MOTORING & CYCLING

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1379, 28 September 1916, Page 26

MOTORING & CYCLING

Of the three-wheeled motor vehicles at present on the market the side-car combination is unquestionably the most popular. It is, at the same time, the most mechanically incorrect, but that does not seem to affect its popularity in the slightest degree. The designers and manufacturers of sidecars have brought their productions to such a high state of efficiency that one can afford to ignore the fact of their being indefensible on mechanical grounds, provided of course that the vehicles are well made and properly attached to the motor cycle. The latter has also been improved out of all resemblance to its former state, and is now for the most part wholly reliable and suitable for the extra work which the propulsion of a loaded sidecar entails. The opinion seems to be held, however, bj r some that the sidecar has already reached the zenith of its popularity, and that the demand will in the near future tend to decline. They urge, therefore, that manufacturers should be giving attention to the work of evolving alternative methods of conveying extra riders whilst retaining the feature of detachability of the component parts of the vehicle so that the machine can be used for solo or passenger work at will, as at present. We confess to not having ourselves noticed any falling off whatever in the popularity of the side-car, and we are of the opinion, further, that the wants of those desiring some other form of threewheeled motor conveyance are fully met by the excellent vehicles already on the market.

The Invercargill police have been instructed to take proceedings against any motor car driver whose headlights are regarded as dazzling to other users of the roads.

A Model 32 Oakland is said to be the first car to cross the Rocky Mountains this year by making the trip before the melting of the snowdrifts and ice of Ute and Marshall passes. The distance covered was 412 miles, and the going was exceedingly rough. E. C. Morrison, of Denver, drove, and the trip was made without any trouble in seven days, three of which were occupied in travelling only twelve miles, a roadway having to be dug for the car through the snow. The driver’s report to headquarters states that “during the entire run there was no trouble from the cooling ignition or fuel-feeding systems.’’

The motorist, very frequently, has little or no choice in the selection of his motor house, and, as a rule, has to make the best of many shortcomings. In no direction is this more prominent than in the matter of lighting. To be really effective, says an expert, the sources of light should be at least from two sides and also from the top. This top light is really the most important, and it is the one which is most out of control. Anyone with a badly-lighted motor house, which he cannot improve by the addition of further windows, should paint or whitewash the interior of the motor house.

The first prosecution under the new Act regarding dazzling headlights took place in Dunedin, when a motorist pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to take care that the light on his motor car was not of such dazzling brilliance as to affect the vision of drivers of vehicles travelling in the opposite direction. It was stated in evidence that the bulb was 15 candlepower, used with a powerful concave reflector. It was a regular searchlight, and unsuited for use in the city, being quite impossible to face. It was not the power of the globe, but

the way it was fitted to throw the light that caused the trouble. Motorists agreed that.it was a very useful light on country roads, provided that it could be dimmed when other traffic was met. The evidence for the defence stated that the lights were not the strongest in the city, and were not so dazzling as had been contended. The defendant stated that he was not aware at the time that there was any legal provision against the use of brilliant lights. The Sub-inspector of Police stated that the case was one of those on which there would always be a good deal of dispute. Unfortunately (in his opinion) the Act did not provide for the commandeering of the lamps, so that they could be exhibited in court. The magistrate pointed out that the Act provided that the light should not be of such dazzling brilliance as to affect the vision of drivers of vehicles approaching from the opposite direction. The police sergeant and constable had placed them-

selves in the best position to judge of the effect of the lights, and he did not think that their positive evidence was done away with by the statements of defendant. As this was the first case under the Act, and the provisions might not be well known, he would inflict only a small penalty—a fine of 55., with costs (75.).

A case of interest to motor’sts was, says the “Dominion,” heard at a re cent sitting of the Carterton Magistrate’s Court, when a motor-car drver was charged with driving his car through Carterton the registered number of the car not being affixed in accordance with the Act. It appeared that the number was fixed to the car alright, but that the defendant had hung a spare tyre over it, and obscured it from v iew. The police stated that this was the first- case of the kind brought in Carterton, and they did not press for a heavy penalty. This case was merely a warning to motorists that action was being taken along these lines, and in all future cases a heavier penalty would be asked for. The defendant was fined 10s. and costs 7s.

A resourceful driver recently saved his taxi-cab from being burnt by run ning into a pond. The driver was shouted at to stop the cab and jump but, instead, he accelerated and made for the pond, where the conflagration was extinguished.

What is the position of a man who uses a car belonging to another man who has not paid the licence duty on it? A case in point was heard at the Lexden and Winstree Sessions (Essex) recently. The car belonged to the brother of the defendant who was with the Expeditionary Force in Egypt. The Excise officer stated that the car was registered by defendant’s brother in 1914 and used by him up to the end of 1915, but no tax had been paid on it in respect of 1916. The defendant, although it was not disputed that he was not the owner of the car, was convicted and fined 30s.

A somewhat sensational attraction which was worked as a feature of the Spokane (U.S.A.) Motor Show, held recently, comprised a head-on collision between an Oldsmobile and a Studebaker at 35 miles an hour. The cars were started off on their own account and the result awaited. Both cars were considerably smashed forward, though, judging from a photograph, not so much as might be expected. They both caught fire, however, and this presumably gave an ample spectacular effect to satisfy sensation seekers.

The writer watched a motor taxi driver struggle with a stuck detachable wire wheel for fully half-an-hour one night lately. Want of a little grease caused all the trouble. Every motorist and driver who handles a car fitted with detachable wheels should make a point of removing them every 1000 miles or so, to grease the hubs well. If you do not, you are likely to have a lot of trouble the next time you have to remove one, preparatory to replacement with the extra wheel. After the studs or lock-

tachable wheels ought to come off “like greased lightning,” but they will not do so unless you provide the grease liberally and frequently. If rusted up, removal is a fearsome job —worse than removal of a stubborn cover —and as water in rainy or muddy weather rapidly finds its way into the works, occasional attention is absolutely necessary. If a wheel does stick, there are one or two tips for its removal. The wheel will generally come off more easily if it is simultaneously pulled outwards and upwards—not straight outwards. If it is a back wheel, insert a tyre lever in the crack between the brake drum and the hub, and hammer it with the idea of using the tyre lever as a lever, thus forcing the wheel off. Paraffin, applied to the studs and the axle, loosens rust and grit, and makes a sturdy pull effectual. If, after removal of the locking rings, releasing catches, etc., you take off the brass axle cap and hammer on the end of

ing devices have been removed, dethe axle proper (preferably interposing something to receive the direct impact of the blows), the wheel will often spring towards you. The wheel must, of course, have been previously jacked up off the ground. But all this trouble can be avoided with certainty by the occasional use of a little grease.