MOTOR AND CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 November 1918, Page 3

MOTOR AND CYCLE.

FOUR CYLINDER MOTOR CYCLES. There is sahMo be prospects of quite o. l:oon ir England in four-cylinder motor cycles, after vlie war. Many motor-cyi'.ii.-'LS appear to think i.liat a i'onraliiider machine must be heavier than a twin. This re not so; a four-cylinder engine like the Henderson and the l'\N. weighs no more than a twin engine, of tho same capacityj and as the 1,00(1 c.c twin -has such a reserve of power that its maximum is never used by the average driver, we can afford to sacrifice a little at this end to have tun smooth torque of the "four." . Four small cylinders do not give the same power as one with a capacity equal to the total of the former, neither does the twin, give the same power as the single, capacity for capacity, hut if this argument were worth the support it receives in many quarters, all the cars on the road to-day would be either singles or twins; as. it is, there are no singles and precious few twins. Ninety-nine out of every hundred cars are fours, and the one per cent is shared by eights, sixes, and twins. There is the question of silence, too: a four-cylinder engine can bo made to whisper, but a single or a twin of the same capacity must growl, if it does not bark; and while many motorists like a "nice exhaust note," silence appeals to more. Once the motor cycle is silenced there will be no room for a noisy machine. THE EVOLUTION OF THE BIKE. Not the least surprising thing about the evolution of the modern bicycle is the rapidity with which it sprang to its present form, and the probability | that it will now keep that form for all time. There docs not seem to be any room for further improvement as far as general design and construction are ■concerned. Of course, we have still to find the steel that will not rust, and the pneumatic tyres that will not puncture, kit there are merely details. Man, for once, is satisfied with what be has got. He keeps on trying to improve his motor cycle—he has lots of scope —but in the foot-propelled machine he has apparently reached the summit of his desires. And is he not wise? What more delightfully neat, compact and efficient bit of mechanism could he have than the modern bicycle ? Requiring no further attention than an occasional oiling and cleaning, it is always ready to convey him out of his surroundings to new scene:-. Moreover, it enables Him to experience one of the most delightful of all sensations, that of moving swiftly over the ground on a pair of wheels shod with pneumatic tyres. And to obtain all this he has only to throw his leg over the saddle and push off from his doorstep.

AN ENDURANCE RUN. A 20,000 mile endurance run without leaving the siiow room is the ;feat recently performed by an automobile at Boston (U.S.A.). In arrange for a test which would show the staying qualities of their car, the manufacturers wished to secure the maximum of publicity before the crowds which daily passed their showroom. So they took a car out of stock, blocked the wheels clear of the ground and belted the rear wheels to an electric generator. The electrical load on the generator was fixed at such a value as to put a /oad on the car engine equivalent to that causedby climbing a 10.5 per cent grade at about twen-ty-two miles per hour at high gear, part of the power generated being used to light the showroom inside and outside. During.- the test period the motor was under continuous observation by newspaper men, automobile experts and technical men from the various institutions in and around Boston. During the run the car covered a distance equivalent to 26,149 miles and consumed 1,1163 gallons of gasoline, an average of 22.49 miles per gallon. The oil consumption was 220 pints, being 050 miles per gallon. The distance exceeds the previous record for a similar test by over 4,000 miles. FARMERS' CARS. Nearly 2,000,000 farmers in America own and drive motor ears, and recent investigations proved that the largest proportion of them were a necessary part of the farmers' equipment. An interesting fact recently disclosed by census is that the strictly agricultural states of America have the largest per capita ownership of cars, ranging down to one to every eight people in lowa and Nebraska. MOTOR CARS AND CIDE-CARS. The Americans have demonstrated that a car can be produced at. practically the same cost as a sidecar combination, and if one looks over the chassis of, say, a Ford, and compares the number of parts •with a sidecar outfit, the latter wins on the point of number of parts. There is no doubt that a sidecar combination could be made cheaper than any car —but it is doubtful whether there is a Arm in existence who -will lay out the capital to do it. By, this I mean that a Font type of sidecar combination would be cheaper than a Ford car ifn roduccd in the same quantities and followed the general idea in design, but it is doubtful if even Henry Ford could make any first-class sidecar combination—as they are at present marketed—as cheaply as lie could produce the Ford.

At a rough guess, there arc more parts in the overage sidecar outfit than in a Ford car—they may not be such large parts, but that does not count; it's the handling of the parts more than the material of which they are made that brings up the cost. To compare a Ford chassis with a first-class sidecar combination is like comparing a twostroke with a four-stroke. There are nearly a hundred parts in a twin motor engine. At a guess, I should say, the 'Ford 20 h.p. engine liar, U-'iS parts. It is easy to imagine that the Ford frame costs less to produce thus a motor cycle and sidecar frame. True, there are" four wheels, as against the three on the motor-cycle outfit. It would appear that manufacturers h*ve made no attempt to design a cheaper machinal. A simpler design need not be less efficient, for it only requires the absolute essentials, and the ctxras incidental to the latest up-to-date outfits can be omitted in the case of the potential motor-cyclist, witu wh'om low initial cost, dependability,; and economy are first considerations. Few motorists pay suficieut-Attention, to the condition of the plugs. H they are not all right there is -a loss-of effl-. ciency, which means a serious cvtrava-$ sance in petrol. The spark gap should* "be checked periodically by means of* gauge which can be had for the P at any accessory sliop, They &mW also be cleaned at,:rcgular mtervalSjfor carbon is bound to accumulate, Ag>« rule, petrol and;* stiff brushy used, tab unmerse ten in. » stpg© tRMm-JS