MOTOR & CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 October 1919, Page 92

MOTOR & CYCLE.

■ A TRAVELLING RESTAURANT. A feature of a recent military parade 'in New York was the appearance of the police department's new travelling restaurant, which preceded the parade byover an hour and distributed sandwiches coffee and apples to the wounded soldiers and to police officers on duty along the street. The truck worked from B-30 a.m. until late at night, under the direction of a lieutenant and five policemen, and distributed 18,000 sandwiches and drinks. The restaurant car was designed to overcome the physical discomfort of the police when on long periods of duty without any opportunity of obtaining refreshments. The three-ton motor truck has a body 21 feet long by 7 feet wide. Twenty seats are prov«fed inside, whilst in cold weather the interior is warmed by radiators connected with the exhaust manifold, ACCESSIBILITY. "■:. When the ordinary motor car user condemns the inaccessibility of a certain design, the criticism is usually based on little more than general discomfort—backache, spoilt clothes and loss of temper. Properly considered, the question of accessibility goes very much further than this, for it is—or should be—a matter of general principle, in keeping with modern economic ideas of production and labor. In the early days of car developments, when it needed an allround engineer to deal with the vagaries of even a single-cylinder runabout, accessibility was hardly thought of. ' The early designer was too occupied with the problems of engine, ignition and carburation and the achieving of something like reliability, to concern himself with making upkeep and repairs easy. On and off the road, the car was a job for an engineer, and if it was inaccessible, it was all a part of his work. Later came great improvements in the car, and with them a steady increase of owner-drivers; accessible chassis now began to receive favorable comment, but it is undoubtedly the last year or two of the war, with the acute difficulties of upkeep and repair facilities, that has brought the case for improved accessibility before the motoring public more clearly than ever in the past. At basis, accessibility has to be considered in terms of time; that is, in the work done upon the car fn the process of manufacture, in the upkeep, and also in the dismantled overhaul or renovation.

DESIGN MUST BE A COMPROMISE. While the blame for inaccessible construction is usually laid upon the designer, it must be remembered that, except in the case of ears do luxe, produced regardless of expense, the design must always be, to some extent, a compromise. The commercial and manufacturing aspects will always modify the work of the designer, but the broad fact remains that, up to a certain point, it is as easy to design accessibility as inaccessibility. The failure to produce a really accessible design would seem to be largely a matter of deficient imagination —the inability to follow out \he life history of the car. From the first, the designei tends to see the oar as a chassis rather than as a complete whole with the bodywork in place, and accessibility which seems irreproachable in its striped form will often be inevitably restricted by the body. Intelligent coach-building can help, but it is clearly the designer who should keep the bodywork in view from the commencement. In the obviously inaccessible car its defects have either not been realised at the start, or, if attention has been drawn to them later, it has been considered unnecessrtry to waste time and labor in altering the design. Here, however, a moderate gift of imaginaiion would show that not only does inaccessible design require more labor, especially in fitting, at the works, but it also causes infinitely more labor to the owner, more labor to the garage which undertakes a. repair, and more labor in the periodical overhaul, whether done in the workshop or elsewhere. From every point of view it seems a thoroughly uneconomic waste of time and energy. As time goes on, no doubt more attention will be given to this most important matter, from the engineering and body building points of view.

ADELAIDE-MELBOURNE. Many motor cyclists expressed the opinion that the Dunlop Kubber Co. had set easy figures in connection with the gold watch offered by the Company to the first rider to negotiate the AdelaideMelbourne route in 20 hours, but they are beginning to realise that the task is not as easy as it looks on paper. Judged by Murray Aunger's motor ear record of il4hrs 54mms between the two capitals, twenty hours for a motor cyclist does not appear out of the way., particularly as many of the sand-drifts on the Coorong have been removed, but Aunger's performance is one of the most remarkable long distance speed records yet established in this or any other country. Several motor-cyclists have already tackled the run, but none have yet got through in decent time. As the season advances, and the aspirants to this overland record become better acquainted with the route, 710 dmiut some faster runs will be recorded. J. P. Walker, a well-known Victorian rider, and one of the successful contestants in the recent Victorian 24 hours' test, and subsequent ride to a finish, made an attempt on the record last week, and had the misfortune to come to grief at Salt Creek (in the Coorong) about 131 miles from Adelaide. He sustained a fractured collarbone No details of the mishap are vet to hand.

FALSE ECONOMY. It was considered, at one time, adequate for motor-cyclists to use on the side-car, tyres of smaller section than those on the motor-cycle itself, but this is gradually being regarded as false economy. The tyre on the side-car wheel should be the same not only as regards section but in the matter of weight and tread formation as the motor-cycle tyres, so that all tyres are interchangeable and the. risks of punctures or other tyre troubles are reduced to the minimum, particularly where the steering and. sidecar wheels are > concerned.

CARE OF CAR-HOOBS. Many motorists show carelessness "iiv the treatment of their car hoods, leading to rapid deterioration. Mere thoughtlessness is the usual cause. To the rich man, no doubt, the renewing of a hood may not be of any consequence; but to the majority of motorists it is a distinct consideration, and the condition of the hood may seriously prejudice one's chances of selling a second-hand car. We have seen hoods practically wrecked in a year through carrying parcels, small hand bags, etc., in the folds, and considerable damage also may be caused through not fitting in the frame-work properly into position and strapping it. so that there can be no shake or movement, and also arranging the folds of the hood properly and making sure that they do not get caught in such a way as t

produce holes through fraying. As a rule, little plates and bearing pieces are supplied where the various sections of the framework come in contact. Care [should be taken that these are fitted into position. Unless they are strapped tightly, so as to be held in this position, the screws holding these bearing pieces may be torn out of the wood-work. Another precaution which should be taken is to thoroughly brush the hood after a dusty ride. This should be done before the car is washed and after the precaution has been taken of removing the cushions. Most people do not like driving with the hood up- It obstructs the view and causes distressing draughts; consequently after a shower the hood is frequently lowered. It would be wiser to keep it up for a while until it is dry. If this precaution is not taken, it should be raised the moment the car reaches the garage and allowed to remain up until perfectly dry; otherwise the fabric is certain to rot and depreciate rapidly. THE MOTOR BOOM. London, July 30. There is an unprecedented boom in the motor industry. The famous firm, whose engines received an immense advertisement over the first Atlantic flight, is charging £3OO for the favor merely of putting intending clients on their waiting list, which is "miles" long. Outside the Alhambra the other night, where the Russian ballet is still drawing fashionable London, one counted at least CO per cent of the waiting cars as belonging to this particular firm.' But the demand is nearly as great for all sorts of ears. One young officer, whom I know, has spent part of his demobilisation gratuity on a motor bike. He did not go in for an expensive or famous make. But lie had great difficulty in getting a moderate article by a comparatively unknown firm for 12S guineas. And the firm assured him that they had enough orders now in hand to keep their works going at full speed for two years. Prom this one may deduce the extent to which the motor habit is likely to spread and develop. Motor bikes are all the rage among ex-service men, and quite a large percentage of ex-officers and N.C.O's are purchasing these appliances. Apparently the familiar sight out in France of the envied despatch riders scooting round corners at 60 miles an hour has awakened a longing to try the sport. So our country roads 1 are going to be lively enough in a little while.