Cycling & Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 3331, 16 January 1918, Page 44

Cycling & Motor Notes

BY DEMON. Mr H. H. Gaudin had a very pleasant trip in his Buick Six during the holidays. With his family he- left Dunedin on Saturday, December £2, and travelled via Lawrence, Roxburgh, Alexandra to Pembroke. A week was spent at Pembroke, and the paxty then travelled via Lindis River to Mount Cook. A return to Dunedin was made via Temuka, Timaru, etc. "Very little difficulty was experienced in crossing the many fords met with. The total mileage for the trip, including side runs, was roughly 803 miles. Taking the roads all through, Mr Gaudin says he did not have a gre"t deal to complain about the roads, excepting those between Pukaki and the Hermitage, and through the Lindis Pass. Not one puncture or mechanical stop of any description was experienced during the trip. The Wellington .City Council has obtained authority from Parliament to borrow £30,000 for the construction of a motor track on the Hutt road. The track will be the first of its kind in New Zealand, and, provided it is well built and judiciously used, should lead to roads being laid down in other parts. Recently a motox cyclist named Andrew Myers was summoned at Lqs Angeles for exceeding the speed limit. When Myers was ordered to stop he gave the policeman a chase over the most dusty thoroughfare ho could find. Instead of imposing a fine, the judge sentenced Myers to gaol, with instructions that he should be put to work cleaning the motor cycles of the city motor cycle police squad. using alcohol as a motor- fuel is at last seriously exercising the attention of the army authorities, who, it is understood, have recently been conducting certain experiments with the spirit as fuel for internal combustion engines. For many years British motor papers, notably the Aufco-car, have been ondoavouring to impress upon the authorities the extreme importance of encouraging the production of alcohol as a motor fuel, but their efforts largely have been blocked bv the Customs and excise officials, who will not relax regulations concorning the sale of denatured alcohol so as to enable it to be supplied to the public at a reasonable price. Their hope now is in 'tho army, which may be able to force tho hands of the Customs officials in this matter. If it becomes a question of national necessity, it cannot be settled by the Customs, who aro merely servants of tho nation; it must be determined by tho Government, military or civil. Great strides arc being made with the motor traotor for ploughing purposes, particularly In England and America. During a test recently conducted in England aii outfit ploughed seven acres of ground per working day of 10 hours, with a kerosene consumption of three and two-thirds C gallons per acre. Tho tractor was handled >y the man only, and a Tin furrow maintained throughout the test. Tho day will

come when tlio motor tractor will play an important part in the development of this country.. Thero is a big scarcity of motor mechanics in England, America, and France, and the boy who goes to the automobile engineering trade at present is sure of a good income for life. . The handlebars on a motor cycle seem, like a baby's mouth, a place for everything. As often ae not they carry the lamp, speedometer, a horn, or a hooter, clutch control lever, front wheel brake lever, exhaust yalve-lifter, magneto con-

tool, a watch, and sometimes a bracket for a l'outo card —a greafe array of articles. Not only is the weight of all these accessories detrimental to steering, but several of them have a connecting cable attached, which offers a orrtain resistance, which. though hardly perceptible-, tends to fire hj tho long run. During the past few years wo have seen one control after another transferred from the. tank or elsewhere, to the handlebars: and, though the principle of full' handlebar control is tj be oommended, it can be overdone. Certain controls must find a place on the bars; ana

while these should be kept ns simple as possible, other of 'the fitments which can just as conveniently rest elsewhere might profitably be removed. A general reduction in handlebar equipment would bo an advantage "all round. A correspondent Writes as follows to the Australasian in respect to a small fitment on his machine: —"I would like to givo Indian riders a good tip to produce slow running whero the engine has a light load, operating easily. I have soldered an ordinary gas tan into the pilot pipe, and when tho engine-" is warm I obtain, by turning off this tap about half way, a beautifully slow "tick-over,' with absolutely no vibration. Before I was able to regulate tho pilot the engino would race, and I could not leave the engine running when the engino was on tho stand. I can now use tho engine as a brake when coasting by shutting off the pilot completely, thus saving brakes, petrol, and clutch. It is a great improvement, and I cannot understand why it is not fitted as standard by makers of the Indian and other machines having a pilot jet. My machine is a 1915 T.T. model, 5-6 h.p., with three-speed gear and clutch."

_ Very fow motorists appear to realise that prolonged exposure of rubber to sunlight has a deteriorating action on rubber by reason of the slow chemical action on the complex structure of 'the rubber which takes place. This is the reason why motorists should always carry their " spare '" fitted with a light and air proof cover. When rubber is in constant movement it helps to prevent deterioration, and that is the reason why a tyre that is in use shows less effect of perishing than a cover strapped to the sido of a car. What is horse-power? _ Makers of cars advertise that their engines are 35, 40, 50, and even 60 horse-power. Now, the war has proved that 20 to 25 British horse-power in a car is sufficient for every purpose, and ihat any excessive enginepower shakes 'the chassis and body to pieces in-quick time. It would be interesting to know \ upon what basis American horsepower is "rated. There is nominal horsepower, brake horse-power, actual horsepower, and so forth. What type of horse is taken as a starting-point? Nowadays magnetos are, as a rul r e, the most reliable part of the machine, and spare parts are harcMy necessary for ordinary running. The two parts are most likely to givo trouble are the carbon brush and holder, or the contact breaker rocker arm spring, and if a long 'tour in any out-of-the-way places is contemplated, spares of these two parts are the only ones likely to be required. If a complete carbon brush and holder and complete contact breaker are carried the rider should bo armed against all emergencies, with the exception of a total breakdown of the armature. \ MOTOR MANUFACTURERS AND THE WAR. Before the war Erance headed the list of automobile exporting nations, followed in order of importance by America, with Italy occupying fifth position. Since then conditions nave changed enormously; and while it will not come as a surprise to most people to learn that the United States iff in the lead, it is not generally known that Italy is a very good second, with England third, and France a poor fourth. Official figures, issued by the Finance Departments of tJhe various Governments, show that the value of the motor exports of America, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Franco are as follows for the years 1913 and 1916 (values are given in liras) : EKPORT OF MOTOR VEHICLES. 1913. . 1916. Value in liras. Value in liras. United States .. 135,147,000 507,128,000 Italy ' 34,180,937 84,178,250 United Kingdom 71,511,000 37,058,744 France 217,607,000 20,010,000 These figures show that America has increased her automobile exports 275 per cent.; Italy has increased them 147 per cent.; England has decreased by nearly 49 per cent'., and France has decreased by nearly 91 per cent. These statistics show that after three years' intense development Italy has become the most important automobile" exporting nation in Europe. The growth of the Italian motor 'trade is worth following in detail. In 1911 the value was 31,363,927 lire; for 1916 it was 84,178,250 lire, and for the first four months of last year it was 46,678,055 lire, according to figures issued by the Italian Ministry of Finance. In all probability the 1917 exports will reach 'the 100,000,000 mark. There has been a steady decrease in the value of touring cars exported by Italy, and an increase in the value of lorries. As in the case of all other Allied nations, Italy is devoting her energies to the needs of war, and the requirements are for motor waggons rather than 'touring cars. Eighty per cent of the Italian business is handled by the Fiat Motor Company, with a staff of 23,000 —the largest in Europe. TOURING NEW ZEALAND. INTERESTING MOTOR TRIP. An interesting motor tour of New Zealand is at present being made by Messrs J. A. Young, M'.P. for Waikato, and Mr A. H. Hyde, a well-known Hamilton electrical engineer. The tourists, _who are accompanied by their wives, arrived in D lined in on Saturday afternoon. The party set out frfim Hamilton on the Saturday before Christmas. After two days in Wellington they shipped to Picton, foing from there to Blenheim and Nelson. Ir young was particularly interested in Motueka, outside Nelson, where he had an opportunity of viewing the , largo development in the matter of converting Tasman lands about Motueka into apple orchards. He expresses himself as much impressed by the magnitude and success of this work. Thero are 10,000 acres under cultivation and planted in orchards. This development has mainly taken place in the last six years. In tho Waikato, ho says, the dairying people work on correct lines, in that they adopt co-operative principles, and, coming as ho does from a district where they nave developed and organised the dairying industry to such a high state, he has no" doubt tho apple industry, if similarly worked, is siu - o to succeed. In connection with fruit-growing in the Tasman district, interesting experiments aro being carried out in tho cultivation o'f tobacco. These experiments show great promise of success —indeed, oontracts have already been entered into by the growers to supply quantities of leaf to tho manufacturers.

On Now Year's Day the party motored on down tho Buller Gorge to Murchison, and although tlicy got through without serious interference from floods, they had the good fortune to see the Buller in full flood, a most impressive sight. r jfhey then

went on to Greymouth, whero evidences of tho recent serious flood were everywhere visible. Kumara and Hokitika were next visited, and hero again the damago done by tho floods was somewhat • serious. Some of 'the larger bridges had been badly damaged, while tho traffic bridge across tho leramakau, near Kumara, which connects up a thi-iving agricultural district with tho goldmining district, had Lad a large 80ft span washed away. «* The party next proceeded to Otira, trucked the car at Arthur's Pass to Springfield, and then motored to Christchurch. They left tho northern city on Friday for Tirnaru, and camo on to Dunedin by way of Oamaru on Saturday. Mr Young considers 'that much of the good land south of Oamaru is suitable for subdivision. Last year a largo co-operative dairying concern In the Waikato made a turnover of more than a million sterling in payments for butter-fat, while another company handled over a quarter of a million. Much of the high-class land in North Otago, _he considers, should be capable of producing much more than it does at present, and with the spread of homesteads the results to the dominion, as well as to the settlers, would be "very satisfactory. On Monday the party proceeded to Central Otago, where Mr Young intends to see as much as possible of the irrigatidn works and to inquire into tho positioii of the fruit industry. He expresses his indebtedness to Mr F. J. Williams, electrical engineer, for acquainting him with numerous details of the irrigation works in 'the Central district. After leaving Otago by way of Lindis Pass, the party will make their way to Lake Coleridge, and see the works there in view of Mr Evan Parry's recent report to the Government indicating that at Arapuni, in the Waikato district, about 30 miles south of Hamilton, over 120,000 horse-power can be developed. "Proceeding to Christchurch, the party will afterwards go on to the Kaikoura, district and Picton.