CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIV, Issue 852, 5 July 1906, Page 12

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

(By

“Petrol.”)

The Automobile Grand Prix de France was run for on Sunday over a distance of 745 miles. It was won by a French car, a Renault, driven by Sisz, which did the Journey in the fine time of 12 hours 14min. An Italian Fiat car, driven by Mazzari, completed the trip in 12 hours 46min 26 sec, while third place went to a French Bayard-Clement car, driven by Clement, which took 3min 20sec longer. There were no English entries, the makers in the Old Country favouring the idea of reliability tests instead of useless trials of extreme speed, which would not be allowed in ordinary use.

The Motor Registration Act, as adopted by the City Council, has now become law, the registration coming into force on Monday. The registration fee for motors not having less than four wheels is 10s, and 5s in the case of a motor having less than four wheels. The Act applies only to districts controlled by registering authorities which by resolution have decided to bring the Act into operation. The first car to be registered and labelled Al was Mr. Arthur Cleave’s 15 h.p. Darracq. All motorists must register without delay.

The nomenclature of motoring has a far wider range than that of cycling (says the “Australasian), but, as has been frequently remarked, some of the terms are not well chosen. Strictly speaking, the word “ commutator” is being used to designate the contact-maker (or breaker), is out of place, but is commonly employed. “ Synchronised” ignition seems to be a fancy name, seeing that, to obtain the desired result, the spark must occur in each cylinder at the proper time, otherwise the engine is faulty. In connection with the electric apparatus the term “ has been used, though where is the connection with the earth in a motor car installation to be found?

It will be a matter of surprise to learn that the greatest motoring centre of the world (per head of population, of course) is Buenos Ayres, South America. Not only is there a public motor cab service there, but heavy vehicles are also greatly in use for commercial purposes. Every minister in the country has one or more cars, and the Government has now voted a hundred thousand francs as a first instalment towards highway improvement. The motors in use are mostly of French make.

The manager of one of the largest cycle manufacturing firms in England is of the opinion that finality in cycle building is nearly reached. He says that tyres, rims, spokes, chains, free wheels and saddles seem to have reached that point of perfection where invention can do no more for them. The shape of the frame, too, he argues, appears settled, there having been no change for years, while the spring-frame, upon which his firm has spent thousands of pounds in experiments, may, according to his ideas, now be considered defunct. Practically all the inventions and experiments of recent years in the cycle trade have converged on the problem of changeable gears. . . Most valuable gears have consisted simply of a high and low gear, but the most satisfactory are those which provide for a high, normal, and low gear. I think the three-sneed gear effectually disposes of the changeable gear question, and, if I am right, then the field of the cycle trade is practically closed to inventors for the future. . . I am also of the opinion that bicycles could never be cheaper than they are at present. There are no more patents of moment to expire which would reduce the cost, and producing plant could scarcely be further elaborated. Moreover, the tendency of raw material is to rise.”

The question as to whether the front wheels of a motor car should be fitted with brakes, in addition to those on the drivers, is being discussed in England, and, according to one expert, who states it as a fact.

the combined braking of back and front wheels —even if front-braking alone will not do it—is a very successful antidote to sideslip. Anything that could, with certainty, be relied on to effectively eliminate this great drawback to motoring will receive from the motorists, and from designers of these vehicles, serious consideration. As the cars are at present constructed, it would not be safe to have the brakes applied to the steering wheels, for the weight and enormous stresses thrown upon the front portions of the car would be more than the frame could withstand. It is claimed, however, that a brake on the front wheels will act more powerfully, because the weight of the car is thrown forward, when the wheels would be less likely to lock and skid. This has been demonstrated by the numerous brake tests on the bicycle, it having been proved that the machine can be pulled up in a shorter space than with any kind of brake on the back wheel.

A Supreme Court writ claiming £lOOO for slander has been issued by B. J. Gleeson, secretary of the League of Victorian Wheelmen, against D. P. Smith, a member of the Metropolitan Committee of the Australian Natives’ Association, who is alleged to have made the following statement at a recent meeting of the association: “The Eight Hours’ Wheel Race was the deadliest slander evei’ run in Australia. MacFarland had every man in the field dead for him, and the secretary (meaning thereby the plaintiff) had everything arranged so that he (MacFarland) could collect the prize money and get away in the boat to America on the Wednesday after the race. The secretary of the League (meaning thereby the plaintiff) gave MacFarland the prize money and got an order to receive the same from the Eight Hours’ people; and he received the money, and when the other competitors attended at the Trades’ Hall to receive their shares, they found that the prize money had been paid over and that MacFarland had left for America (meaning thereby that the plaintiff had acted dishonestly and in breach of his duty ag secretary, and had conspired with one MacFarland to enable him to fradulently obtain prize money and escape therewith.”

The recent sad fatality that happened to Mr. Robert Rymill, a prominent South Australian grazier and motorist, has thrown quite a gloom over motoring circles in that State. The deceased gentleman was driving his own car, and was a thoroughly experienced driver, but the formation of the deadly break-neck corner, two miles from Hamilton —dangerous at any time, but almost a death-trap in the dark under wet conditions — brought about an almost inevitable side-slip. The car travelling about 12 miles an hour, skidded sideways off the crown of narrow road at the turn and crashed into a fence, overturning the car and pinning the deceased between the bucket seat of the car and the ground. The sad part of the affair is that Mr. Rymill was not internally injured, but before assistance could be procured, the deceased gentleman was suffocated by the

weight of the car on his chest. Cool to the last, the deceased gave instructions to his youthful mechanic, who was thrown clear of the car, to “ turn off the lights and jack up the car,” and then relapsed into unconsciousness. After vainly endeavouring to raise the 23cwt car, the mechanician ran for assistance, but when it arrived it was unfortunately too late.

The Australasian championship for next racing reason were allotted at the recent Federal Cycling Council, and are as follows: —One mile Australasian and five miles and 25 miles’ International to N.S.W.; five miles Australasian and half-mile International to Victoria; ten miles Australasian and quarter-mile International to Western Australia; half-mile Australasian and 10 miles International to South Australia.