Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-08-23
NO. SO.

| Inc motorcycle mas Deen 10unQ IN
dispensible by inspectors Of roads. of
telephone and telegraph lines. The
country doctor gets a call over the
telephone from patient dozen miles
away and is at his side In less than
half an hour. The rural mail carrier
on his motorcycle distributes his let
ters along the country side as rapidly
as the city pc Itman makes deliveries
In single block.
Commercial travellers are taking
more and more to the motorcycle, for
1t widens immeasurably the field Of
their usefulness and activity. A Sec
tion of the police department of every
city is mounted on motorcycles. In
fact, there Is hardly branch Of busi-
ness which, having begun by expert
menting with the motorcycle, has not
adopted II.
In the army the swift, compact and
powerful motorcycle has become ex-
tremely important. In this country and
Europe there are corps Of express
traders mounted upon motorcycles.
Military scouts and dispatch bearers
race at high speed along roads and
lanes and footpaths, hopelessly out
distancing the couriers mounted on
horseback.
In cases Of emergency It has been
found possible to transfer substantial
re-enforcements to points fifty and
even O. hundred miles distant at a
speed scarcely equalled by that of q
railroad train. The battle of the fu-
ture may be won or lost and the fate
Of nations decided by the motor driv-
en- bicycle. The motorcycles impor-
tance and Its sphere Of usefulness
are widening continually and no one
can predict what its limits are.
The motorcycle to-day Is cheaper,
more comfortable, cleaner, quiet
er and easier to start and to operate
than any Of it's predecessors. One OBJ
lection that the man Of moderate
means has found against the motor
cycle has been its cost. This is rapid
ly disappearing. Motorcycles cost on
an average Of S25 less this year than
last. Nearly every manufacturer has
lowered his price.
In some cases the reduction has
been SIS or $40 and in others as much
as $50 to $40. Owing to the first cost
Of materials and workmanship. 1t is
hardly likely that the motorcycle ever
will ha q q cbao N On fba hgcxycla t,,t a.
is probable that 1t will not be long
before the thousands of people who
have been riding bicycles will be able
to afford to discard them for the
speedier and more powerful ma
chine.
Another fault that has been reme-
died. in the motorcycle Of today Is the
seat. In travelling at a high rate Of
speed the ordinary bicycle saddle and
the former notifications Of It have
been found to be uncomfortable and
firing. The experience Of the automo-
bile manufacturers has been drawn
upon to correct this and 1t has been
accomplished by the use Of the float
ing or spring seat. One type Of this
plunger working in the rear diagonal
frame tube. There are two springs.
One takes care Of the riders weight
and the other absorbs the road shocks
This Improvement is especially i'm
portant because in going over rough
roads the bouncing up of the rider
| sometimes comes dangerously near
unseating him. Another way Of at
tanning the same comfort in the sad
die is by using spring frame. The
springs are sin the rear upper stays BY
this arrangement not only the rider but
the weight of the rear half of the ma
chine is carried by the springs.
The present tendency Is to use larg-
er tires than a year or so ago. The
standard size for motorcycle tires has
been 2Sx2a inches, but the 1912 ma
chimes in many instances are fitted
with two and three quarter inch tires,
or at least with rims that will take
that size. In the 1913 models which are
just appearing the three inch tire is
being tried.
It took long time for the automo-
bile manufacturers to devise and in
stall satisfactory self starter on their
machines. Two or three years ago
self starter was a rarity. Now practi-
cally every new machine Is equipped
with one. The motorcycle manufac-
turers have been going all through the
same period Of development trying to
figure out a foot starter that could be
applied, to their machines. At last one
Of these is now on the market.
The fact that 50 many motorcycles
herald their coming by series Of ex-
plosions like the rattle Of a rapid fire
gun is no sign that the manufacturers
have been idle or have made little ef-
fort to decrease the noiseness Of the
machines. Too many motorcyclists still
tinker with their muff1ers so as to
make them ineffective, because the con-
tinuous trail Of explosions that follow
them attracts attention to their flight
through the city streets. Some think II
| is better warning signal than the horn
and others are just as fond Of the
noise. On the whole however, the mo-
torcycle is growing less and less Often
sive as a noisemaker. Last years out
put Of motorcycles was valued at
about s65,O00,000.
Cod Industry is Growino.-The cod