MOTOR & CYCLE

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1924, Page 14

MOTOR & CYCLE

MOTOR-CYCLING 'An American six days’ trial, similar to the English trials, was recently held in the Cleveland district. At the Scottish -Speed Championships the Norton won the 3£-h.p. event, and the A.J.S. secured honours in the 2f h.p. Alec. Bennett has added to his long list of wins by annexing the Belgian Grand Prix on a Norton, at an average speed of 61.3 m.p.h. The 2f-h.p. Rudge climbed Screw Hill, Liverpool, in 2min 16 4-sseos. Half a mile with a rise of 600 ft, and six hairpin bends was accomplished in this time with a lOet. passenger in the side-car. There appears to be a considerable demand in the> United States for motorcycle side-car outfits, equipped as first aid fire engines. In a country of large distances and widely-spread suburbs such speedy outfits are doubtless of great value.

The latest engine design of an unorthodox nature has a cylinder and piston which, for want of a better term, are described as elliptical in shape. The design enables larger overhead valves to be employed with greater cooling space between, and in the case of a four cylinder power unit rod permit of a much shorter crankshaft. Teets of an experimental model are claimed to have resulted in unusually cool running, and particular freedom from pinkirtg.

One of the best known of Brooklands riders who was largely responsible for instituting the recent “strike” against the silencer regulations, states that it is “impossible to silence a super-efficient engine/’ by which he presumably means it is impossible to silence it adequately without a considerable power loss. Unsilenced engines, however, are of no use apart from racing purposes, and our own opinion is that the new regulations should do much to direct effort to a very important aspect of design that has been sadly neglected in the past. Increased power at the expense of noiselessness is not what the public wants.

The level of the petrol in the carbur-, etter is upset if the float becomes heavier through a minute orifice allowing petrol to enter, and the carburetter will “flood” to the detriment of petrol consumption. A punctured float can be identified by shaking it in proximity to the ear, although it needs a practised ear to tell whether petrol or a tiny fragment of solder is inside. To empty the float of petrol, .place it in a basin of hot water and watch for the point where the bubbles of expanded gas emerge, marking this and afterwards sealing the orifice with the smallest possible trace of solder. It will probably be necessary to keep the water very near the boiling point in order to persuade all the vaporised petrol to leave. Do not attempt to heat the float by any other means, such as a naked flame.

Statements which if made to-day would sound very amusing, were uttered by Brevet-Major McNulty of the A.S.C., in a lecture on “Mechanicallypropelled vehicles for military use/’ before the Royal United Service Institution, in 1904. Speaking of the motorcycle he said it raised less dust than the most dustless car, and in the case of breakdown it could be pedalled. At a pinch the engine could be removed and the machine used as a pedal bicycle. Unfortunately it was not yet perfect, and it was even now (1904!) no uncommon sight to see a motor-cyclist detained on the road by some temporary trouble. He considered that twenty motor-bicycles and forty ordinary bicycles, accompanied by two cars carrying spares for the former, would constitute & very mobile force. His idea was that the motor-cyclists should tow the push cyclists.

THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. Before the dawn of the motor-car age, a passing motorist picked up a fanner who had never before seen i:n automobile. The farmer was duly impressed and delighted. To impress him still more, the motorist put his foot on the accelerator, and for six or seven miles they tore along like the wind. Then something went wrong with the steering gear, and they ran into a tree. The farmer and motorist alighted unhurt on a bank of moss. The ear was not damaged. •“That was fine,” tsaid the farmer, as he got up. “We sartinly went the pace. Tell me this, though, how do you stop her when there ain’t no trees?”

HINTS AND TIPS. NOTES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. A syringe-full of kerosene sqiiirted on to the brake bands occasionally helps to keep them free of oily matter, and will sometimes effectively cure a squeaking brake. A fountain sponge for motor-car washing can be quickly made by cutting an opening in the side of a sponge and inserting a hose nozzle. The sponge can be tied about the hose nozzle. It is easy enough when you are starting on a long run to slip a small can of grease into the tool box for replenishing the grease cups en route. But this precaution may be forgotten, while there are times when the tool box has no room for a single extra item. A good idea when going over the wheels at home is to carry spare cup grease in the hub caps of the rear wheels. Thus the supply is always where one knows where to find it. and is kept clean and in good condition. Rub the end of a long screwdriver on one of the poles of a strong horseshoe magnet, and you have an easily magnetised tool. You will be agreeably surprised at the great number of useful things you are able to do with it. Tins may be put in plac£, screws entered in inaccessible positions, or pieces of iron and steel picked out of a gear case or engine. In magnetising the tool it should not be rubbed back and forth on the magnet, but should be drawn across it in one direction and a rotary motion continued in the air above the magnet. On some cars it is found necessary or desirable to warm up the carburetter as quickly as possible in order to get efficient and economical running. When the instrument is bolted directly to the cylinder block it is often ftfund thnt a

copper asbestor gasket generally used tends to insulate the carburettor from the warmth which would otherwise be conducted to it from the cylinders. The Motor points out chat if a lead washer be cut from new lead sheetings and put in between the carburettor and the engine, the heat will be much better conducted than with the copper asbestos type of gasket, so that the instrument will warm to its work much quicker. When changing a wheel, time is often wasted owing to the fact that when Mie tyre is absolutely flat the jack has to be wound down to the minimum height before it can be inserted under the axle and then wound up a considerable distance in order to raise the axle sufficiently to allow the spare wheel with fully inflated tyre to be placed in position. A time-saving scheme is to put the spare wheel on the ground and then GREASE-GUN SYSTEMS. NEW METHODS OF LUBRICATION. There will always be a certain number of owners who thoroughly enjoy such processes as washing, lubricating, and adjusting a car, but to the majority of people these tasks are an irksome toll paid for the joy of motoring. This fact has been realised by manufacturers in recent years, and a number of detail improvements have been made with the object of lightening the labours of the owner-driver.

The all-important question of lubrication has at last come in for due attention, an important step in the right direction being the widespread adoption of grease-gun systems for chassis parts. In this connection should be mentioned the improvement in the accessibility of the oil fillers provided on the crankcase, gearbox, and back axle. In some cases the crankcase filters are exceedingly well arranged, so that they can be removed and cleaned without the necessity for dismantling other parts. It must be recorded, however, that in certain instances the removal of a filter is a long and laborious process, and involves the wastage of a considerable amount of oil.

Noteworthy progress has been made in the adoption of designs which entirely obviate the need for lubrication. A good example of this trend is the substitution of fabric universal joints for those of the metallic variety. The fabric joint is .perfectly noiseless, easily renewed, and requires no ‘adjustment or lubrication during its working life. One may also cite the so-called oilless bush, in which the fibre surfaces are impregnated with a graphite composition. These should be quite suitable for parts in which very little movement occurs, such as spring shackle pins, and still further reduce the labour of lubricating the chassis.

It must be remembered that by reducing the number of parts requiring periodical oiling the life of the chassis is materially increased, because many private owners are apt to be lazy, and a neglected part, which ought to have frequent lubrication, is bound to wear rapidly. The use of ball and roller bearings is to be commended for similar reasons, as these useful devices only require sufficient lubricant to prevent rusting and reduce the small amount of friction present between the balls and their cages. Other parts which require adequate protection and lubrictaion are now arranged on more sensible and accessible lines, and frequently felt washers are provided, which prevent the ingress of dirt or the egress of lubricant, where a rotating shaft projects from a housing. In this connection, spring gaiters should also be mentioned, as these prevent the leaves of the spring from rusting, and retain the grease.

! POWER FROM ALCOHOL. HOPE OF THE FUTURE. One of the contributions to the recent World Power Conference at Wembley was by Sir Charles H. Bedford, on “Alcohol as a Source of Power.” In it he stated that the enormous development of the use of the internal combustion engine, and the consequent demand for petrol as a fuel, was, of course, one of the outstanding features of presentday civilisation. The world was faced with a very serious problem as regards future supplies of fuel for internal combustion engines. Nobody who had firsthand knowledge of the position, as regards world supplies of oil, could escape the conclusion that we were within sight of a very definite and progressive shortage of supply which must be made up from some, preferably non-mineral, source. He concluded alcohol was the hope of the future, being already used in the form of mixtures with benzol, petrol, ether, etc., in various parts of the world. It was quite suitable for all purposes for which petrol was used. Alcohol was being produced from starchy or sugary materials at present, but to meet the large quantities required for fuel purposes rapidly expansible annual crops of sugar-cane, maize, sweet potato and cassava would be of assistance. The main hope, however, lay in obtaining the spirit from waste materials such as cereal straws, sawdust, -waste wood, grasses, and cellulosic waste products. Tropical production was essential, of course, as also manufacture alongside these supplies. No known and accepted manufacturing process existed at present, but the Prodor and Goldschmidt concentrated acid methods for cellulose conversion into sugar, and thence into alcohol, were being developed. Sir Charles suggested the formation of a governmental body, empowered to issue handsome prizes to original workers for their accomplishments in connection with the synthesis of alcohol. His standpoint was that the Government offer to the inventor should be a better one than any private firm could offer.

NECESSITY FOR SHOCK-ABSORBERS The use of some form of spring damper or shock-absorber is coming to be more generally recognised as an important part of oar suspension design. If the need of these things has been demonstrated, and we believe it has, they are much more necessary in the case of the small car than they are in the case of the heavier vehicle. With

the great reduction in weight of the modern car and the more general use difficulty in keeping the wheels down of smaller vehicles has come a greater on the road at speed. We believe that no form of laminated leaf spring can be so efficient that its efficiency cannot be improved by some appliance which will check its normal activity. NOTES. The colour scheme for marking the main Christchurch -iDunedi n- In ver car gi 11 road is progressing, and at all points where roads intersect a branch off the main road is being indicated by yellow and black rings on the telegraph poles. Should mot or-drivers’ licenses be issued to boys and girls 15 years of age. as provided in the Motor Vehicles Bill? Mr. H. Macintosh, motor inspector to the Christchurch City Ooundi, thinks 17 years of age quite young enough. In England nearly every workman has a bicycle which he uses to carry him to and from his work. In Holland almost every active citizen uses the cycle for all purposes of general transport. There are 1,000,000 cycles in Holland. Because of the general use of the makyhine bicycle racks are installed in numbers of English factories, so that they can be left in safety and under cover.

The Automobile Association (Great Britain) has published a reprint of the official report of a very interesting debate 1 which took plface earlier in the year, when a resolution, supported by all parties in the House, w»0 paased in favour of a system of motor spirit taxation instead of the existing lump sum tax per vehicle. This association has a membership of more than 200,000. Since May 20 of this yeat, the “mind your car” men appointed by the Royal Automobile Club of Australia, have taken charge of 24,000 in and around Sydney. There are 16 men stationed at various places. The club endeavours to

insure that these men are thoroughly reliable and suitable for the work, and issues uniforms and numbered tickets to them, but does not pay them. They receive their remuneration from the peraons to whom they render service, the majority of whom are not members of the <