CYCLING AND MOTORING.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 August 1916, Page 10

CYCLING AND MOTORING.

.MILKS AN III)l'R! A speed i>l % mile~ an hour, the highest ever touched ii> Australia, was attained liv the Victoria")! motor-cycle crack. .J. I 100 I li, last week. This' remarkable -.peed was maintained for a mile, which was covered in :IT seconds from a Hying start. This rate of travelling i- even faster than that established in Month's recent half-mile record. when he touched !»o miles an hour. The live miles record was also tackled and a further reduction made, the figu:e.- being .'! mill. 2o 11-osec. Whilst the records are the fastest yet credited to a motor-cyclist on the road in,* any part of the world, it is doubtful if the ruling authorities in Knropc or America will ollieially recognise same, as the rides were accomplished ill one direction only, and with the. assistance of any wind that was blowing. The natural sequence to one of the attempts, if they are still to be continued, will be that some will yet get hurt or killed. A pace of nearly a hundred miles an hour on the road will take its toll sooner or later. The utility of these extraordinary speed records is open to question. A straight-out endurance test, under severe conditions, undoubtedly proves the quality of both machine and rider to a greater degree than mere speed efforts on a smooth stretch of road, records that are only limited by the power and size of the engine and the pluck of the man oil to]). No one appreciates what straight-out long-distance tests have accomplished for the motor and motor-cycle more than the writer, but abnormally high speeds over short distances on the road have little value from a mechanical utility point of view, and none from a sporting standpoint. The time for a halt has come, and wisdom will be shown if the controlling club that times these record runs vetoes any further attempts under its auspices.

SILENCING THE EXHAUST. 1 hough possessing some features of design which render them superior to hist season's models certain of the English 1015 motor-cycles, which have been modified in other respects, still retain (says the .Motor Cycle Trader) unsatisfactory silencing arrangements: indeed, in more than one ca»e the term silencing can only be used in a comparative sense, and with very little meaning at that. It always appears strange that one lirm should be able to provide satisfactory results and another not in such an important matter as that of the silencing of the engine and from tests made it as not always .proved that the noisier engine is the more powerful by any means. The principle of the'"free exhaust''' is right enough in its way, and we know, ot course, that back pressure on the piston is a thing to be avoided as much as possible. There are other and equally.weighty considerations, however. to he observed, and experience shows that freedom of escape for the burnt charge can be secured whilst at the same time there is a substantial reduction in the degree of noise created, lictardation of the gases as they pass from the exhaust, port to the'atmosphere must be devised on a system which bailies but does not seriously impede progress, and by means which breakup the force without greatly reducing the velocity of the discharge, the action desired being based on the "extractor" principle and causing the gases to be impelled towards the exit and drawn rather than pushed out of the silencer. It is a very unpleasant experience to have to drive a noisy motor-cycle for any distance, especially a single-cylinder one. 1 he sharp detonating sound emitted becomes more and more objectionable as the ride proceeds, and to some, indeed the majority of. riders it has. if anything, a more tiring effect than that produced by vibration itself. A quiet machine is pleasant to use, and if the quietness is obtained by the proper methods there need be no fear whatever of ill consequences where working ellicicncy is concerned. Commencing' with the knowledge that an absolutely free exhaust such as would be obtained bv .leaving the silencer oil altogether onl\ objectionable on (he score ol noise, but actually impairs rather than assists the ellicicncy ol the engine, we can work down by degrees to a stage representing the point at which the best average results are secured. This point mav be reached by various methods, and at the same time add, if anything, to the development of power. this is a matte]' which interests the majority, of those engaged in the motor-cycle industry, and equally those who as users of motorcycles feel the want of some better arrangements than those already employed in so many cases. THE i'TTN'ESS OK THE ENGINE.

The ardent motorist i* in absolute harmony with bis engine; the deepening drone of the slowing gears and flic painful throb of the cylinders as the car laboriously—with its last ounce ol po»wer —breasts the summit of a step ascent, evoke injiim sensations of clearly-defin-ed physical and mental distress and strain. Quite unconsciously he leans over the wheel as if to help the laboring engine over the ridge, and as the top of the, hill is reached and the gears begin to sing aloud for joy there conies to the mind of the sensitive driver an exulting feeling of satisfaction that the last ounce of power was available in this stern test, and that the engine has once more triumphed over the task it was set to accomplish. Oil the racing track, too, the last ounce of power is the recognised deciding factor. The manifold details of "tuning-up," the experiments with strange engines and new methods of ignition and valve adjustment, the tiny variations from standard design-all these, and countless other apparently trivial inventions, are but searching* after the last elusive ounce of power which will decide the issue of a mighty and titanic race, and possibly direct the future trend of design in en-gine-building. It is the seeking for the highest degree of efficiency ou the racing track that has evolved the wonderfully perfect internal combustion engine of to-day. Had the manufacturers been content with anything less than the best we should never have advanced from the old days of breaking valves, chipped gears, inferior and constantly failing ignition; while it is an accepted fact that the quality of the metal used to-day in springs, frame and axle is supremely excellent just because the strenuous test and strain of the racing track has eliminated the interior and left us with the superior. l''or nothing but the finest and toughest metal could stand the enormous strain of >i racing car moving at a speed far in excess of that of mi express train; and here the last ounce of strength is the factor that comes through triumphant, where its absence would mean ruin and disaster in the cru-

cinl moment of .-tress. The evolution of I lie perfect i ;ir is ;ui example of the survival of (lie fittc-t. in tin- realm of tin- lirt—i in this cast! bei 11,14' the machine that nivc* to its owner the iiMNimtim of stveii'. 1 ! :i. rliicieney and power for weigh;.

if is state,! tlrat trie t aited States Covei nment ( iniiini-siuji appointed to deal with anil rep,ox on jhe petiole trade situation in America has reported in terms generally suggesting that proceedings slionhl ; .e taken against certain interests under tin- antitrust laws. It is anticipated, too. that Congress will strengthen the law with the, object of stopping unwarranted ri-es in price and malpractices connected with the oil industry in America.