MOTOR CYCLING.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 319, 1 November 1915, Page 2

MOTOR CYCLING.

A DANGEROUS PRACTISES. Very few. motorists realise the different forces set up when indulging in passenger carrying on the carrier. There i s little doubt that an extremely large proportion of motor cycling accidents are attributed to the "billiom peril/' and it is little wonier wiien one considers certain facts riULiva ,c this dangerous practice. Most of the trouble is caused throu.ri 1-353 road grip on the front w'jheel ow.'ii J to- want of balance. The weight rue'stered, when the front wheel of a 2% 'i.p. r.iotor I cycle standg on a scale, is 751bs. "A r ith an average weight rider in the saddle this is increased to 12«01bs, out when an additional passenger sits on the carrier, the front weight register :' s 96 pounds. It will thus be noted that the weight of rider in the saddle adds 45 pounds to the pressure of the front wheel on. the road, but when the "pilliom passenger" is< aboard, ;he pressure on the road is reduced by 24 lbs, although the total weight carried by the machine is doubled. Is it .my wonder then fhat the grip of the front wlieel is considerably less, und a result there is more likelihood of ?ggravated front wheel skids, which are the worst imaginable. The more weight carried the more control the drher should have on his machine. With a passenger on the carrier the reverse ig the case. Weight is taken off the front wi'aeel, which means less control in steering and the direction the driver wishes th emachine to go. The control of the machine is also considerably effected by the fact that the weight car-' ried behind the back axle tends to fly outwards at a corner, consequently swinging the front of machine inwards. Another fact motor cyclists fail to realise 'is that the back forks of the ordinary motor cycle are not designed to carry a person behind them. Again, the ordinary standard tyres are not made to withstand the extra strain, alfhoupla to the credit of the tyre manufacturers, many of them do. From °ll directions the practice is a most undesirable one. The accidents solely attributable to this cause have been so Sequent in England that some of the '-"••• r-v.ro companies absolutely refuse • - e sl to motor cyclists.who HduVre in passenger carrying, whilst '-.-•hnr con^ern g 50 per cent. - r-ro to cover fthe risks attendant on *.M"' of motor cvrdin.fr. That is their experience of the practice.