CYCLING AND MOTORING NOTES

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 97, 14 June 1911, Page 2

CYCLING AND MOTORING NOTES

Tiic probable date of Australia’s premier road contest, the Dunlop road race J'roni Warrnamhool to -deiho’ii no (1(55 miles) is Saturday, October Id, the Dunlop Rubber Co. having applied to the League of Victorian vV/ioelinon for that date. The Saturday selected—Caulfield («uineas day—is a week later tlian the date upon which the Warrnamhool is usually held, the change being made with a view of missing the Flemington race traffic, thus ooviating to a great degree the overcrow ding of the road associated with the last few \Varrnamhool finishes. The conditions of the race will he practically the same as last year, perhaps with an additional rule reqniiing contestants to wear' suitable costumes, including stockings, thus doing away with the scanty track racing costumes many of the competitors now foolishly ride in. The prize Hat—totalling over 1200—together with conditions, etc., will be issued at an pally date.

A matter that worries many motorists and intending liiotoi ists is the question as ,to wnether it is liottoi to have a single seated body on the ordinary tonneau (i.d., double-seated body) fitted to their cars, irrespective of tiie wisdom of fitting a light body I on a chassis sprung to carry a heavy 1 tonneau. For economical motoring l there is no doubt the single-seater—- | which can be made to carry three I people—is a long way bettor than the ■ tonneau, the saving in tyres alone I being very considerable, for it is the I lateral strain and the additional I weight of 1 the extra passengers and 'body over the back tyres that causes I fifty per cent of the tyre troubles met ■ with on the road. Of course, the I man with a family wants bis four or five-seated car, and would bo selfish to fit his car with a single seat, hut for the motorist who Ini’s no family ties there is no doubt that ho will I get cheaper and better motoring on | a, single-seater, with chassis designed I for the purpose. \As .regards the 1 single-seater, l.he ’“Adto- Car ’' (Eng.), recently commented upon the necessity of the {•roper- distribution ol weight to get the best results from this type of car. The' opinion expressed was that half the weight should rest On tiie back wheels to ensure proper road adhesion, for without sufficient weight over the bad-: wheels the car loses its stability and extra wear takes place on the back tyres owing to the radial slip when bouncing over rough rends. The writer’s experience on Australian | roads has borne out the “Auto Car’s” contention, and in many instances, on a single-seated car, originally fit tod with a tonneau body and sprung to carry this type of body with full complement of passengers, there has boon a distinct loss of stability ano pace, which was only overcome by carrying additional dead weight over tire ' back tyres. With few exceptions the single-seated cats now scon on our roads show the driver and his one or two passengers placed in the. same position as .the front seat ot a tonneau body, with the result that the best result is not being got out, cl the car. With the growing popularity of this class of body'no doubt due consideration will be given hf manufacturers to this important matter. The springing is another phase that also requires studying, for it can be readily under stood that springs httcc. ;to carry a certain weight are not giving tiro best, results when only half the load is being carried, hence the need of the single-seated' car be itrg specially sprung, and tiro 'chassis designed for trris type of body. Tbs Convertible body—tonneau to single seat—is a compromise, but it can never give .the■•satisfactory - result* | that cart be’derived from trie Ily designed chassis to carry..'a single- ! seated body.

Some remarkable figures vtero re cantly established on the lirooklandi rating track (London) by a freak—-2-cylinder Lion-Pcngcot liglit voitnretto (small car). The freakish nature of the engine will be understood v. hen it is stated that the bore of the cylinders was only SO. millimetres, with a stroke of 280 millimetres (over eleven inches). The times recorded were. FlyilTg half mile in 21.21 seconds; fifty miles in 80min. ITsec. ; 'hundred miles in 89min. 28sec.; and 78 miles in the hour—remarkable travelling for such a type of car.

A good idea oi me rapid manner in wliich motoring is spreading in Australia can he gathered from the following Customs figures giving the importation values of motor vehicles brought into the, Commonwealth during 1910 :-*-j\ow South Wales—Charsis, £282,180; bodies £88,787; motor cycles, £20,817; total, £887,048. Vic-toria-Chassis’, £225,225; 1 bodies, £81,800; motor cycle's, £0005; total, £270,080. South Australia—Chassis, £102,107; bodies, £14,221 ; motor cycles, £7007; total, £128,458. (Queensland —Chassis, £54,844 ; bodies, £0112; motor cycles, £4081; total, £05,707. West Australia— Chassis,-. £22,080; bodies, £5815; motor cycles, £1400; total, £28,850. Tasmania—Chassis,, £7082..; . bodies. £1880; motor cycles,j £1055; total, £11,020. The total value of Chassis brought- into’ the Commonwealth last year was £001,210; of bodies, £OO,i)08; and motor cycles, £45,081 —mak-ing-a total of £880,280. These figures represent importation’ costs and not retail ••selling prices.' it is interesting to note that New South Wales imported, over £57,000 worth of chassis more timid Victoria, and nearly £IOOO worth less of bodies, clearly proving that considerably more bodybuilding is going on in Sydney than in Melbourne. Again, motor cycling

appears to ho more popular in the Mother State than in Victoria, it’s little wonder the motor trade in Now South Wales is booming. Other surprising facts arc that. (Queensland is importing more than double the value of cars West Australia is, and that Tasmania is importing more motor eyries than West Australia. Some lime hack some very caustic remarks wore made in the English cycling press in reference to the carelessness of "the Christchurch Cycling did) iii the mileage given in connection with one of their road events the distance, being afterwards found short. \t';he Time; the ji.isr.akc was used to discredit”the fast timoi I established in the Dunlop road race j from Warnmmhool to Melbourne— I the inference being made that if lax- I ity was allowed to creep in in connec- I tion with’ the distance the same could j apply to our timing, A similar error j has now occurred in England, the of- j fending club afterwards admitting j that they knew that a “IUU-miio; j course” was only 00.', miles, but as i i ‘‘surveyor bad estimated (4iat tin I bills and corners would be smii j to make up the difference” flic club I was satisfied to advertise the course j as a 100-milcK one. From this it is. j evvlont that the English club made j the terror w ith t lk ir eyes open. | whereas the Christchurch Club’s mis-1 take was made quite unintentionally, \ which is a different matter entirely. | This question of conoct distances ini connection with road races is cer- j t.iinly an important one, and pro- j moling chilis, etc., cannot he too care- ; fill in ascertaining and making sure j that tiicii advertised distances are j correct, for it is not only misleading | hut a distinct breach of sportsmanship to overstate the distance of any sporting event.

motorists and cyclists in this country v. as recently decided in England, when a cyclist was proceeded against in tiro Police Court for obstructing a motor car on tiro road. ■ From the evidence if. appeared that the car was being driven on one of tire main roads leading to London, whan the defendant cyclist was noticed ahead travelling in the same direction, lire horn was repeatedly sounder!, on' the car, but the cyclist stubbornly refused to draw into the near side to allow tiro car to pass. The obstrur tion was continued for some distance, tiro cyclist turning round and laughing defiance at the occupants of the car. 'file defendant was fined, Sir Alfred Reynolds, Chairman of the Bench, making some very strong remarks on the necessity of road risers helping each other, and on tire undesirability of occurrences of the kind under notice. Motorists, be. said, had as much right to tiro highway as drivers of other vehicles, and offences of this kind often led to motorists taking risks in passing on the near side, the result being that if an accident occurred tire motorist got into trouble through no fault of in’s own. The trouble cited in the above case is very rampant on our own I’oads, and has already resulted in several smashes. The best way out of the difficulty appears to be tire passing of a stringent by-law compelling all slow-going vehicles to keep to tire, near side of tire road—this applies to every class of road-users—-if this were lone travelling on the road would Ire safer and easier for all concerned. The American motorist, Robert Biirinan, who recently established now and remarkable figures for the world’s Hying mile record, covering the 17(50 yards in 25.12 seconds—equivalent to over 138 miles an hour —has, according te the latest tiles, again reduced the figures for tJris distance. Burmitn’s latest achievement was to drive his big Bonn car r flying mile on the hard sand on tire Daytona Beach, Florida, in 25. 1 seconds, equal to near ly 1-12 miles an Hour. At the same lime he covered a kilomtui e (1003 yards) in 1-5.8 seconds. The tremendous pace achievoed by Burrram is easily the fastest yet accomplished by man. The nait-spr ending fiend has been busy in France, for according, to word from Paris nails were scattered an the road during the recent ParisRoubaix race, but tire men who scattered them have escaped justice. The directors of a French cycle firm in a letter to the press, point out that fourteen of their riders had their tyres punctured by nails, Emile Georget (one of France’s most prominent riders) being stopped four times on that account. With a view to putting a stop to such acts, the company handed over the sum of £l2O, to be awarded to the person or persons giving such information as will lead to the arrest of the culprits. An appeal is also made to other cycle firms, whether interested in racing or not, to contribute to a common fund to be employed towards the extermination of tiro cowardly and unsportsmanlike practice. Francis Birtlcs, who, with a cinematograph operator, recently left Sydney on a picture-taking expedition into the centre of Australia, wires the Dunlop Rtib’ocr Co. from Cuimarnulla, about 120 miles north of Bourke, that the tracks arc in a terrible state for travelling owing to tiro recent rains. Birtles and his companion will probably cut across to llrishane before making for the Northern Territory,.