CYCLING AND MOTORING.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 September 1916, Page 10

CYCLING AND MOTORING.

NKWW AND ■■■NOTES. , Tim proposal of tin- English Government to increase motor licenses, so as to bring in an annual amount of about I'.SOO,<HH). lias been abandoned, and in its place a super-tax of sixpence per gallon on petrol is to be imposed. This, it is anticipated, will bring an amount of approximately .£Mi2,(KM annually to tlio Exchequer. One of the objects of the new tax is to limit the consumption of petrol amongst motorists, owing to the shortage of petrol supplies in England, ami the enormous demands made on supplies for the motor services of the Allies in France. Modem brakes are very different from the earlier and somewhat makeshift appliances to be found on the old ears. The-internal-expanding, metal-to-metal brake is a well-designed piece of engineering, and, given ordinary care, there is little thsit can get amiss with it. But hard wear, especially in hilly districts and frequent driving in congested traffic, must have some effect on the braking mechanism, so that a time comes when the brakes reach somewhere near the limit of their efficiency. Moreover, such is the design of the modern type of brake that, when that stage is reached, there is a danger of the mechanism overdrawing and the brake being rendered inoperative. A thorough overhaul of car brakes is advisable from time to time; in fact, it is essential for one's safety. Disquieting figures were recently made available in America in, connection with petrol supplies in the future. According to expert opinion in America there is only sufficient oil in that country to last another fifteen years at the present rate of consumption. If this be true, then there appears to be very little chance of American motor fuels being substantially reduced, even when the war is over. Aa there will be some three million cars on the road in America: at the end of Vte present year, the home consumption) 19 something enormous, and it looks as if the day is not very far distant when other countries will have to depend on other sources of supply for their requirements. Last year America consumed nearly six times as much petrol as she exported, and this year it is anticipated that some 42,000,000 barrels of oil will be necessary to cope with American requirements. It is considered that the only solution of the trouble will be the solving of the problem of carburation of lowgrade fuels, and it is a matter that cannot be ignored. It has to be met and conquered if the motor movement the world over is to keep on advancing.

The Victorian 24 hours' continuous motor-cycle road test was brought to a conclusive test on August 1!), 'by a further test, amongst the full-points scorers, over a distance of about 150 miles. The course selected for the final rum was from .Melbourne in Winehelsea and back. Host stringent conditions were enforced owing to the necessity of getting a winner, and the slightest deviation or error of judgment in keeping to time schedules along the route meant loss of points. Secret controls were arranged so that competitors were not able to slow up or increase their pace just to lit in with their speed averages. The efforts to find a winner lor the Australian Motor Cycle Cup were successful, the winner proving to. be C. S. Teece, on a J.A.P. side-car combination', 11. (.'. Pannach (Excelsior) was second, with R. Finky (Excelsior) third. The competition was one of the severest yet held in Victoria, and was a success from all points of view. Over-lubrication is a good fault, but nevertheless it is a fault, and not infrequently can occasion slight inconveniences. Too much oil in the engine is infinitely better than too little, but the driver should always aim at getting the right amount. If the instructions providedby car-makers are observed this is not dillieult. One result of ovcr-lubri-cation is that the cylinders become foul and want cleaning earlier than should bo tbe case, and this is a job that must be placed in the hands of a. capable meehn»if, tor it is not the work for the average owner. One of the first signs of •lirty cylinder* is faulty ignition, perhaps ?"'>■ three of the four cylinders are fir[fflg. _ A little test will show winch is t.:S TiiipOrfcet one,, and, the removal of the plug will probably demonstrate that that is badly sooted up and giving no spark. A spare plug should be carried and- put in its place, the old one 'being taken home and carefully cleaned ready for emergencies.

llio dilhewltj- of *tarti, Wl i-spceialiv oil cold morning » generally attributed to the thickness of the congealed oil which lomaiiw in the cylinder, and in the vari ■ ougjxjonnm, so tlin,t the engine cannot bo turned fast enough to gi ve a , hot spark from the magneto or to draw an adequate volume of mixture from the petrol effects a remedy tends to prove tuat tins opinion is eorrect. A writer n« one of the English motoring journal Kives his experience of a Douglas niotor . f.vde, winch has a horizontally opposed two-cylinder engine, and .which would tend to show that this may possibly not be the case. He noticed that it never pmimed, hut would start straight off on the coldest mornings. He had a similar experience with a horzontally-opposed A.li.G. twn motor-cyclc. He questioned the designer of the latter on the point and the opinion was expressed that the gumminess was not due to the oil film at all, but to the absence- of an oif film He urged that when a vertical wine stands all night the oil drains down from between the cylinder and piston. The stiffness next morning is due to the, two metal surfaces .being all but naked and practically in direct contact. He consider the fact that the horizontal twin does not gum. even when over-lubricated with too thick oil, is convincing proof of the correctness of his views. The enquirer, however, was not convinced. He mentioned that ihc has found that if petrol or paraffin be injected into a vertical engine it is stiH stiff to turn until it has been swung a few times. Also, that if a vertical engine Iras its cylinders removed after standing cold all night there, is still an oil film between cylinder and piston; and. thirdly, that very copious injections of petroi and paraffin, ungum an engine instantaneously. He suggests that possibly the true explanation may be that an excess of oil in the case of a vertical engine drains to the bottom of every part containing lubricant-, find that this excess sets or congeals a tittle and giinis up in the crankshaft and camshaft bearings. On the other hand, in the case of a. horizontal twin, the ease of starting may be attributed to the fact that «. lot o ; f the, oil whidh wculd drain down in a vertical engine is trapped in the lower are of cylinder section of a horizontal engine. The subject is an interesting one. particularly to those motorists who have trouble, iu starting up during the winter months.