Cycling & Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 3415, 29 August 1919, Page 50

Cycling & Motor Notes

BY DEMON

Powerful head lights are now forbidden in Paris and the surrounding district. An official order, published on May 15, 1906, .will now be strictly enforced. It reads: "Motor cars travelling on a publio highway in Paris and district must not use Winding head lights." At the London Sessions recently, when a man was sent to prison for 21 months for stealing a car from outside the Motor Club, it was stated by the police that during ' the last few weeks from 15 to 20 cars, which had been' loft unattended an London streets, had been stolen. The prisoner, who had been previously convicted, was one of a gang of motor thieves. The car should never be washed in direct sunlight. If the operation is not carried out in the garage the vehicle should be in the shade while being washed. The direct rays of the sun striking on water causes heating, which tends to dull the finish. In the same way the hood should never Le washed, when it is hot, as directly after a run. Locating a missing cylinder is an art which every driver must learn. The screwdriver method is the best. Run engine throttled down and short-circuit each plug in turn by resting end of screwdriver on cylinder and leaning side of blade against head of plug. If engine slows down, that is a live cylinder. If it does not affect the running of the engine it is a dead cylinder. This test works best on a four-cylinder engine. A good story was related a few years ago concerning a motorist in Melbourne, who took his expensive Continental car from one repair .shop to another to endeavour to have it restored to its original pulling power. Valves were ground in, new sparkplug fitted, another recommended a new carburetter, and it is said another, in sheer desperation, put fresh air in the tyres. Still the engine failed to show its old form. The car was taken, as a last resource, to a comparatively new hand, who knew a great dial of theory, and by elimination he wisely determined that the only part that had not been pulled down was the muffler. So he promised to fix the job. As soon as the • owner left the shop a stalwart youth was put on to pull down the muffler, and the owner paid Ihc sum asked, but probably to this day does not know the simple ailment his car suffered from. About 15 years ago a considerable number of cars were outside Government House by a practical joker, who hammered champagne corks into the muffler outlets whilst tho chauffeurs - were having supper. Later sweating drivers wer3 endeavouring to start their motors, until one after the other the corks were blown out like shot out of guns. A clogged muffler makes a "sick"' engine, and the process of cleaning is so easy. Company (England) intends starting an American factorv. The heavy American tariff adds considerably to the selling price of an expensive car like the Eolls-Rovce. hence the proposal to manufacture in tho States. An American tyre comnany—or, io 'dopt its own spelling, "tire"—make the asforndinjr announcement, in a recent advertisement, that it invented the first air tvre in 1890! Proceeding, thev claim that they, "with rare prophetio vision, foresaw

an individual unit of transportation—the pneumatic tjre." Grandiloquent, but singularly inaccurate. The first air tyre was patented by Robert Thompson in December, 1845 The first practical air tyre was patented by J. B. Dunlop on July 23, 1888. The first wired-on detachable air tyre was patented by C. K. Welch on September 16, 1890; the first beaded-edge pneumatic tyre was patented by W. L. Bartlctt on October 21. 1690, and the patent rights subsequently purchased by the Dunlop Tyre Company. -Where, then, do our Yankee friends come in?

BRAKING

Many car-owners habitually see only the foot brake, depending on the side brakes for emergency use, which is a mistake. One often hears the hand brake spoken of as the "emergency" brake, as though it were not intended for normal use. But in car-driv-ing, as in other things, "use is second nature," and, unless the application of the lever brake has by practice and frequent normal use become automatic —that is, a natural series of movements on the part of the driver—there must be some hesitation when an emergency arises. If, however, this brake be used alternated with the pedal brake, or even more frequently, m the ordinary course of driving, its application involves no loss of time. When one considers that a fraction of a second may, npon occasion, ,make all the difference between an accident and the avoidance of one, the imnortance of every movement concerned with driving being akin to "second nature" is realised. There are other reasons, too, why the lever brake should be frequently used. One arises from the fact that the constant application of the pedal brake, especially if it be used solely on a long descent, results in the drum and shoes becoming overheated. This, in turn, often causes the oil in the gear-box to become very thin, and to work out through the rear bearing on to the brake. Particularly on a long descent, therefore, both brakes should be used alternately, or, on steep hills, simultaneously. Another reason is That oil occasionally creeps along inside the back axle, from tti6 differential casing at the centre, and linos its way into the wheel brake-drums. In such a case, if the hand brake be not used regularly the driver may find (when it is urgeitly required) t that it is ineffective, owing to the presence of oil on the friction surfaces.

HEAVY MOTOR CYCLES.

Where is the excuse for the motor cycle which, solo, weighs over 3cwt? Such undoubtedly exist, and they are practically unmanageable when ridden without a sidecar except by those possessed of more than average strength and ability. Apart from their ir. convenience in handling there is the question of cost to be considered. _ More metal means higher cost of production and a higher fuel consumption, and the time has gone by when the matter can be disposed of by the saying, "It doesn't matter what the machine weighs; the engine has plenty of power." This is an entirely wrong way of looking at it, the proper one being , reduce the weight of the machine and a smaller engiae can then be used." An 8 h.p. engine- transmitting its power thnough a three-speed gear-box, can, if is true, propel a very bijr load; indeed, there is hardly any load that can be packed oipon it which it will not convey without much difficulty. A reserve of a very substantial kind is present in normal circumstances, and that is accented as a comforting fact by many of those who ride these ultra-heavy machines, weighing with side-cars unladen nearly scwt in many cases. There are many who think that this type of motor cycle will ultimately disappear, "its place being taken by one that is lighter and cheaner to run, but which at the same time will propel equal loads at the same speed and possess the same, if not and improved, capacity for hill-climbing. That, of course, is a worthv ideal and by no means one that is unattainable. According to present notions on the subject, it is essential to build machines on the high weight basis in order to secure the strength necessary to withstand the shocks to which the construction will be subjected. Lot us admit that, until more scientific considerations prevail, it is necessary to use heavy material throughout: but that is not for one moment to say that the problem cannot be overcome bv methods other than those of building motor cvcles reerardless of the weight factor and fitting them with bigger engines to take the weight.

500-MILE SPEED CONTEST.

It would be trite to remark on the tremendous strains to which tyres are subjected during modern speed trials. But it is imnortant and instructive to dilate on the wonderful advancement in tyre construction evidenced by their endurance and reliability of tyres under the most exacting conditions. Tho Indianapolis 500. reccnty decided, was run on a course which is the severest on tyres in tho United States. It is of brick construction, which does not permit the flexibility of movement accorded by the various board tracks. In this year's race there were 38 per cent, fewer tyre changes than in -£he previous race held in 1915. This alone shows the wonderful advancement made in the building of automobile tyres. Furthermore, the changes that were actually made' were not

always absolutely ■ necessary, but were made as a matter of precaution while the drivers stopped for some other purpose, such as taking in lubricant or petrol. Many of the discarded tyres probably ,would have gone the whole distance had the drivers cared to take a chance. The winner of this race, Howard Wilcox, driving a Peugot car, occupied shr 44min 21.755ec. His rate of speed for the race was 87.12 miles per hour. He assumed the lead at the two hundred and fiftieth mile. Close behind the flying camo Eddie Hearne, the western millionaire driver, in a Durant Special. He also had two tyres at the finish that had travelled the whole distance. Ira Vail, who finished eighth in a Hudson, completed the entire 500-mile course without a tvre change. There were some lamentable happenings in the contest involving the deaths of three contestants. Lecocq, driver of a Roamer car, and his mechanician, Bandini, were burned to death when their car overturned. The burning petrol spread over the speedway, and many of the racing cars were compelled to dash through -the flames. Arthur Thurman, driving a car assembled by himself, was crushed to death beneath his overturned car. Louis Chevrolet, in his one hundred and seventy-third lan, electrified the vast crowd (100,000 strong) by the sensational feat of driving skill. He lost a front wheel, on the turn into the grand stand stretch, and came down the straight with the left front axle scraping over the bricks. Only by marvellous driving ability did Chevrolet keep his_ car from colliding with the other cars- which were flying past him, but in passing the timing stand the axle tore up the recording wire, necessitating the timing of the rest of the race by stop-watches. The race was for £IO,OOO, of which "the winner received £4OOO, and the second £2OOO. AUTO-CYGLE UNION. N WELLINGTON, August 20. The annual conferen© of the New Zealand Auto-Cycle Union opened this morning, Mr Tortenson (ManawattJ) in the chair. The annual report referred to the fact that P. Coleman broke the world's record for 15 miles, the time being 13 minutes 50 seconds. Fifty riders were now registered by the union. Owing to the number of accidents a benevolent fund for riders had been established diu'ing the year'. The Riders' Club were affiliated to the union. Mr Tortenson was elected president for the ensuing year, and Messrs J. B. Merrett, J. H. Flight, Gray, Gaisford, Schultz, and Nash vice-presidents. Mr H. J. Lloyd was reappointed secretary and treasurer. The following dates \ for club meetings were allotted:—Danneyirke,. Labour Day; Poverty Bay, Ist and 2nd January • Napier, Easter Saturday and Monday; Hawera, 31st March; Christchurch, 26th December and 21st February; Marton, 27th March. The Gisborne Club were allotted the heavyweight championship, Marton the middleweight, and Napier the light-weight championships.