CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 3292, 18 April 1917, Page 44

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES

BY DEMON.

church, the other day, a motor cyolist was charged with driving- without a headl.ght. He explained that his generator had developed a defect, and he understood that he was entitled to drive to the nearest garage to have repairs effected. He was on his way to tho garage, going very slowly, and sounding his horn repeatedly, when ho was stopped by a policeman for not having- a light, and ho considered that it was this slowness of his" speed and the noise he was making that drew the officer's attention to the fact that ho had no light. The two J.P.'s who presided considered "tho excuse a reasonablo one,, and discharged the man. In his statement., the defendant also said that if lie had left his machine by the roadside, while he went to bringsomeone to repair the generator, ho would have been equally liable to a line. facture the British makers have shown greater interest and resource than their confreres in other lands. Their development of the sidecar, and. indeed, other combination machines, has been consistent, and has attained success in many ways, especially on the battlefields in France. The inestimable value of motor cycle ambulances on the precipitous mountain highways in that country, where a fourwheeled vehicle could not penetrate, has repeatedly been referred to in London; and it was stated that, by means of English side-car machines, the wounded are now conveyed to their destination in one hour 20 minutes, as- compared with 30 hours when the oxen-drawn French mountain oarts were used. Several references also have been mado to the side-car machine-gun sections, especially in regard to then- great mobility; and we have it

on record that, in ono instance at least, these machines saved the situation. Some details are now to hand regarding tho recent work of the British naval armoured car squadron in the Dobrudja. In one case two squadrons under heavy fire forced their way through tho enemy's lines and cut off a large enemy force. Every ono of the vehicles got back; but in order to save the cars one officer and six men left the motors and were made prisoners. The Emperor of Russia has conferred the Cross of St. George upon nine members of the unit. Two of tho squadrons, after considerable difficulty, joined up with the Russian army operating in Turkish Armenia. Impediments of transport made the supply of petrol, and even food, very difficult. As for petrol, tho great distances involved considerable consumption, and when the squadron actually reached the Russian armies they had exhausted their supply. The situation was saved by collecting- all the petrol left in the cars and putting it in the best car, which was sent forward deliberately as though to reconnoitre. The ground was then openly surveyed as though an attackwas to be made. This deception was kept up for two days until the petrol arrived; it completely deluded the Turks. In tho subsequent attack on the village of Norshen the Turks had been allowed to infer that the armoured cars were going away, and their surprise was complete. Before any reinforcements could come up tho village had been surrounded, and ono shot from a (run on the armoured cars destroyed a' Turkish magazine at the base, killing over 300 Turk?. ' WELCOME NEWS. It is stated by the Weekly Despatch (England) that a new standardised British car is to bo put on the market to rival the Ford, and that tho car has actually been designed, mado, and thoroughly tested, the result being completely satisfactory. The

Government has been so much impressed with the new production that it has given a preliminary contract for cars, the cost of which will run into seven figures. The necessary capital has been raised and a private company floated, which will, for the present, be wholly occupied in supplying military needs. Froin the_ article ifc would appear as if the car is to"be a copy of the Ford. At first sight this would certainly seem to be a mistake, for the British ideals of design and appearance are very different from the American, and we should think there would be little difficulty in designing a more orthodox type of car which would satisfy the eye of .the British buyer and the requirements of the expert, and would sell at a price as near as possible to that at which the Ford is offered. The Britisher would willingly pay a little more than the price of a Ford for extra refinement, and a more attractive type of body. We hope this devlonment will materialise. There would be a vast demand for a British-made car of good quality at a really low price, and there i 3 no reason why such a car could not be produced in the United Kingdom, provided the output is sufficient to enable automatic machinery to be utilised to the very best advantage. TESTING METAL. Force is not the only factor employed in determining the suitability or otherwise? of metals used in the construction of the automobile. For instance, in the factory where the Dodge car is produced there arein the laboratory many extremely delicate instruments, where, for steel, brass., babbitt, etc., are carefully examined under the microscope for imperfections in the grain of the metal. In handling metal* under the class, the surface of the material dealt with fs made perfectly smooth by grmding-wheels, and then polished to a

mirror- surface by the uso of various grind-ing-powders. The piece is then examined at various magnifications up to 1000 times natural size. If there are any impurities or minute cracks or any structural defects in the material, they are readily discovered. The acid treatment then follows, and that reveals tho entire history of the pieco to the metallurgist, so that he is enabled to tell with absolute accuracy just how tho piece was made, how it was treated, and whether it will perform the function for which it was intended. WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS. "Wo have always held the view (says tho Motor Cycle Trader. England) that a very large and constant demand awaits tho introduction in this country of a standardised motor cycle possessing low engine power, and turning tho scalo all on at a smaller figure than any of the machines now upon tho market. To bo commercially successful cuch models would have to be produced

on a very extensive scale, and the factory which specialised in them would be laid out for tho purpose, and equipped with plant capable of turning out machines and parts with rapidity and cheapness. Thero would be an enormous amount of repetition work to bo done, and every item of the conslniorion would have to be standardised and wholly interchangeable with corresponding- parts, the work of putting the machines together being thus simplified, and tho cost very greatly reduced. If it were found possible to produce on those lines a motor cycle sollinn- in normal times at a figure approximating to £2O, and weighing not more than 1001 b at most, there would, it seems tolerably oertain, be a sufficiently large demand for it to recoup handsomely any firm enterprising enough to put up the large capital necessary to finance tho scheme of production. Any attempt to produce machines of the class referred to in a small way, or on any basis but that of a practically unlimited output, would, ;; in our opinion, be doomed

to fajlure at the start. We know that the feeling of the trade is generally against such a project, but nevertheless there exist some clear brain? in the industry which consider it practicable to market the ultra-light-weight and make a success of it on what may be termed "Ford" lines, lines which were considered fantastical at the outset, but have since "made good," as everyone knows. The man, be ho elderly or not, who requires a motor cyce for occasional use only, and who is averse to any that is not inexpensive in first cost, easy to handle and maintain, and the storage of which does not involve him in further inconvenience and cost, looks in vain nowadays for tho ideal he has in mind, just as in the past a host of would-be motor car owners looked also in vain for what they required until the advent of tho Ford. After the war there will, wo believe, bo a huge demand for a smaller and lighter motor cycle than those now supplied. All outdoor recreat : ons will increase in popularity, and there will be a large demand emanating from those who have been calling for an ultra-light machine to take them to tho links or other short trips undertaken for utility rather than for the enjoyment of motor oycling itself. The "speed merchant," and, indeed, almost every other class of motor cyclist is abundantly catered for, but there is something material to be done yet to help the man who must have an ultralight and cheap machine or none at all.

OTAGO MOTOR CLUB. A meeting of the Otago Motor Club was held on the 9th. The president'(Mr J. A. Roberts) occupied the chair. Mr W. T. M'Farlane submitted a report dealing with the case brought against him by the Tinwald Town Board for exceeding a speed limit of 15 miles an hour. Mr M'Farlane stated that he had gone to Ashburton to defend the case, which had been decided in his favour, with costs £3 18s 6d and solicitor's fee ono guinea.—lt was decided to draw the attention of the New Zealand Motor Union to the facts of the case, and ask it to take action to endeavour to prevent local bodies from putting such speed limits on open country roadways. It was also decided to place on record tho club's appreciation of Mr M'Farlane'a action

■ In defending the case, and congratulate him on his win. , Mr J. Blakeley wrote drawing attention ■ to the had state of the road between Waipahi and Arthurton, and forwarding a sample of the metal picked up on the road. . Mr Blakeley said that the club had advanced money to help to put this road in ! order. —Mr Wright moved that the club i write to the Clutha County Council pointi ing out that a portion of the road was i covered with large-sized, sharp metal, which | was not being blinded, and that such metal i had a very destructive effect on tyres.—Tho . motion was carried, and it was decided to i forward the piece of metal to the Clutha ; County Council as ocular demonstration of 1 how the road was being treated. 1 The Roads Committee reported that subscriptions amounting to £l3O 3s 6d had i been received towards the proportion of • £2OO to be paid by the club to the Waikouaiti County Council for the purpose of . 'repairing the Main North road. The County ! Council is finding £3OO, and the Govern- • ment is paying a grant of £SOO. , It was decided to ask the Roads Com- • mittee to bring forward a report on the : need for direction signs in the Tuapeka ' County. ' It was also decided to ask the Tuapeka • County Council to permit the club to erect • a danger disc on the Lawrence-Roxburgh '. road a mile or so beyond Rae's Junction. and one above the Devil's Elbow, between J Rao's Junction and Heriot.