CYCLING AND MOTORING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 230, 8 March 1915, Page 8

CYCLING AND MOTORING.

ENGINE OIL. There are some who are apt to Like the view that it is ridiculous that one "ar-maker should recommend pari iv ills r brand of oil for his er.giee, a.i;:! otlier maker some entirely dill'crent ■ War.d. They assume that if er.e engine runs on a certain o ; l every other engine must run equally well upon it. They make no allowance for the fact that the normal loads, bearing loads, and temperatures may vary verv considerably, so that an 4 oil which may be quite suitable in one case is entirely unsuitable in another. There is also an erroneous opinion that car makers recommend certain brands from mercenary motives, as though any maker of repute would be so foolish as to damage his reputation by prescribing unsuitable oil for liis engine, because lie could make sixpence or a shilling a gallon more upon it i-; the few cases where lie \>as called upon to supply it, but as a matter oi' fact the average car maker does not Hipply the lubricating oil, as tlu owii.t of the car buys it from his local garage, If motorists are well advised they will not only buy the brand of til recommended by tile makers of their ears, but also see that they buy it in sealed cans or drums. Retailers are apt to recommend some nameless oil which they supply oil draught. This may be, and sometimes is, most excellent oil, but ill olluir cases it is a low-class brand and simply pushed by the retailer for the sake of extra profit. It is only fair to say that this is not always the case. Rome retailers buy a well-known brand of oil and sell it as a nameless lubricant simply because they do not want the motorist to know what it is, or to buv elsewlieie; but in these matters it is alwavs better tc play for safety, and to insist upon sealed cans or drums of the particular brand prescribed by the ear maker. AMERICAN MANUFACTURES. A'though American motor manufacturers have been serir.usly affected by the European war so far as concerned their foreign trade i:> pleasure cars, signs are not wanting that tliose finm which are able to turn out vehicles suitable for military purposes are being benefited. Thus, during the month of October last, only 732 pleasure ears, valued at £133.were exported from the TTnit-ii SMes. ii:i compare:! with 1607 and £352.743 respectively, in the eorrespond-n'r-nth of 1013. On the other hand, the, shipments of industrial motor vehicles increased from 70 and £25,001 to 072 and £457,302 respectively. The returns show an increase to France, the United Kingdom and "other Europe." the last-named phrase, however, excluding Germany and Italy. RIDING POSITION. A low riding position is an undoubted ndventpgr to the motor-cyclist, and particularly so where the machine has to be ridden solo in traltic and on greasy road surfaces. Tf, however, in the endeavor to secure the maximum effect in this direction the designer resorts to the plan of materially reducing the i.i'T—-it of clearance snace between the crank case and the ground, the advantage of thu. lev; saddle position is likely to become somewhat discounted. In England, where excellent roads abound, there is little or po risk and no inconvenience of a serious kind arising from the fact that the clearance is slight, but in this country it is of vital importance for a good clearance, and is absolutely essential on most of our country roads. Machines with big and weighty engines set low >'n the frame are no more noteworthy for nteadincss oil greasy roads than those in which weight is carried at a higher level, and as the heaviest and most powerful motor-cycles are used principally for sidecar haulage, wherein the question of balancing does not arise, the matter of an inch or so becomes of no mom'ent. ■ Moreover, it is quite possible to secure at one and the same time as low a riding position as is to be desired and an Vfloquate crank-ease clearance, the point being settled in the main by the design of the rear portion of the frame. The type of construction now coming into favor in which the top tube is continuously dropped from the head to the seat pillar tube ensures all that is required by an easy method, which adds rather than detracts from the strength and stability of the design and leaves the matter of clearance quite unaffected. Australasian needs must make allowance for the fact that roads in this country call for ample clearance, and that it is absolutely courting disaster for any machine to be sold out here with less than 4iin clearance for country use. A Sin clearance is little enough on our roads.