;

MAY

i^th,

2919.

4S7

EXPERIENCES WITH
An
Appreciation and
combine

h.p.

TWIN.

Some

Criticism of

an Interesting Mount, based upon a Year's

Ail-weather Riding.

TO
ni.p.g.

a general average of 30 m.p.h. with petrol consumption of 105

speed
is

not the rule witli lightyet this can be stated without exaggeration to be the regular behaviour of the 3 h.p. twin Enfield, which the rider has used constantly for a mileage
\veights,

of

four thousand. The machine was used for week-end journeys of about one hundred miles each way, with occasional business runs.
It

and

was purchased early in 1917, its first run was on snow-

co^-ered roads with a return during

the subsequent thaw o\ex halfflooded roads a rough test through

The

writer's 3 h.p. Enfield.

Note the

carrier box,

behaved excellently. At case, first it promised to be a mudslinger, which was partly due to the speed 30 m.p.h. riding for long through water)- slush is bound to produce a very dirty machine and rider, but the machine
it

which

also the handle-bar muffs,; they

which protects a small leather proved very cosy.

travelling

always held the road in grease exceptionally well; not the slightest tendency to side-slip was experienced during the whole of its use.

ney always dispelled this doubt. A repeated average of 30 m.p.h. on a hundred mile journey, which includes eight to ten miles of town traffic, is an excellent performance for a 3 h.p. machine.

Petrol Consumption.
not a careless computation, but the of petrol purchased divided into the mileage -without any allowance for waste. This was obtained without any special fitments except the substitution, for the original air inlet, of a curved intake serrated
is

These journeys were kept up at intervals of two Several times or three weeks for some nine months. the run of ninety odd miles was made without a stop ivi approximately three hours, and never did the The only journey occupy longer than four hours.
involuntary stops were through comparatively trifling things, a broken throttle wire being the most troublesome ; lack of power w'as noticeable only once or twice, and on one occasion the nuts securing the magneto drive casing and magneto platform worked loose

105 m.p.g.

amount

through vibration.

Speeds.
highest speed recorded (and the speedometer No has proved to be verj' accurate) was 46 m.p.h. doubt if ';periillv tuned for speed, it would exceed

The

fit between the fins of the back cylinder. All possible points of air leakage in the induction pipe and carburetter were carefully wrapped with insulating < tape. No freak hill-climbing was attempted, but the engine hardly ever required second speed on ordinary main road hills ; therefore I shoiild say that the machine possessed excellent hill-climbing abilities.

to

50 m.p.h.
not
figure
this

It

was

It was very light on tyres, but the back tyre was renewed after 2,500 miles by reason of a bad gash which rendered it

good

nearly useless.

which was

The
tion

consumplubricat-

the chief attribute

of
oil

speed ; it was the steady way in which it would keep humming at 3 to 35 m.p.h. There was an unin

ing

was

checked
carefully,

not very but it

was somewhere in

the
hood

neighbourof 1,800

obtrusiveness
this

at

speed which often caused the

rider

m.p.g. I have nothing but praise for the

well
field
-

that

to the

suspect speedo-

known Engear and absorber

The weight

meter was recordof

shock

the

magneto and

its

platform, with' the driving chain covers, is carried by three bolts on the timing
case,

and

a support in front.

ing inaccurately, but a good total time for the jour-

the was latter particularly efficient; and, to my

J^g

Observe the tapehot air intake. wrapped carburetter joints.

MAY
15th, igig.

4S8
Experiences with a 3 h.p. Twin.

surprise,

dismantled for examination, the rubber blocks showed no sign of wear or loss of
recently
resilience.

when

the front wheel has an annoying way of spraying on the imderside of the countershaft sprocket..

mud
'

KicK
The

Starter.

The engine was not touched until some 3,000 miles had been covered there was practically no sign of' wear and no unusual amount of carbon deposit. Now for some points of criticism, which are intended in a spirit of friendly opinion and in no sense expressing
;

dissatisfaction.

Starting.
very cold mornings, it was extremely difficult to start; exactly why this was so, I was unable to ascertain. Certainly poor quality petrol was part of the trouble, but not all ; a pair of Parker vaporisers fitted in the induction pipe gave some little improvement. Once started there was no further difficulty.

forward position of the kick-starter and direction of push is distinctly awkward, and I gave up the use of the kick-starter and almost invariably started I think a new type of by paddling off in low gear. starter should be fitted behind the engine with an action which will enable the rider to employ his weight to better advantage.

On

Magneto Staging.
carrying the magneto on an extension of the driving chain covers is not so good as Only three of the five it might be. small bolts carry the weight, and

The method

of

they in turn take their support from the timing case cover ; the hinged supporting strut under the magneto platform is of very little use. When Comfort. the outer cover plate is removed, the I cannot entirely recommend the whole casing and the magneto on its machine for a tall rider (but then, platform sags over for want of lateral very few lightweights are suitable for support. The cover plate should be people over six feet), but the medium removable without affecting the supor short rider should find it quite as port of the magneto in any way, and comfortable as most machines withthe magneto platform should have out spring frames. lugs to clip it to the down tube the The best posiIn place of the small oil hller cap tion I could find produced discomfort inside half of the magneto driving provided, a suggested alternative is on a long run, but the fault lies chain cover should be cast in one shown. cliiefly in my own 6ft. 2in. with the timing case cover. One point of detail which needs alteration is the The question of control wires inside or outside the filler cap of the glass oil reservoir; being about ^in. handle-bars has been ofttimes a bone of contention. diameter and only projecting about lin., it is very I am not personally enamoured by the Enfield method nearly impossible to pour oil directly into it from of enclosing the Bowden wires or the fixed lugs to the ordinary can. carry the levers, though both these are neat. I suggest that the diameter be increased to at least two inches, and it should project Despite the points indicated, I shall still take an more and be formed with a cup as shown in the Enfield before many other makes, when I require a adjoining illustration. fast, reliable, solo lightweight ; and I retain memories of many enjoyable runs on this interesting machine.
;

Undershield.

undershield and magneto cover are badly needed, and I w^ould recommend a complete redesign of footboards incorporating with them, in one unit, an undershield, leg-shields, and magneto cover, having a short extension backwards under the driving chain;
efficient

An

[The magneto
machine
in

fixing has given

our

F.A.S. no trouble on a similar possession, and as regards the

is

writer's trouble in starting, this

certainly curable.

Only the combination of

frost

and No.

has caused sluggishness in our case.

war Ed.]
.^

spirit

->-f-

STAINLESS STEEL.

IT

only a question of time when the entire motor cycle industry will recognise the enormous use that can be made of stainless steel, and it may be expected that many makers in the future will use it for valves and exposed metal work. Stainless steel is a chromium alloy steel, with the composition of 12.5% chromium and very low, .28%, carbon, the rest being iron and the usual impurities. Its outstanding peculiarity is that it is perfectly impervious to atmosphere corrosion. As regards its mechanical properties, it can be given any desired tensile strength (and so hardness) from 40 to 100 tons per square inch by suitable heat-treatment. It also shows a remarkably high resistance to fracture by impact upon it; in the well-known Izod impact testing machine it required eighty foot-pounds to break a notched test piece.
is

From these data much can be gathered. Enamel work can be dispensed with, and, if desired, an entire frame be made with it, as it can be readily drawn into tubing. It can be pressed into rough or accurate shapes for control levers and nuts. Spokes and rims
it wth the greatest of ease. Of course, its greatest work can be done for valves, scaling is unknown with rustless steel valves. Its great fault is that it cannot be easily cast owing to its high melting point (about 1,400"^ C), thus it is out of the question for cylinders and crank

can be made of

cases. to the high price of

its

Probably the present cost of this steel, which, owing chromium, is large, will prohibit

use for frames, but, otherwise, there is no reason the rest of the machine should not be manuArthur Goffey. factured from it.

why