Cyling and Motoring Notes

Levin Daily Chronicle, 3 April 1917, Page 3

Cyling and Motoring Notes

from the Dunlop Rubber Company zi Australasia. Limited, for the week 24th March, 1917. H. A. Parsons, the well-known Victorian racing motor cyclist, and the holder of several world long-distance speed records is now in a Melbourne hospital as the result of a smash-up whilst attempting to reduce the Sydbourne motor cycle record. Parsons left Sydney with a military despatch and made good time until he had a fall over a water-crossing near Yass (187 miles from Sydney). Despite a shaking up, the Victorian crack continued/, and at Benalla (123 miles from Melbourne) he was 68 minutes to the good of the existing time. Shortly after leaving Avenel (73J miles from destination) Parsons. came a cropper through the chain of his machine breaking, resulting in a heavy fall. With difficulty the record breaker got back to Avenel. where, ho was place on a train, brought to Melbourne and adI mitted to the Homeopathic hospital ( suffering from a severely bruised knee I and thigh. Parsons was riding an 8 h.p. twin Harley-Davidson. The existing motor cycle figures for the Interstate run between Melbourne and Sydney (565 miles) stand at 23hrs. 41mins., to the credit of J. Bolger, of Wagga CN'.S.W.). This ride was put up over four years ago on a Dunlopsliod 6 h.p. twin N.S.U. machine in connection with the offer of a gold watch by the Dunlop Rubber Company to the first motor-cyclist accomplishing j the journey within a day. I

Tlie French automobile trade, it appears, are divided as to their policy after the war. One of the suggestions is the formation of a big syndicate to construct a cheap car in large numbers so as to compete with the American production, on which a heavy import duty will have to be paid. The car would be designed to appeal to tbe French taste. Another section of the trade, however, disapprove of ianv imitation of American methods, and consider that the quantity car should be left to the American, while Franco concentrates on quality. The same question has been discussed in Great [ Britain, hut meanwhile the American cheap cars are improving in quality, and unless something is done to compete with them the demand will be increased after the war, to the detriment of the British automobile trade throughout the Empire. One' of the features of the recentlyheld New York motor show was the greater approximation to British lines observable in many of the ears exhibited. The bodies now are lower, are of streamlike formation, and are fitted with tapered bonnets andi dash. The radiators are also narrower and higher, and there is a definite improvement in the body work. Some excellent value is being offered in comparatively light cars, most of which we may add, are fitted , with quite substantial engines, j The Saxon, for example, is being sold i in America at £104, and the engine measures 70 x 102 mm; the Monroe is £119 with an engine measuring 76 x ! 114; the Scripps-Booth, at £173, with an engine measuring 76 x 108. . The Maxwell is £125 and measures 92 x 114, and the Briscoe £145 measuring \ 79 x 130. All these are four-cylinder j cars, and, of course, will be listed con- ! siderably higher in this country. It is reported that the Ford Motor | Company ha 3 purchased from the Unit. ] edl States Steel Corporation sufficient : material for the construction of 1,000,- ' 000 cars during the 1917 fiscal year of the Ford Company. This is almost , double the production for 1916 when 533,921 oars were turned out, and is more than twice as much as the Ford Company has turned out in 12 years to 1915. In the last 13 years of its existence it has turned out 1,406,997 cars. The greatest production was reached in 1916, the number of oars produced this year being 225,708 more | than for 1915, which in turn exceeded the 1914 output by 59,906 cars. Tlie daily average output in 1916, based on 300 working days wa6 1816 cars. There is a very general opinion that at some remote date flying will be as simple as motoring, and no more expensive ; possibly even cheaper. This is not an unnatural belief, and it is quite possible, nay probable, that one dlay it will be realized, but there is a great deal-to be done before flying can become reasonably inexpensive. Omitting such factors as landing ground, housing and service charges, because these undoubtedly would be eventually quite reasonable, it is more to the point to turn to tlie basic factor of power. What is not realied is that the

j speed of the aeroplane, which is its ; ! essential ami nccessary virtue is ob- J ! iained by an altogether extravagant out j put of power, and consequently of tuel. Tho flying machine starts with a handicap on the score of efficiency j equivalent to an adverse gradient of ( approximately seven to eight per cent. Hence the speed of aerial flight is promoted by no economic considerations but rather by questions of expediency, in other words it has to bo realized that flight cannot, compare with older methods of locomotion oil the score of economy, and it therefore has to justify itself on other grounds such as speed or ability to traverse roadless areas. It will be understood that no reference is intendud to aeroplanes for war purposes; in that domain their indispensa'•ility is proved beyond question of I doubt. Tho tiling that we are trying to bring home to our readers, even if 1 they live in tho open country, is that, no far as can be seen at present, they will liavo to wait a very long time be- < fore they can jump into their aeroplanes 1 and be away at a moment's notice, just J as they would with thoir motor car, 1 and still longer would they have to wait till they could do this if they lived i in urban areas. < ]