ON TWO WHEELS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1036, 29 July 1930, Page 6

ON TWO WHEELS

motor cycling fixtures August 5. —Monthly meeting o£ Sports Club, August 12.— Monthly meeting of North Shore Club in new rooms. August 16 and 17. —Sports Club’s annual 250-mile reliability trial for Pascoe Cup. SOCIAL RUN HELD SPORTS CLUB OUTING RACING ON MUDDY TRACK Impromptu races and a “treasure hunt’* helped to make the social run of the Sports Club to Sharpe's Bush, Henderson, on Sunday, an enjoyable outing in spite of adverse weather conditions. The morning was cold and showery and rain had made the entrance to the hush very slippery. Sidecar drivers had some difficulty in entering the grounds. After lunch members went for a tramp and later took part in a hunt for packets of chewing-gum, cigarettes and other “treasure.” A slow race of two laps round the grounds was won by R. Pollock. Honours in a fast race went to H. Wilkinson on a little 1$ h.p. machine, the higher-powered mounts failing owing to the slippery surface of the ground. A miniature T.T. course provided some thrills, especially in a muddy “colonial section.” This was won b>* J. HowTett. Sixteen motor-cycles made the journey, many with side-car and pillion passengers. COMFORT IN RIDING HINTS FOR MOTOR-CYCLISTS The novice motor-cyclist, before learning to ride, should learn how to handle his machine when the motor is at rest. For instance, the easiest way of manipulating a machine through doerways and into garages is to sit astride it, thus placing the weight on tht wheels. Should the novice be unfortuuato enough to drop a machine, and it is too heavy to pick up by the obvious method of picking it up by ty*» handle bars and saddle, the best plan is to walk round to the opposite side, grasp handle bars and saddle, put one foot on the uplifted foot-rest, and lean back, pressing hard with the foot.

By this method the machine will be restored to the vertical with ease, for one’s own weight is used to the best mechanical advantage, without calling upon the strength needed to lift the machine.

With a little ingenuity a device can be made which is superior to the or dinary straight edge for lining up the wheels of a motor-cycle of practically any wheelbase. This wheel aligner consists of a piece of 4-incli by l-iuc-ii timber at least two feet longer man t .. motorcycle. Four pieces of 1-iuch by iinch timber each about one foot iong are fastened to the heavy timber sc as to bear against each side of tits rims of the back and front wheels The ends of these secondary pieces must be absolutely in line. This can be checked by a plumb-line. If both wheels of the machine are correctly in line, each of the four points should touch both rims, when the aligner is applied to the machine level with the axles. In this way a maximum of accuracy for the purposes of adjustment is attained.

A badly pitted exhaust valve seat can be easily trued up by the following method. Cut a disc of fine emery cloth rather larger than the valve head and make a hole in the centre for the valve stem. “Nicks” should be cut in circumference of the disc, which is then glued to the valve. Grinding is carried out in the usual manner, with the emery cloth, until the valve seat is trued, after which the finish is attained by fine grinding compound.