MOTOR AND CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 May 1918, Page 2

MOTOR AND CYCLE.

NISWS AND NOTES. The A is in norma] times a vej'y distinct demand for what one may teAn in the light of present day practice, the motor-cycle lit ted with twine cylinder engine of medium power. In times past an engine of i 5 It.p. was regarded somewhat in the light of a 7-!) h.p. of' the present day, and those possessing such a machine were looked upon as being owners of heavy-weight models, beyond which hitter it would not be necessary or advisable to go. This was before the advent of the side-car combination in anything like its present stage of popularity, that is to say When 2\ to a h'p. niacbir.es were more or less standard for solo work. Nowadays, however, side-car combinations usually include 0-7 h.pj engines as a minimum where twin cylinders are used, whilst 7-1) or S h.p. models are common. 'ln addition there are, of course numerous single cylinder models with 31 to 5 h.p. engines, hut referring for the time .being to twin-tylinder engines there is a decided opening for models equipped with engines other than the most powerful ratings whilst still taining the feature of twin cylinders. A realy efficient variable geared o-G h.p. madhine should comprise all the essentials for aide-car propulsion, short perhaps of the ability for extreme speeds, such as are easy with the big engine of from 7-0 h.p., but in return for this ! sacrifice of speed we obtain a very handy machine which can be used for solo or passenger purposes at will.' The heaviest motor-cycles can, of course, be ridden so]o and many would not think twice about doing so, but such machines can hardly be regarded as a suitable type for the conveyance of one person only, and their bulk and weight may, in certain circumstances, as for instance on greasy roads, incur by no means a small amount of risk to the rider. When coupled up to a side-ear such risks are entirely avoided and it is of course very comfortable to feel that no matter how Adverse the road and weather conditions may be there is an ample margin of power in reserve for all eventualities and even should one cylinder fail to do its share it will always be possible to get along if the other one is working in good form. Still, as a general utility model the 8 h.p. can hardly compare favorflibly with the one of 5-G h.p. and we venture to prophesy that after the war those w<ho supply machines of the kind referred to will find a ready market for them.

It is astonishing how frequently trouble supposed to reside in the carburettor is ultimately traced to the petrol,pipe, that is to say to the duct through which the petrol passes before it reaches the curburetor itself. These pipes are often very roughly treated by carists and mo-tor-cyclists, and not' infrequently they . leak in the most irritating manner, even after having been apparently well soldered. The vibration to which they are subjected on the road, and especially at high speeds, tends to set up trouble. On innumerable occasion somewhat mysterious incidents have been reported in which engines have periodically failed in the course of a run through lack of continuous feed of the petrol. The enrburettor has been thoroughly overhauled and cleaned and adjusted, and yet in spite of everything being thoroughly in order the engine still exhibited the ,innoyin gtrait of fizzling out frequently. On the petrol pipe being examined everything hero seemed' to be in order, the flow of petrol through it whn disconnected from the float chamber being of full volume and with plenty of force. Shortly after being connected up a<"ain, however, the trouble named recurredrand in one instance of its kind with which we were acquainted it turned out that some loose metal dusfc have become lodged in the coils, wlii'st there was also "a white powdery substance which was dislodged on the pipe being subjected to heat ancl brought to a fairly high temperature. These obstructions evidently became lodged in the pipe when Uhe machine was being built, and when instances of this kind arise it 'is usually desirable to heat the pipe and rap each end smartly on the bench, when it will usually be found that small particles of metajleft there from the brazing process or from some other cause, will eventual be coaxed from the pipe. * J A series of new world's short distance track records have recently been established on the S'heepshead track (New York) by Rader aboard a Packard—equipped with a 12-cylinder aviation engine. The engine is a massive affair, and though it appears bulky &n<l weighty yet in reality it is lighter per horsepower than many of those previously designed. The cylinders are of steel, 4in by 6in with welded on steel water jackets. They are CO degrees apart, and have two valves per cylinder the valve operation being by means of overhead camshafts one for each block and operated by a train of gears. The ipiston. dW-J placement is 904 cubic inches <t ing 25G b.p. Ignition is by two magnetos set transversely at the rear. The carburation isi<'by a double-outlet Zenith. but the manifolding is such tbxi there is an equal gas distribution to the cylinders. The car proved to >,e too fast for the track, for Rader din his trials had to travel at the irop of the bank, and in most instance?, lie shut off for the turns. On a straightway he should be able to 'boat 150 miles per hour with great east. In the Sheepshead Bay trials ho covered the quarter mile in 0.9 sees., beating tho previous best of Herman in a Benz, 8.16 sees., made at Indianapolis, May 28, 1911. His half in ! sees., beat the lli.GO sees, of Oldiield in a Christie at Tacoma, July S, 1913, and also the world's best of l-i.07 sees., by If emery in a Benz, November 8, 1009. His kilometre (1093 yards) in 17.35 sees, is 'better than the '21.40 sees, of Burnian In a licnz at Imlianopolis, 'May 29, 11)11. Rader negotiated tlie mile in' 28.75 sees., bettering tho world's best of 29.01 sees, by Hornsted in a Benz :it Brooklanda, June 24, 1914. The two-iiiilc was made in 57.51 sees., as against Hornsfed's 58.09 sees., and the American mark of 1.10 socs., made by Oldfield in a Christie at Tacoma, July 5, 1913. The three-mile was recorded in 20.G sees., the preceding mark being lmin. 54-83 sees., held by Bragg in a Fiat at I,os Angeles, May 5, 1912. Rader travelled four miles in lmin 55.745ec5., as against Bragg's 2min 33.37 sees. The five-mile post was passed in 2min 24.GGsecs., beating the 3min. of Orr in a Maxwell at Omaha, Ju]v 5, 1915, and the world's mark of 2min SS.Saecs. by Hornsted in a Benz at Brooklands, January 14, 1914. No previous marks for ' six, seven, eight and nine miles showed on the books. These distances were made by Rader in 2min 53.875 ec„ Smin 22.715 ec, 3min 52.415 ec, and 4mm 21.52 sec. The ten-mile was checked in 4min 50.88 sec, a big reduction from the previous world's record of Smin RTSsee held by Hornsted. The old American mark was 7min 54.505ee made by Hornsted in a Hudson at Sheepshead, November 25 IMB.