SATURDAY, DECEMBE R rITH , 19 0 9 :

THE AUTOCAR R Journal publisbeb in tbe interests of tbe mecbanicall\? propelleb roab carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.

No. 738. VoL. XXIII.] SATURDAY, D ECEMBER IITH, 1909.

lPRICE 3D.

The Autocar.

{Published Weekly.)

Registered as a Newspaper for transmission in the United Kingdom,

Entered as second-class matter in the New York (N.Y.) Post Office.

Three Editions every Friday.

The THREEPENNY EDITION, printed on Art Paper. The PENNY EDITION, printed upon thinner paper. The FOREIGN EDITION, price 3d. , printed on thin paper ,, r lransmission abroad.

Editorial Office :

COVENTRY.

Publishing Offices :

20, TUDOR STREET, LONDO'/!!_ E.C., England.

CONTENTS. NOTES S COTTISH PRACTICE IN M OTOR MATTERS USEFUL HINTS AND TIPS The Autocar League SoltE MOTOR B ODY CR1T1c 1sMs AND CONTRASTS (lLL\.1STRATEn) THE LAW AND T HE MOTOR S COUT . . ON THE R OAD . • B oov D ESIGN AND CONS1 RVCTION MOTOR UN ION N OTES • . T HE PxEu T YRE GRIP (l LLUSTRATED)- PoLJCE PROTECTION

AGAINST A CCIDENTS-THE N EVAJAH S PRl :-.G B UFFER (I LLUS· TRATED)-THE ASHTON R ESll. tENT WHEEL (ILLUSTRATED) S :'IIALL CAR T ALK . . THE D E D rnN P ATENTS IN T I-II CouNTRY 1::-.r S EARCH OF THE U NCLDIBABLE . . Q :,,, THE T RACK . • CORRESPONDENCE THE 14-16 H.P. D ARRACQ (ILLUSTRATED) T HE MASON P ETROL CAN FAUCET-ENGLISH P OLITICS AND Til l:.

F RENCH CAR I NDUSTRY-AN ELECTRIC LIGHT R EGULATORA FINE DRIVE ON A 1 2 H.P. M OTOJlLQC S O.\JE R ECENT PATENTS PLAIN BEARINGS V. B ALL B EARINGS T HE USE OF M OTOR V EHICLES IN W AR .FLASHES

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949 95o 95 I

952-955 956-960

961 962-963

964 965

966 967 968 969 970 975-979

980

981 982 983 984 985-986

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Notes. The Influence 7 of the Motor Bicycle. Those of our readers who attended the Stanley Show last month and who carefully studied the motor bicycles exhibited there must have been struck with the way in which the motor bicycle and the motor car have influenced each other in design. Indeed, a careful perusal of the pages of T he Jf otor Cycle, in which all the motor b.icycles of the day have been described, would be sufficient to set the thinking man pondering. In these matters it is very easy to see a little and to over-estimate its importance, but there are two or three ve ry interesting influences at work. First of all , to take the high-tension magneto, there is no doubt that motor bicycle makers and motor cycl ists generally were at least two years in advance of the motor car makers in their general aJoption ,ii the magneto. At a time ll'hen the majority of car makers and users looked upon the magneto 1rit h suspicion the motor bicyc list had taken it to him.,elt as his so le means of firing his engine.

In lu bri ca tion, cars are as fa r in adrnnce of . 1 otor bicycles as they 1rere behind in ignition. Th great majority of motor bicycles to-day use the ol tJ fo rm of lubrication- the hand pump, by ll'hich th~ rider inject a charge or half-charge of oil e,·ery fe11· miles, giving an extra dose when he 11·ishes to makt a special call on his engine either fo r speed or fo r hill-climbing. Owing to the high speed at "·hich the engines run and to the fact that a ll of them a re air cooled, constant and frequently copious lubrication is often more important than with the comparati1·ely luxuriously circumstanced motor car engine; but, fo r a ll that, the hand p ump survives, and only one or tw_u motor bicycles ha,·e yet any fo rm of mechanical lubri cation. These may be but the precursors of a genera1 movement towards more scientific I ubrication of motor cycle engines, though, of course any fi t ti ng of this sort to some extent increases complication and robs the motor bicycle of its extraordinary simplicity. We say extraordinary advisedly, as there is nothing more remarkable in the motor world to-day than the a ll -round work of a good motor bicycle.

Then, again, bal I bearin gs to the crankshafts are much more common with motor bicycle engines than with car engines, and seem to have met with greater success. We may be wrong, but we are inclined to the opinion that this is because in proportion to the work they are called upon to do the motor bicycle bearings are larger than those of the car. There is also a tendency to use rol ler bearings, out a there is at least one conspicuous and successful example of this in the motor car world we can only say we shall watch the behaviour of these bearings with very great interest, as it cannot be said that up to now the roller bearing has had a very ,ride trial on motor cars or motor bicycles, though it is undoubtedly better than a ball bearing for certain purposes, mainly because the roller bearing gi,·es line contact and the ba ll bearing point contact.

There are other example of the inter-action of the two types of motor ,·ehicl s upon each other. such as the wire wheel and the tubul ar frame member. There is also the multiole disc clutch which is now to be fo und upon a nu~ ber of motor bicycles. 11·hil e for the first time on record there was a motor bicycle with a pressed steel frame in the Stanley Sh01r . However, in one respect at least the a,·erage motor bicycle is greatly ahead of the a1·erage motor car, inasmuch as the equivalent of a jack is a part of each motor bicycle. Excellent provision for the carriage of luggage, considering the size of the vehicle. also forms part of it . Then, again , number plates are practically a part of almost every motor cycle, so that, taken all round, the motor cycle as it leaves the works only requires its numbers to be painted upon it and a lamp to be purchased to render it complete anrl altogether rea dy fo r the roa d.