MOTOR-CYCLING.

Southland Times, Issue 19395, 8 November 1924, Page 19 (Supplement)

MOTOR-CYCLING.

NEWS AND NOTES. Practise braking by changing gear; one day your brakes may fail. To-day the Scott is the only motor-cycle of any importance which is water-cooled. It is definitely announced that Percy Coleman will be riding at Avondale next month. The first J.A.P. light-weight engine was made in 1903. It was about 1$ h.p., and weighed but 281bs. The first horizontally opposed twin-cylin-der engine is believed to be the 6 h.p. Fairley, which was seen on the English roads in 1906—a precursor of the Douglas and Humber of to-day. A new world’s record was established at Brooklands track in the 200 miles side-car scratch race of August 23, when R. E. Humphries on his Harley-Davidson attained the remarkable average speed of 69.66 miles an hours. He won comfortably 16 miles ahead of the nearest competitor. In the 200 miles unlimited solo class Longman (Harley-Davidson) and Humphries (HarleyDavidson) finished second and third respectively. So gruelling was the contest that only three machines finished. One seldom hears from a motor-cycle gear box the grating of gears, which emanates from a car gear box when a change is badly made. Nevertheless, the motor-cyclist can with advantage copy the procedure of the skilled car driver for the system of operation of the gears is similar. When changing up, therefore, take the clutch right out and make the change of gear fairly slowly, closing off the throttle at the same time in order to slow down the gears about to be engaged to approximately the same speed. On the other hand, when changing down, say, from top to second, it is better merely to slip the clutch, keeping the throttle open so that the engine speeds up as the clutch is slipped, and to move the gear lever smartly across to the lower gear notch. Once again the object is to bring the gears or dogs about to be engaged to approximately the same rate of speed, so that they will dip easily into me»h.