ON TWO WHEELS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 208, 22 November 1927, Page 7

ON TWO WHEELS

news and notes SPORTS MOTOR-CYCLE CLUB The cost of motor-cycling is a matter upon which no two riders agree. One will insist upon calculating the cost per mile, the interest on his outlay, depreciation, insurance, garage charges, overhauls, and even clothing; another regards the purchase of a motor-cycle in the same light as the purchase of, say, a piano; he has the money to spend, and means to get the most out of it. There is something to be said for the latter viewpoint, for, after all, if one calculates the cost of everything, one soon becomes a miser. If we buy a £lO 10s suit we do not calculate that to wear it costs, say, 4s a week; or if we pay a shilling for a packet of cigarettes we do not consider that if we had kept it for 14 years it would have doubled itself. Again, how many men with a houseful of furniture calculate how much it is costing them per week in insurance, depreciation, and upkeep? But whatever view is taken, every motor-cyclist agrees that the running costs of a motor-cycle are exceedingly low, and that the total costs are well worth the money expended and the pleasure the expenditure gives. Moreover, when anyone becomes the owner of a motorcycle, he takes up a new occupation, and probably some other hobby or pastime will give way to it. Now, this other amusement inevitably costs money, and that money saved can be set off against the new expenses of running a motor-cycle. T6-day the cost of petrol is 2s a gallon, which means that for this small sum, plus a few pence for oil, the owner of a light-weight may travel perhaps 150 miles. Even with larger machines the economy is remarkable, and 50 miles to the gallon may safely be accepted as a true figure for fuel consumption of the largest sidecar outfit fully laden; some machines do much better than this, but any figure below 50 miles a gallon is a sign that something requires attention. The cost of a good oil—and a good oil is absoliftely essential—is in the neighbourhood of 2s a quart, and as a„ quart will last at least 200 miles in the largest machines it will be seen that the cost a mile is very small. No one need hesitate in purchasing a motor-cycle on account of running expenses. Many people to-day spend at week-ends more in bus, train, or tram fares than would buy all the fuel necessary to run a motor-cycle outfit for the whole family. * * * A neat little cup, made from a carburettor bowl and a motor-cycle valve, the work of Mr. E. J. Harrow, of Ashburton, has been presented to the Ashburton Motor-Cycle Club,, to be known as the Ashburton Challenge Cup for motor-cycle football. The cup has been plated and suitably engraved. Sad Ditty Reckless Ralph this life’s forsaken;’ A curve at 40 miles he’d taken.