MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2246, 4 September 1914, Page 3

MOTORS & MOTORING

[By Clutch.] Expeditionary Force's Moto:s. Tho whole of the motor-cars, motorcycles, and push bibyclcs required for the Expeditionary force have been obtained without cost to tho State, and duly packed, and dispatched for shipment. Altogether 183 push bicyclef> are being taken, and in addition to the machines themselves a liberal supply of accessories and spare parts has been included. All the necessary appointments in connection with the motoring section have boon made, and the cars will lio attended to by experienced mechanics. ' There is no motor-cycle corps as such, and the motor-cycles will be distributed among tlie signalling corps, the ambulance, and so on. Offers have been received from many motor-cyclists desirous of going to the front with their own machines, but it has not been possible to accept these as the riders for tho motor-cycles sent will be drown from among the qualified men of tho various sections to which they are allocated. Local Motor service Appreciated. A letter of thanks on behalf of the Defence authorities for the continuous service of motor-cars arranged since tlie beginning of the war has been received by Mr. H. Dillon-Kelly, secretary of tl;o Wellington Automobile Club, from Lieut.-Colonel Myers, Officer Commanding the Motor Reserve. In the. course of his letter, Colonel Myers says :"I < am well aware of the many difficulties you have had to contend with, aiid I may say that General Godley advises me that it would have been impossible to get through the necessary'work, except at very great expense, without the use of the cars'wliicn the members of your association so generously placed at their disposal." ' Motor Corps. ' A suggestion ha-s been made that the Defence Department should organise a motor-cycle corps later on, and no doubt the experience that is being gained us to the value of motor-oars for military purposes will lead to some extension of the Motor Reserve. The Motor Reserve at present is organised for tho use of the staff officers, and membership is confined generally to motorists who have previously held ■ a commission. When called upon for duty they receive pay according to their rank, and also payment at a. fixed, rate for the use of their cars.' When members of the Motor Reserve volunteer for motor duty, they do not, of "course, receive payment, any more .than the outside motorists who have been doing motor duty. The idea of the reserve seems fo be that the drivers of cars used by staff officers will necessarily overhear a great deal which should not be repeated, and it is therefore desirable to have responsible persons in. charge of the cars, and. preferably those who have had previous experience of military discipline. • The cable messages havo remarked from time to time on the very extensive use of motors in the,war in Europe, and it would be an excellent'move to arrange , some organisation by 1 which the extensive resources of the Dominion in th-i way of motor transport could be made readily available for the use of the Defence Department whenever Iho need arose. Australia, as recorded in tMs column recentlj'j not long ago made an interesting test-as to what could be achieved >by motor-cars, motor-cycles, and push bicycles in the way if dispatch cari'ying over long distances, and a s.iuilar test in New Zealand would no doubt be productive of interesting results, Motor Revolutionise Warfare, Ad experiment carried through with such success by Barl l'itzwilliam and the staff of tho Shehield-yimplex works in July is' probably destinod, wrote the J'Westiiiinster Gazette," to revolutionise military ideas about; the transport of. artillery. Substantially what was done was this. In less than six hours a battery of artillery and the necessary ammunition, which had to be collected froin Selby, was taken over a distance of country which' with , horses would have involved a three days' march. On arrival at tho appointed spot the guns were manoeuvred into position- over rough and broken ground with far more celerity than would have been the case had fresh teams of horses been available. This was accomplished oy the aid of the ordinary commercial ohawsis of the Sheffield-Simplex Company, and not by machines, specially built ior the purpose. Of the capacity of the motors there was scarcely a doubt in the minds of those 'concerned; tho few was that the carriages and ■ mountings of the guns would not stand tho enormous strain of travelling at such high ipeeds. Ai it .proved, however, tho misgivings were unjustified. Scarcely a bolt started, and what shook loose was dosily adjusted by the volunteer artillerymen who were with .the battery.- The guns, in spite of all strains, wero thoroughly efficient for work when they arrived at their destination. As a consequence of the experiment we obtain a new conception altogether of the mobility of artillery, and one that will revolutionise military ideas for the future. Gunß, it has been shown, may over a.wide area.and yet brought into actio.n at a given point in a fraction of the time that has hitherto been regarded as necessary.; Moreover, the lessons.learned in this experiment point tho way to a speeding-un of the transit of an entire army. If guns can bo taken along at these speeds so can all •the supplies for a fighting force, and men can also be transported from point to point in largo vehicles trailed behind_ motor-cars. In this way for defensive purposes a comparatively smallforce becomes at' once 'formidable, for m .a few hours it.can be put down at any point which is threatened, and put down fresh and efficient for immediate action. World's Largest Motoring organisation. At the annual meeting of tho British Automobile Association in July it was announced that tlie membership totals 86,402, the body being therefore by far the largest motoring one in the world. It is schemed on a democratic basis, whereby the ordinary car owner is eligible for membership at two guineas a year, which includes free legal defence for -his driver and himself and every j privilege of the many provided by tho j association, that lias headquarters in' various centros about, tlie country, patrols on tho roads, offices in Paris, iVice, and elsewhere abroad, and a complete touring department. ■ Motor cyclists are eligible for membership and privileges at only half a guinea a year; hence it is not surprising that 32,000 members have already been recruited I under this section. The coming of the .light car has been early recognised by the institution of a special membership class for owners at a subscription of only a guinea a year, entitling- the owner to all privileges. Tlie income of .the association is well ovor £100,000 a year, and it is certain that by tho time tho next annual meeting comes to be held the membership will be over 100,000, for in the first week of this month no fewer than 936 members were recruited. Some.notion of the organisation's activities may be gained from the fact that in the week immediately preceding tho annual meeting 20,9D9 lettors were sent out, 13,119 letters wero received, 14,247 members were warned by the association's road patrols in the interests alike .of themselves and of all road users, 1307 received plans showing thoso unfamiliar with them tho best way to pass through towns difficult of negotiation, 1006 routes wero supplied to members proposing to tour at home or abroad, and 135 summonses wore defended. In the year uniJer review tho association has instituted the National Signpost Fund. A Cear-Shaft Synchroniser. A device that is ingenious and for which there may bo a market is illus-

fcrated in the current issue of "The Car." It is an adjunct to tho speedomoter, and is designed to show whether or not tlie clutch shaft is running at tho right speed for the engagement of any pair of gear wheels. Tlie secret, if indeed it can be called a secret, ot easy and quiet gear-changing lies in getting tho two wheels which are to be engaged to run at the same peripheral speed before attempting to me-sh them. With your own familiar car you do not often make the mistake of trying to mesh too soon or waiting too long, but with a strange car one is liable to do one o? the other. The instrument consists of a glass disc held in position in front of the speedometer dial, but frco to rotate. Its rotation is effected by a pinion meshing with a rack, tho rack being subject to movement by the centrifugal action of a governor, which in turn is actuated by an ordinary speedometer drive. This, however, is in conjunction with the clutch shaft instead of with the road wheels. On tho disc there are radial marks corresponding to the gear ratios. When one of these marks coincides with the speedometer needle the gears corresponding to the mark may be put in mesli with the certainty that they are running 6y.nolironously. It is said that by the use of this little device gear-changing may be done quite easily without declutching. Another "Gadget" for the man who likes his car to look like the cab of a locomotive I . The Use of Split Pins. Makers nowadays have thoroughly realised the importance of the use of spring washers, split-pins, and castellated nuts in all places where vibration may tend to loosen the nuts, with probable consequent damage to the cai\ They add a little more trouble to _titg' work of assembling and dismantling, but they mark a big advance on the one-time slovenly method of burring over the bolt ends, or painting the nuts with a ropy paint or shellac varnish to prevent them working loose. When using split-pins it should be observed that the castellated nut is packed out sufficiently far with a plain or spring washer to allow the split pin only just sufficient room to fit snugly in the slots of the nut when the pin is in position in. its hole. There Bhould bo no appreciable space between the nut face and the pin head. Further, tho split pin should be a good fit in tho drilled hole. If it is allowed room to move up the slightest wear will take place, and the pin may shear or break. No better warning of tho importance of fitting can be cited than the unfortunate experience of Resta in the recent British Tourist Trophy race, when a broken split pin caused the big end to come adrift, and thus ruined his chances in the race.