CYCLING AND MOTORING.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 June 1917, Page 10

CYCLING AND MOTORING.

I NEWS AND NOTES. Hi lirisbafie-Sydncy motor car record established by Alec. Jewell in January last, under most unfavorable weather conditions, did not stand long, and was wiped oil' the record sheet at the first attempt. Ihe new figure, were created U.v the well-known overlanding cyclist and motorist, Francis Birtles. who cut the previous figures for the 077 miles down to 2!) hours 35 minutes. A "Maxwell was used for this speed trip. The Brisbane-Sydney record lias yet to be : cut very considerably to rank in merit with either the Melbourne-Sydney 0 r Aleibournc-Adelaide records, 'it would be interesting to see what drivers like ■Hoyd Editing or Murray Aunger, the respective holders of the last-mentioned recorus could do over the Brisbane-Syd-ney route. The journey should be negotiable in a day considering that Kdkins drove from .Melbourne to ijvdney 5C> miles, in l(i hours 53 minutes, whilst Aunger was only H hours 54 minutes travelling over the 5114 miles between Melbourne und Adelaide. It is surprising what little attention the average motor-driver, whether he is owner-driver or chauffeur, pavs to the silencer on his car. It always seems to appeal to him that it is placed on the exhaust pipe so as to entire silence at that end. He. is quite satisfied with it as long as it carries out that duty efficiently. It never seeins to dawii upon him that the silencer should be cleaned out thoroughly at least after every three months Von the road The louger he runs the oar without taki»« 1 down the silencer for cleaning purposes' the more silent it becomes, until sooner or later a nice little noise start* under i the bonnet, especially when takiii* a hill or driving out from the garage in the morning, and then, if not attended to! he finds that he cannot even drive his car after a short while ou top «ear un- ' less he has his throttle twice as far advanced as he would have had in bygone days, and his ignition very much retarded. l'etrol consumption increases daily, and lie finds that his motor is 'only giving him a considerably reduced mileage to the gallon. The carburettor is usually taken down and assembled again into position; inspection then made for possible leaks from the petrol tank, and supply tubes. All are found to be eorrc.'t, but still on the very next run, the noise is still the same. He usually comes to -the conclusion that the engine is dirty, and finally decides that it must be taken down and cleaned. This haviiv been curriod out, 011 the first run lie , finds 110 improvement; the noise h still there, and the poor unfortunate mechanic is then blamed for not timing the engine correctly when re-assembling! Still he carries on, daily sitting between the noise and the cause, and eventually disposes of the car, and comes to the conclusion that that make of motor is not a good bargain, and advises all his friends to beware of that particular make after his sad experience. It is | an admitted fdet, to put it in a nutshell, j| that a large proportion of the dairy trou- I bles with motor vehicles are caused by dirty silencers. The silencer is the most deceitful part of the present-day motor, because owing to the action when not attended to it causes increased pressure on the piston heads, thereby retarding the pistons, and causing what is cbmmonly known as "pre-ignition" in the ordinary sense. It has still a more detrimental effect ou the, engine, -by sending down past the piston rings a very large amount of exhaust and unexploded gases, etc... into the crank chamber, thereby adulterating the lubricating oil and causing excessive wear on the working parts of the engine. It will -bo found by those who'take the trouble to have their silencers taken down and thoroughly cleaned out, that they are giving their motors a new ( lease of life, and ensuring a maximum mileage per gallon of spirit, and a. peace- I fui mind thrown into the .bargain.

The Sydney .Motor Cycle Club recently carried through its annual H hours' read trial. Weather conditions, plus the severity of the Blue Mountain route reduced the 3U starters down to nine •-'ontestants by the time Sydney was readied at the conclusion of the 402 miles jaunt. The test is said to have been the severest yet held in the Mother State. The big climb up Oberon Hill out of the Jenolan Valley did most of the damage, as snow fell on the previous day rendering this terrific climb almost impassable However, A Bidden on 7 h.p. twin machine succeeded, with three other contestants in getting through without loss of points. The rider named has a unique record in connection with this event, this being the fourth occasion upon which he has, gone through the trial .with the maximum of points of his credit.

The military authorities in California recently carried out an interesting and valuable experiment in connection with aeroplane reconnoitring. So far no effort has been made to utilise the dual advantage of speedy road, travel by adding a motor cycle to military aeroplane equipment. The test carried' through a light weight twin cylinder machine being securely attached by clips and stays "t side yf body near the aviator, proved that the combination adds considerably to the value of the aeroplane for military work. One instance of the value of the little twin was demonstrated. The plane came down presumably short of pefe'ol some distance from the hangar. The machine was unstrapped, mounted and the rider was off for a supply. He was back in a few minutes with the necessary fuel and in a few seconds the tank was replenished, the machine restrapped to supports and the aeroplane was oil again on its travels.