CYCLING AND MOTORING NOTES

Horowhenua Chronicle, 9 June 1916, Page 3

CYCLING AND MOTORING NOTES

■ <» From the Dunlop ilubbor Company ot Australasia, Limited tor the week ending June 3rd, 191b. Eew people realise to what extern, motorists in Australia* are taxed, for the year ending June, l'Jlo, a total of £1,227,338 was contributed to re.enue by motorist*. It is interesting to note aiow tliisr large sum was made up. Erom duties oil tyre imports £148,o'lO; from motor chassis £72,0y4; from motor bodies £119,218; from motor cycles £37,600. State taxes producod approximately £150,000, wJnlst the approximate revenue from duties on petrol andi oil accounted for £700,000. It should be noted that the above figures —which do not incitide accessorieswould have been considerably larger, but lor the fact ai,at owing to w,i r conditions the imports of cihas&S from all countries fell from £1,349,000 in 1914, to £868,000 in ly'lo. Jingland wae the biggest loser, her car exports to this country declining irom £430,000 in 1914 } to £163,000 last year. American cars also fel# from £430,000 in 1914 to £372,000 for tho same ponodi. ' These reductions were not through any failing-off in the demand, but were attributed to stoppage in supplies from European factories, and owing to trans- I port difficulties from America. |

A novel motor car speedometer is to be loft marketed by the Waltham Watch Company. The standard! practice is to liee pinions or smnll cog wheels 'in the speedometer recorder, but in the Waltham air friction is utii.sed tor connection between the shaft driven members and the indicating dial.

I'eu; motorists are aware ot vvhat proportion <f air to petrol is e sential 10 proper carbur.ition. Experiments have determined that the best explosive mixture is obtained when sixteen parts of air to one of petrol are used. Tho ideal condition is to have tho mixture homogeneous, to have tho proportion of petrol to air constant throughout combustion chamber; but this condition is not exactly obtainable in the average motor, because the carburettor will not supply an absolutely perfect vay our. In other words, the first part o. the charge mucked ipto tho cylinder moy be weak and the last part rich, and only the intermediate zone will be of correct- proportions. Again, there is always a certain amount of burned gas loit over from the previous explosion and this does not mix eveuly with tho incoming charge with the result that some parts of the mixture axe diluted by it more than any other parts.

•Every motorist in Great Britain ami her colonies (says "The Motor," England) should know and keep in nina tho fact that every British motor nanut'acturer lias what may be termed "a waiting order list." These are Jays when everyone 'of us is prompted by patriotic motives, and certainly the motorist will be acting the part of thetrue patriot when he, remembering the sacrifices which the motor car industry as a whole hrns been called upon to make, decides that when pSRce comes J he will T>o tlve owner ot a motor oar I produced in his own country. We know that in some oases immediate .and urgent requirements, particularly uhose of professional men hare necessitated the purchases of cars during the war. when the home indiustry, by reason ot its pressing obligations to the State, has not been able to supply. But in nearly every cose tlieee manufacturing (jMieras havei been wiaitingl pa -14 concerns have their waiting oTder Mat, and those who'se requirements are "eg. istered thereon will have' the Company's first attention immediately the time comes for their release from their present undertakings. Everybody wh-o can gauge future financial facilities with sufficient accuracy would be well advised to place his name and lifs< possible requirements upon the list o. manufacturer* for whose products he has a preference, bo that when oar building is resumed his order will be attended* to with the least possible delay. There are two important reasons why this piece of advice should not be ignored. If we place tlie purely selfish aspect of the case first, it wilJ be to the motorists own personal interest, t'hen we would urge that, for patriotic reasons, the British motor industry, which has been helping to pile up munitions fon» tho-Government and engines and vehicles for the service, deserves, and should be assuredi that it will have, the support of the British people, which assurance fcnese waiting order lists - will paxmde.

Bad luck attended E. li. Gartner, the South Australian motor cyclist in Iris Attempt on the Adelaide-Melbourne recordi. He succeeded ill reaching Kingston, some 180 miles from Adelaide, but had to abandon the ride, owing to magneto trouble.

■ During the past two and a half decades many brands of pneumotie tyres have been put on the market. Alost of these, unable to meet the demand for quality and endurance, have disappeared from public knowledge. A high degree of amd skill is necessary to produce a tyre that will really stand the test of the road. It i? noteworthy that the meet popular tyres in present use are those which can be described as the veterans and ii this conneotion the Dunlop tyre the original pneumatic—holds ,a remarkable position the world over. In vcntedi in 1888, tho Dunlop has never looked backwards, and to-day its tine quality and strength keep it in the foreground, in all parts of tho world whether it be on motors or bicycles. It is little wonder the o ack Australian racing cyclists find, America a

congenial place to live in. Last reason Goullet, Gronda, Spears. Me Samara, Olnrk and Walker, between them received in con-tract fees from the promoters alone the sum of £3900. UouL lct'6 'share amounted to £750. In addition to this amount the above rTB- - won big money in prizes. During the American racing season £21,000 was disbursed in prinses.