distribution of the load to bo carried, whether it be accessories, spares, or parcels, and securing them against loss—yet, at the same time, without detracting from the appearance of the machine.