THE MOTOR AND CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 July 1915, Page 10 (Supplement)

THE MOTOR AND CYCLE.

ECONOMY IK PETROL. SOME MOTOR CYCLE NOVELTIES. In the matter of fuel, although petrol is more costly than it was a year ago, it is not one of tho most expensive items in connection with motoring. At the same time, many motorists can effect considerable economy in this direction. To many owner-drivers the question of securing' the maximum number of miles from a gallon of petrol by careful adjustment of the carburetter is one of considerable interest, quite apart from the resulting economy. On the other hand, there is the irresponsible or indifferent motorist, who cares so little for economy in petrol consumption that not only is he in no way worried by a greedy and wasteful carburetter, but is not even sufliciently careful of spilling perhaps a pint or more. These matters may be trifles in themselves, but in the course of a year have a by no mean* unimportant effect on the annual motoring bill. There- is another class of driver, however, who is quite obsessed on the question of fuel economy, and who literally sacrifices his pleasures in li.is keenness to obtain a few additional miles to the gallon. It is one thing to have n carburetter so adjusted that the petrol consumption is adapted to the conditions under which the ear is run, but quite another matter to actually starve the engine for the sake of economy. And, after all, a starved engine ifl not the nicest thing to manipulate; for ease in starting must be sacrificed; smooth, sweet running at slow speeds cannot be expected, and, in fact, one has instead an engine as patchy and erratic as an overtrained horse. In motoring, as in most other tilings, a sober moderation serves best; the adjustment should be so that the engine i» pleasurable to run, for, after all, that is the main object for which one motors. ! But, according to the views of some of I the- fuel faddists, it would appear that I a penny or two saved in an outing is j worth all the pleasure in the world. > There is, however, another phase of the question. Complaints are sometimes heard of the abnormally big consumption, and it is here that the motorist is well advised to pay special attention to the matter, for it is not only a question of the expense of additional fuel, but it points to something radically wrong with the motor. The engine should be overhauled, valves ground in, tappets adjusted, etc., and the carburetter left to the care or a specialist in these instruments for careful adjustment. This latter is, perhaps, the most i important, and there are many nicchimj ics all over the country who have, been compelled to make a study of such parts of the modern motor, and the magneto eepeeiallv. In any ease, an owner should never rest content if the petrol consumption exceeds reasonable figures, power and weight of the vehicle, and, perhaps, the speed at which he usually travels. all being considered. On the other hand, if the mileage per gallon averages will, one may rest content. The boast one hears occasionally that a car is doing so many miles to the gallon is, after all, a vain and unconvincing tiling. So long as the consumption is normal, such, for example, as the makers suggest as fair and reasonable, or ever a trifle under the figure, the motorist may be satisfied that he is obtaining good results; mid, if lie is wise, he will leave the fetish of achieving, "remarkable results" to those who can ; think of little else. An owner-driver I mav quite reasonably derive some satisfaction in testing the various grades of motor spirit; it is possible that liiswir- ' buretter, or the. manner of the adjustment, is exactly suited to the density of one of the several fuels obtainable. Some motorists have made discoveries in that direction quite by accident; having run out of petrol, in some town.'an-1 unable to obtain the brand of spirit ordinarily used, they have, prrforco, taken what was available, and been agreeably surprised at the results.

,SIZK OF CYCLE TYRKS. The, correct size of motor-cycle tyres is a subject that gets very little consideration from tlit; majority of motor-cy-clists in this country. When the first ,"M ii.p. machine was made many years back, it was ascertained that n tyre of the dimensions 2(iin by 2jin was of ample size for the power and weight of the machine. Hut a present day ,'!J li.p. engine will develop a horse-poW".r in the neighborhood of eight in ordinary hands, whilst one engine of this horse-power has actually given 1,1 li.p. (•n a bench test. From this it; will be seen that great improvements have been made with the engine. Another part that has been improved is the transmission, so that it is quite an everyday occurrence to see a nominal ;JJ li.p, machine taking a passenger in a side-cur for i|iiite long tours through hilly country and over all sorts of roads. The frame of the machine has been strengthened and made suitable for this work. Kvery part, in fact, has been brought up lo date by the manufacturers, except the wheels. It is dillicult to say exactly how much heavier the modern machine is than if was ten years ago, but it certainly is considerably heavier. Yet today the majority of the machines sen on our roads are shod with the same tyres as used on the lighter and less powerful machine of years ago. The principle, reason is probably the keeping down of manufacturers' costs and the retail price, but in this country it <\w not, always lead to the best lyre results, nor to economical motor cycling. Any motor-cyclist who uses 21in ur ;)in tyres soon learns what a dill'erence there is in tyre upkeep,-mileage, and comfort on large tyres, and furthermore, he iiuds them cheaper in the long run than the small tyre, which is invariably overloaded. On Knglish roads they are beginning to find that lite iiin. cover does not give such good results and is not so economical as the 2.U11, and the argument applies all the more strongly to this conntry, with its inferior roads. The remedy lies with the motor-cyclists themselves, who should demand bigger tyres. "LIKIC A CAT!.." Four-cylinder motor cycles are now comparatively well known, but a fourcylinder machine with three speeds and reverse, gate-change, shaft-drive, steel wheels of the "artillery'' type, and electric lights and self-starter, is sure to create a great deal of interest, in motorcycling circles. The machine is known as the. American Thompson, and already one or two models have hern landed in Kngland. The power unit embodies many more interesting features. The general design and construction of the engine and gear box unit fol|,,\v i.lie line,.of orthodox car practice, with the .'xception of the cylinders, which ,nv : ircoolcd. The engine is raled at " h.p., and drives through a dry plate clutch to the gear box, in which three, speeds forward and onu reverse are irovided,

with a direct drive on top, the gate chaii','!' lever being muuntcd on nn extension of the top cover of the gear box. Tin- propeller shaft in tubular, and has a universal joint at the front end. The frame, is carried lore and aft on springs of good length, whilst, the wheels are. the steel type, and are fitted with voituretie tyres. Standardised features inelii h' electric equipment, with a dynamo and lighting set, and a powerful engine starter. Balance wheels are provided, which may be let down from the driver's seat, by means of which the machine may lie kept on an even keel when the engine is started, after which they are raised. At the annual meeting of the Kltham Fire Brigade on Tuesday it was stated that as the brigade was practically penI niless, money would have to be raised by some means. The .Mayor congratic > luted the Brigade on its good work. Captain Nuttull was unanimously re-elected superintendent. Owing to inability to secure sufficient men the ferry steamer I'ateena, which was to have left Wellington at 7.5U last night for l.yttelton, was iniaWe it get away. Her crew was signed off vmterdn.v, owing to the projected chang* in the vessel's running, and when a new crew was wanted no men came, for I ward.

AN "AMPHIBIOUS" SIDECAR. A well-known linn of English sidecar experts has brought out a unique "amphibious" sidecar. The body is made of sheet metal,, and consists of two sections, one of which is fitted inside the other. When it is desired to set the body afloat is is removed from the two C springs on -which it is suspended, and the two sections are fitted together by means of bolts and thumbscrews. The result is a strong canoe, capable of carrying two persons with ease.

ARMED AEROPLANES,

A remarkable invention is now being used by the French aviators, which enables the observer or passenger on a monoplane to use a machine-gun, and lire through the disc area of the revolving propeller without striking or injuring the tractor blades. It appears that the trigger of the gun is geared to the engine, so that when a blade is in the line of lire, a lock prevents tie gun from being .operated. When the crack French aviator, K. Carros, some weeks back brought down two Herman machines, he is said to have used the above contrivance. Motorists will realise what the above means, when it is stated that the normal speed of the (Inoine motor, used ou most of the French machines, is 1200 revolutions per minute, NOTES. Regarding the automatic geur-chanj;-ing device, said to have been perfected by American craftsmen, very little ban come to hand during the past year. And, although no failures were mentioned, it is possible that some of the outfits hav.; not reached expectations; or, perhaps, the. war orders have relegated them into the background for the time being. There is no doubt that the most neglected part of the motor-car, from an engineering point of view, is the gear-box the bug-bear of most motorists. Automobile engineers during Hie past lev: years appear to have devoted most of llieir attention to the getting of more power out of the. engine, to the exclusion of the gear-box problem. If one goes over the whole of an up-to-date ear chassis, and notes the improvements effected during the, last few years, one find/' that whilst [here has been undoubted progress in all the component parts, the one exception is the gear-box, which is very much as it was live years ago.

An idea of the great shortage of motor-cycles in the Dominion may bu gained from the fact that one of the largest motor-cycling linns in Christchurch is seriously thinking of closing down. It is reported that owing to the dilliculty of obtaining new motor-cycc's there is an unprecedented demand for second-hand machines all over the Dominion.