MOTOR AND CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1918, Page 7

MOTOR AND CYCLE.

NEWS A :<D NOTES. It is just possible that owing to shipping difficulties it may be necessary that many automobile equipments for the new U.S.A. army in France will be manufactured in England. Already the various English tyre makers have, been requested to detail the utmost possible extent of their manufacturing capacity irrespective of their total factory output. Every mould lias to be accounted for, and its full capacity of output, working up to its fullest production. It is more than possible that extensions of factories may be sanctioned. • At any rate it rounds feasible that tyres, chassis awl ether equipments can be supplied for tlfe U.S.A. army by Great Britain with less inconvenience than from America, and will probably be the consequence of important trade developments. The first motor-cycle is said to have been made by Herr Daimler, whose firm has recently' been placed under German military supervision owing to profiteering and falsification of their "books Daimler is said to have made his motorcycle as far back as 1885. It was fitted with a small single cylinder engine, and the charge was ignited by means of tube ignition. Supports were embodied, with rollers at the endß, to enable the machine to stand alone and to allow the rider to mount easily after the engine had been started.

• American manufacturers are seizing every opportunity to drive home the virtues of the electric car and contemporaneously are leaving no stone unturned to remote many of the delusions generally cherished concerning the so-called short-comings of this vehicle. This is particularly noticeable in connection vfith the so-called unsuitability o> the eleetrie for short-distance touring trips. A few weeks ago a small electric with two passengers up—one. acting as observer—started off from New York City bound for Atlantic City—over a distance .of 123 miles of very indifferent roads. On the outwird run the pace was easy, the journey being completed in about. eight hours—an average of approximately 15| miles an hour. On the return trip it was decided to pit the vehicle against the clock, and. the 123 miles were reeled off in two minutes .under six hours running time. Only one stop, was made of 90 1 minutes duration, during which period the battery' waß given a charge. The average speed worked out at 20i miles an bour, the car running for the whole time on the fifth and sixth speeds. But the most astonishing feature was the low cost .of running. The current consumed on the 123 miles cost less than half what would have been incurred had petrol been used. In certain quarters there is a disposition to regard the electric as the rival of the petrol car. This is a grievous mistake. The fieldi of application of the two vehicles are so well defined and extensive as to leave plenty of space for the adequate development of either. The electric will not rival its petrol consort for general touring; it is essentially limited to inter-ur-ban. city and runabout duties over relatively short distances. Of course, as the facilities for re-charging and improvements in the capacity of the batteries are achieved, the radius of action will extend; but this will only have the effect of causing the petrol vehicle to be exploited in fields which as yet it has scarcely entered.

Tlie "Liberty" aeroplane engine adopted as, standard by the American army consists of a 12-cylinder (Sin x 7in) unit giving off 400 li.p, It is a particularly light engine for its power, weighing only 8001bs or 21b per horse-power—the lightest aviation power unit made. Thousands of these engines are now being made in the States, most of the big automobile plants making the various parts which are interchangeable. The crusing radius of an aeroplane fitted with the "Liberty" Engine is easily 600 miles.

The proper inflation of cycle tyres is a matter which scarcely receives sufficient attention from the majority of cyclists. Many wheelmen keep their tyres much too flabby, while others pump them as hard and lifeless as any.solid. The front tyre should always be softer than the rear one, as the latter has all the weight of the rider to support. Both tyres, however, should have a certain amount of "give," which can be ascertained by gripping the tyre in the hand, and pressing it with the fingers. The tyres should be sufficiently soft to allow of the slightest indentation. The weightier the rider, of course, the harder should the tyro be, pumped, and in wet weather it is safer to err on this side, as flabby tyres would be more liable to side-slip.

The latest idea on the Western front is to carry seriously wounded men to hospital in aeroplanes, and experiments have been condnctcd in France in this connection. An aeroplane ambulance has been constructed and proved satisfactory during tests. It is of a standard design and has only been slightly modified to servo as an aerial ambulance. The main modification consists in providing a longer open space in the fuselage than usual, so as to ger who is strapped securely in place, serve as a bed for the wounded pa-ssen-At the head of the wounded passenger, just hack of the pilot, is a wind sliiel which wards off the rush of air, while ample blankets and other covering kee him warm during the flight. Travelling at 80 miles an hour the -aeroplane ambulance is said to lie free from shocks and vibration, which are troublesome factors in the usual vehicles for the wounded. ft is reported from a Dutch source that the German factory of the Dunlop Tyre Company at Hauau, lias been taken over by a Company formed by a number of. leading German motor car manufacturers. The new undertaking, in which the Adler Co. of Frankfort, and the Opel Co. of Russelsheim, are said to be largely interested, has a capital of £150,000. Mr. C. A. Proctor, who some years back was secretary of the Austialian Dunlop Rubber Co.. had Charge of this plant when war broke out. A few days before war was declared he was in England, but returned to German}' to watch the Dunlop Company's interests, and has been interned in that country ever since.