Cycling & Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 3332, 23 January 1918, Page 50

Cycling & Motor Notes

BY DEMON

"- The Lyttelton Times reports that a car pulled up at the Christchurch Post Office on Sunday night, completing a wonderfully successful economy test of toe Paterson carburetter in a trip from Christchurch and back. The cost of the fuel consumed in the double journey worked out. according to the Times, at under 5s a head for the five passengers in the car. Ihe trip was carried out to prove that ..the use of the tar oil and the new carburetter will be acompanied by economy never dreamed of in the wildest flights of imagination of the men who have striven, and vainly striven to secure real economy from the consumption of petrol in motor vehicles. When replacing tyre tubes it is essential that the talc or French chalk should be thoroughly distributed over the inside of trie casing. This operation is greatly facilitated by the use of a small blower, such as is used for spraying insect powders. The 'use of such a blower results in the talc being evenly distributed all over the inside of the casing, a very important matter. Dealing wtih alcohol as motive-power, Major W. M'Adam Ecclcs, surgeon to St. Bartholomew's and to the First London General Hospital, said, in the of a recent lecture on " War ard Alcohol," that the petrol supply might be still further lessened. Germany was using largo quantities of alcohol manufactured within her own borders for this purpose. If there were neglect, of this essential to victory, the Avar might bo prolonged.' All the alcohol now in bond and all that could be made could be used for munitions and industrial purposes, and none of the shareholders in the distillery and brewery companies and none of the workers in the factories need suffer in any way. The announcement made by MiBaker. Secretary of War, that a new aeroplane motor had been perfected which would help enormously in the completion of the great aeroplane fleet now building in the United States, vividly emphasises the characteristic energy with which the nation is preparing to throw its whole weight into the war against Prussian autocracy (says Reuter's correspondent in a despatch from Washington). Mr Baker describes how the motor came into being. " Two of the best engineers in the country, who had never before seen each other, were brought together at Washington, and the problem of producing an ail-American engine at the earliest possible moment was presented to them. Their first conference on June 3 lasted from the afternoon until 2.30 o'clook in the morning. These two engineers were, figuratively, locked in a room in a Washington hotel, and charged with the development of an aeroplane motor for use by American aviators over the battlefields of Europe. For five days neither man left the suite of rooms engaged for them. Consulting engineers ana draughtsmen from various parts of the country were brought to

Washington to assist them. The work in the draughting room proceeded continuously dav and night. Each of the two engineers in "immediate charge of motor development alternately worked a 24-hour shift. It was promised that the engine would be developed before July 4. Twenty-eight days after the drawings were started the engine was set up. This was on July 3. Any woman of intelligence (says a writer in the Automobile World), providing she is persevering and makes up ner mnid to succeed, can obtain the Royal Automobile Club second class certificate or sufficient mechanical knowledge to enable her to take charge of a car in about a month or six weeks. The way to learn quickly and thoroughly is to take one part at a time. The pupil should forget all the rest of the _ mechanism and concentrate on the one thing. Let her . take, for instance, the carburetter, and learn absolutely everything sho can about it. Once a pupil begins

to got a grip on the subject in hand her interest is aroused, and then all is plain sailing. The writer goes on to recommend a woman driver to begin her experience with van-driving, giving as one reason that she would be alone, and not making her various first mistakes in starting and so on '' under the impatient eye of her employer. ! It is estimated that there were I £500,000 worth of cars at the Palmerston races on Boxing Day. Seven hundred of these vehicles paid for admission to the . paddock, in addition to the members' cars and the taxis, which plied continually be- : tween the course and the town. j It is astonishing' how frequently troublo supposed to reside in the carburettor is ultimately traced to the petrol pipe—- ; that is to say, to the duct through which i the petrol passes before it reaches the , carburretor itself. These pipes are often ; , very roughly treated by carists and motor ! cyclists, and not infrequently they leak in

the most irritating manner, even after having been apparently well soldered. The vibration to which they are subjected on the road, and especially at high speeds, tends to set up trouble. On innumerable occasions somewhat) mysterious incidents have been reoorted in which engines have periodically failed in the course of a run through lack of continuous feed of the petrol. The carburettor has been thoroughly overhauled and cleaned and adjusted, and yet in spite of everything being thoroughly in order the engine still exhibited the-annoying trait of.'fizzling out frequently. On the petrol pipe being examined everything here seemed to be in order, the flow of petrol through it, when disconnected from the 'float chamber, being; o* full volume and with plenty of force. Shortly after being connected up again however, 'the trouble named recurred, and in one instance of its kind with which we were acquainted it turned out that some loose metal dust had become lodged in the coils, whilst there was also a white, powder? substance which was dislodged on tho being subjected to heat and brought to a fairly high temperature These obstructions evidently became lodged m the pipe when tho machine was being built, and when instances of this kind arise it. is usually desirable to heat the pipe and rap each end smartly on the bench, when it will usually be found that small particles of metal left there from the brazmg process or from some other cause will eventually be coaxed from tho pipe. variety 'there is a tendency to emit noises, which increase in volume as the tank is drained of its liquid contents.. The owner is nuzzled by the fact that gating noises havo begun after he has travelled 100 miles or • so, whereas there were none at the beginning of the journey The obvious remedy is to keep 'the tank filled up. An important proposal, and one which is of considerable interest to this country, has recently been made in E ranee by M. Marc Reville. The proposal is to the effect that, immediately upon the* conclusion of the war, the Frencn Government should arrange for the manufacture in France of 25,000 farm- tractors, representing a small series of types suitable for various classes of work. These would be placed at the disposal of the agricultural Community upon the easiest possible terms, provision being made for payment by instalments. Local depots would be established at suitable centres These would bo staffed so as to be thoroughly competent to deal with all work appertaining to reoairs, overhaul, or maintenance. Doubtless they would provide for the technical training of farmers and their men. The depots would also take charge of adequate stocks of parts, which, would be retailed at reasonable prices controlled by the Government. M. Reville states that the employment of these tractors in place of the machinery and animals lead to an annual saving of 40 000,000 workdays among farmers and agricultural labourers, thus having the effect of immensely increasing the available man-power, and also of filling, the deficiency in the number of draft animals. The scheme has received the favourable consideration ot the '.French Chamber of Deputies. < controlled boat which it was announced had been destroyed off the Belgian coast a little time ago, the following information has been supplied officially, by the British Admiralty:—'' The electrically - controlled motor boats used on the Belgian coast are twin petrol-engined vessels, partially closed in, and travel at a high speed lhey carry a drum with between 30 and 50 miles of insulated single-core cable, through which the boat is controlled electrically. ihe fore nart carries a considerable ch! "*p of high "exnlosive. probably from 3001 b to 5001 b in" weight. After the engine has beer started the crew leave the boat A seaplane protected by a strong fighting patrol 'then accompanies the vessel at a distance of three to five miles, and signals to the shore operator the helm to give the vessel. The boat is zig-zagged while runnin"-: this may bo either intentional or unintentional. On being steered into a v ehip the charge is exploded automatically. . iho device is a very old one. A boat similarly controlled was used in H.M.S. Vernon (the torpedo experimental ship) as far back as 1885. Tho " only new features in the German boats are" petrol engines and signals, neither of which existed then. There is in normal times a very distinct demand for what one may term, in the light of present-day practice, the motor cyclo fitted with a twin-cylinder engine.of medium power. In times past an engino of 5 h.p. was regarded somewhat in the light of a 7-9 h.p. of tho present, day, and those possessing- such a machine were looked upon as being owners of heavyweight models, beyond which latter it would not bo necessary or advisable to go. This was before the advent of the side-car combination in anything like its present etago of popularity—that is to say, when 2i to 3 h.p. machines were more or less standard for solo work. Nowadays, however, side-car combinations usually include 6-7 h.p. engines as a minimum where twin cylinders are used, whilst 7.9 or 8 h.p. models are common. In addition 'there are, of course, numerous single-cylinder models with 3i to 5 h.p. engines; but referring for the timo being to twin-cylinder engines only there is a decided opening for models equipped with engines other than tho most powerful ratings, whilst still retaining the" fea'turo of. twin cylinders. A really efficient variable-geared 5-6 h.p. machine

should comprise all the essentials for sidecar propulsion, short, perhaps, of the ability for extreme speeds, such as aro easy with a big engine of from 7-9 h.p.; but in return for this sacrifice of speed we obtain a very handy machine, which can be' used for solo or passenger purposes at will. The heaviest motor cycles can, of course, be ridden solo, and many would not think, twice about doing so; but such machines can hardly be regarded as a suitable type for the conveyance of one person only, and their bulk and weight may in certain circumstances —as, for instance, on greasy roads—incur by no means a small amount of risk to the rider. When coupled up to a side-car such risks are entirely avoided, and it is, of course, very comfortable 'to feel that, no matter. how adverse the road and weather, conditions may be, there is an ample margin of power in reserve for all eventualities,, and even should one cylinder fail to do its share it will always be possible to get along if the other one is working in good form. Still, as a general utility model, the 8 h.p. can hardly compare favourably with 'the one of 5-6 h.p., and we venture .to prophesy that after the war those who supply machines of the kind referred to will find a ready market fdr them.