CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 251, 1 April 1915, Page 2

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

CAR MAINTENANCE

The principal item i n car maintenance is, as has often been stated, in connection with the tyres, bu(i according to the I Auto (London) tha personal factor in! driving has iwgreat bearing on the tyre' bill. Trouble in connection with tyres \ on the road is, however, nowadays jiuieh I less frequent than was formerly the ca?e. j j No doubt this is to some extent due to the improvement in the tyres them- j selves; but whatever the cause, the fact; remains that, given a well-designed ear. and standard tyre equipment, both in size and quality, results are being oh- j tamed which only a few years ago would have been considered short of remark- j able. At the same time, the great variance in the results obtained by different driving of similar cars under conditions which are closely parallel, is difficult to account for on the score of luck or chance alone. It is far more logical to attribute them to the personal equation of the driver, and to assume that a large percentage of the tyre troubles experienced could be prevented by caution in handling the motor. Many car' owners have, as a matter fact, often been able to estimate their tyre eojts as low as one penny per mile o n the good roads of Great Britain, even with large cars and a big mileage to their credit. In broad contrast to such cases, however, are the reports of other owners who are constantly experiencing punctures and bursts, and whose tyre' bills run into extremely large amounts. Goo.l as Duulop tyres are, giving splendid results with intelligent use, not even their excellent quality is proof against driving, such as swinging round corners at high speed, too rapid acceleration and too harsh brake application, and using the tyres insufficiently inflated. Careful inspection of the tyres after every outing, or even a glance at the covers whenever a stoppage is made, will often repay the driver. -It may reveal a nail or other foreign substance partly embedded in the cover, which, allowing it to remain, might work havoc with the tyro and materially shorten its life.

A ROTABLE CYCLE VICTORY.

Owing, no doubt, to the many factors involved, we hear little, comparatively, of any specific force or feature in the great war. perhaps least of all the homely cycle. But the wheelmen on the field of battle are everywhere at all .times, and are doing splendid work for the. Empire. Although the. end of the war is not yet in sight, cyclists have. says the London wheel paper, "Cycling," already scored one notable victory. From a military point of view the cycle has at last come into its own, and by ththighest army authorities it is now not only accepted, but welcomed as an in- , valuable instrument for 1 furthering of t fensive tactics abroad, and for aiding defensive operations at home. Tn the British Army every month that passes ' sees more and more -of our soldiers mounted on cycles, and nothing could i be more satisfactory than to note how magnificently the wheelmen of Greet i Britain have rallied to the call, the i young, free, and untramelled offering to I go anywhere, and to do anything; the j more elderly and commercially-tied cyclyists eagerly proffering themseb'cs (and their eveles) as defenders of the hearths and homes of England while the "boys" are away. Among the numerous civilian eorps established all over the Kingdom and now affiliated to the Central Association of Volunteer Trailing Corps, is the Athlete's Volunteer "Force, i n which the, cycling element is particularly strong. The lion, secretary of the force is Mr T. A. Edge, one of the greatest long distance riders of his time, while the organiser in the London district is Mr S. R. Noble, the general secretary of the National Cyclists' Union. Tt is an open secret that the authorities will have as commanders to the strong cyclists, two gentleine,, who are well known wheelmen, Major C, 10. Liles and Mr Lewis Stroud. Both are old and experienced riders and were at the top of the tree in traok and road work. Major Liles volunteered for foreign service some time ago, and up till last month at least was a n interpreter in Franco. Mr Stroud is an organiser and now probably commanding the cyclists in the A.V.F. "There arc Very few cyclists," says Cycling, "who can say they are too old to join the Athlete's Volunteer Force; it is certain that those who cycle regularly k.vp physically fitter than those who do not; and when new members put the question as to how long they will be in learning to make themselves useful as home defenders, we may state that any man possessed of the ability and resource of the average active cyclist will acquire a passable knowledge of military drill and shooting i n a month or six week?." AN IMPORTANT FACTOR.

The most important factor entering into the design of a motor engine js, probably, its size and weight for given power, and in order to state any advantage or disadvantages of a given motor, it is always necessary to refer to some standard condition—namely, one horsepower. Now, the total volume of air required is ;!"toi-mincd from one horsepower, from which it is obvious that the higher the speed the !ess the volume of air per power stroke; consequently, the speed alone determines the quantity of air required' per power stroke. If a long stroke is selected a small hope is natm" ally resorted to, which brings about certain conditions; the connecting rod will be longer and heavier, the crank will sweep through a greater area (necessitating a larger crank case) the distance between cylinder centres will be less, the cylinders will be longer, thv valves will be smaller (due to the smell volume of air handled per power strokei, and the flywheel reduced in weight. Tho advantages of tho. small bore, long stroke and high speed motor are as follows: On account of the smaller distances between the cylinder centres, the crank shaft, and tho distance between bearingcentres will be shorter, and therefore afford a more rigid shaft, or, i„ other words, less tendency to bend. The total maximum pressure on the piston will be less, on account of the small bore, consequently, less starting energy is necessary; then the weight of the piston will be less, the total stresses per power stroke will be less (due to the mall bore), the flywheel will he smaller, and Uw length of the motor will ho ] ( . ss . 'Hie disadvantages on 'the other hand, are as _ follows:—Longer cylinders, lieccstating a higher motoe, increase in size and weight of crank ease, increased fric-

tion due to high speed and long stroke, difficulty in lubrication owing to high speed, excessive wear and hcatjng of the engine following o n the increased number of explosions per minute, which in turn requires more efficient cooling, and. last, and not least, trie greater attention necessary to keep the motor in proper working order.

T'P-KEKP OF ROADWAYS.

At the annual meeting of the Victorian Good Roads Association, held last week,t\vo important matters to cyclists and motorists were discussed. The meeting was somewhat a critical one, among those present being the State Governor, members of Parliament, civil engineers, municipal councillors and managers of State Departments. It was urged that the Federal Government should take over interstate connecting highways and those connecting forts, military depots, | and naval bases, as strategic reals. Moreover, it was shown that through the Customs the Commonwealth collects on motors and parts hundreds of thousands of pounds annually, and therefore should contribute something to the upkeep of the rends largely all over Australia as postal delivery routes. It was also proposed at the meeting that a general wheel tax should be imposed on the principle that all those, who use the highways should pay for their construction and maintenance. The proposal was well received, and the opinion was expressed that such a course will eventually be taken because, the demand for better roads was inexorable. The importance, the necessity, of road's and motors as evidenced by the great war, was, i n one speaker's opinion, sufficient grounds for the motorists to demand better roads, because it was inevitable that mechani-cally-propelled traffic was the road traffic of the future. The roads now being constructed should be built with that j idea fully i n view.