MOTOR – CYCLING

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18577, 27 September 1928, Page 5

MOTOR - CYCLING

' By

“ MAGNETO.”

FIXTURES. September 29—Christchurch . Motor Club, treasure hunt.. October 6—Christchurch Motor Club, motor-cycle football match. October 6—4Dtago Club, beach races at Waikouaiti. October 7—Pioneer Motor-cycle Club, opening run to Waihora Park.' October 20, 21 and 22—Christchurch, Motor Club, camp (Labour Day ■week-end). October 20, 21 and 22—Otago Club, Labour Day trial to Clyde. October 21 —Ashburton Club, run to Lake Coleridge. October 27 —Pioneer Club, track races. November 3 —Pioneer Club, beach races. ' November 3—Ashburton Club, paperchase. November 18—Ashburton Club, club run. November 21—Ashburton Club, gymkhana. December I—Pioneer Club, track races. December 9—Ashburton Club, club s*: « Treasure Hunt. On Saturday next the Christchurch Motor Club will hold a treasure hunt. In March last a similar event wag arranged and proved a great success. The rules are simple and are fairly wellknown. but to those . who are not acquainted with the procedure to be followed in finding the treasure the following may be of use. At the start two names of well-known places will be given him: only one will be right. If he chooses the right, one he will be given two further names and so on until the end of the hunt is reached. If by chance t.he wrong one is chosen the rider must immediately proceed to the other place given. A set speed will be given for the full course and any rider completing in ; a shorter time than that given will be disqualified. This provision is to obviate speeding. Members are asked to meet at the Moorhouse Avenue Tramway sheds at 2.30 p.m. 5: Synthetic Petrol. As the result of the statements by scientists to the effect .that,at the present enormous rate of consumption our crude oil supply is limited to quite a short period of years, efforts are being made in Europe and America to produce cheap artificial petroleum. One very economical method was explained in an American magazine some months ago. It consists of extracting the oil content out of common coal-gas. Bv a system of retorts and n s it, was deemed possible to extract substance which would otherwise be absolutely wasted. It was stated that the oil content of gas was considerable and in ordinary circumstances this content condensed on burners and proved a real nuisance. Various other methods have been tried, all more or less successfully. Alcohol forms the basis for the majority of experiments, but the trouble has been to find a substance that would make the distilling of alcohol in large quantities worth while. The Australian Commonwealth Government has been conducting experiments with eucalyptus. In certain tests it was found that the consumption was 24 m.p.g. for petrol, 28 m.p.g. for a mixture of half petrol, half eucalyptus, and'for eucalyptus 36 m.p.g. The difficulty appears to be in cold starting owing to slow vaporisation. A strange feature of this fuel is that it is a decarbonising agen t. - Quite the most practical of coal experiments is a process carried out in Switzerland- This process requires a cheap power agent, but has proved quite successful. The process consists of treating coal and lime in an electric furnace to produce calcium carbide. Acetylene is generated -in the usual manner and is oxidised to acetaldehyde, which is then mixed with hydrogen, and the vapours passed over hot, finely divided nickel. On cooling crude ethyl alcohol is obtained. The process is very economic and should, providing the raw materials are available, be successful if tried out in this country. The coal industry is at present in a very bad way in this country, and the introduction of this industry would not keep miners working but would provide petrol sufficiently cheap to compete with imported spirit Anyway the scheme would be worth investigation. Th® On® Hour Record. Of all the many records officially recognised, none is more coveted, than the 500 hour record. The 500 c.c. machine, which represents the middle class of motor-cycles, is probably the most ridden of all the types and so more importance is attached to performances of this particular . class of mount. The record established in 1927 by A. Denly (Norton), who attained 100.54 m.p.h., has been exceeded by C. W. G. Lacey (Grindlay-Peerless), who attained 103 30 m.p.h. at Brooklands in Jfily A very creditable feature of this record is the fact that the J.A.P. engine was tuned by the rider himself. More importance still is attached to this performance, as the track was considered not capable of more than IQO m.p.h. The nature of the achievement can scarcely be comprehended “by* those who did not know the conditions under which the rider laboured. Brook-

lands track, it is reported, far from being. the perfect speedway, has nowadays a rough, bumpy surface. So bad, irf fact, that it was considered for purely physical reasons that a rider was incapable of attaining a speed of over 100 m.p.h. In face of these facts is it any wonder that the performance is described as “ one of the most remarkable feats in motor-cycle history”? To-day the record stands at 103 miles 532 yards, an increase of ten miles in two years. The following will give an indication of the progress that has been made within the. past eight i'ears: — Vfiar PirlAr TVT P H

Peerless) 103.30 *lt was in this year that the “ MotorCycle ” presented a trophy for the Notes. Despite an announcement on Saturday morning that the beach races were to be postponed, the Christchurch Motor Club held the first meeting of the season. The weather was threatening, but this did not prevent a number of spectators turning out. The short course lived up to expectations, and it is quite likely that the Christchurch Club will keep to it. It was plainly shown by the riders that quite high speeds can be maintained. The course was not in too good condition, but it was quite fit for racing purposes. 95 k Dick Shaw is reported to be constructing a “ special ” for this season’s competitions. Shaw established quite a reputation for this sort of thing with his “ S.' and K.” special last season. It will be remembered that Shaw came a cropper with his Royal Enfield last year .and damaged the machine rather badly. With the able assistance of W. Kerr, he reconstructed the mount, and it appeared later with a cut-away frame, a neat little saddle-tank, and emblazoned with the letters S. and K. (afterwards nicknamed the “ SomeKid”). The nippy little 22 h.p mount did quite well, and its last public appearance was on the occasion of the race meeting at New Brighton at the end of last season. We are eagerly awaiting “ Dick’s ” latest effort. M 55 3 'G. Hockley was quite up to his old standard on Saturday. lie came very close to winning the eight miles race, but. he could not catch the winner. His two fastest times were really fine performances G;' Wicks, a newcomer to the beach, celebrated his debut by winning the maiden race. He has a good mount and should be heard of again. lie was riding a 22 Harley-Davidson. A. Brown did quite well on Saturday. He won the eight miles open race after a good tussle. Hockley was overhauling him fast, but could not make up his heavy handicap in time. « 95 X E. Burmeister was a notable absentee on Saturday. It is with regret that we learn that he has an attack of influenza. It is to be hoped that he will make a speedy recovery. X 95 55 Advice has been received to the effect that the Waimairi County Council 'have given permission for a collection to be made at the Christchurch Motor Club's beach meetings. The money so. collected will be devoted for use : in-cases of riders injured in beach racing. 55 55 55 According to a Liverpool paper, a mofor-eyclist w-as fined for travelling “at fifty-fifty miles an hour.” Not everyone is satisfied with a machine that will only at half speed 1 At the end of March of this year there were 3004 motor-cycles in use in Ceylon. 95 X The 1029 designs of at least one firm will be influenced by experience gained on the dirt tracks this year. As the result of a police check taken at Lindsey (Lincolnshire), 440 cars were found to be on the road unlicensed. 55 55 5*5 ; Av witness who was asked in a London police court whether he was a good judge of speed, replied: “Yes, I attend dirt-track races every Saturday.”

Year. Rider. Machine. M.P..H. 1920—J. L. Emerson, A.B.C. 67.93 1920—J. L. Emerson, A.B.C. .. 70.44 1920—V. E. Horsman, Norton 71.68 1920—V. E. Horsman, Norton 72.48 1921—J. L. Emerson, Douglas 72.87 1921—V. E. Horsman, Norton 73.38 1921—J. L. Emerson. Douglas 74.26 1921—F. B. Halford, Triumph .. 76.74 1922—J. L. Emerson, Douglas 78.91 1923—A. Denly, Norton 82.66 1923—A. Denlv, Norton 85.22 1923 —A. Denly, Norton ...... S5.58 1923—V. Horsman, Triumph 86.52 1924—A. Denly, Norton 87.07 1924—A. Denly, Triumph .... 88.21 1924:—V. E. Horsman, Douglas 88.21 1924—M. Richard, Peugeot 88.45 1925 —V. E. Horsman, Triumph 89.13 1925—F. W. Dixon, Douglas 89.92 1925—V. E. Horsman, Triumph 90.79 1926—\V. JL. Handley, Rex Acme 91.20 *1926—V. E. Horsman, Triumph 94.15 1927—A. Denly, Norton ...... 95.02 1927—A. Denlv, Norton 10054 1928—C. W. G. Lacey (Grindla}'-