Popular Science Monthly 



51 



With the motorcycle ice plow the surface is first cut away one-eighth of an inch with a steel 

 blade. The rear tire is fitted with short, sharp spikes. The inventor is astride the cycle 



Smoothing Skating Surfaces With a 

 Motorcycle Ice Plow 



THE motorcycle plow is not, as the 

 name may seem to indicate, a new 

 solution of the motor tractor question. It 

 is an entirely new creation — a scraper and 

 a planer for cleaning away the ridges 

 caused by sharp skates on ice rinks. By 

 its use the skating surface on thick ice 



mav be kept 



?' *^%T?>f ^ '' ^""^ C3 in good con- 



and smooth, the scrap- ^Jfi ^ • • 



ings are removed by ^^L^ ultion COn- 



means of an iron scoop ^^^A tinuallydur- 



which trails along be- ^^B ing the skat- 



hind the motorcycle ^^^^^ 



ing season. The motorcycle is especially 

 geared for this task, so that it runs slowly 

 and smoothly when in use, making not 

 more than from three to four miles an 

 hour. 



The rough ice surface is first scraped 

 clean and smooth by a knife-blade, which 

 cuts away about one-eighth of an inch; 

 then the scrapings are removed by a scoop. 

 The rear tire is fitted with short, sharp 

 pikes, so that the motorcycle has a firm 

 grip on the slippery surface. The extra 

 wheel on the scraper gives a sure balance. 



Making a New Motorcycle Altitude 

 Record on Mt. Hood 



IN attempting to climb Mt. flood recently 

 a new motorcycle altitude record was 

 established. The former record of seven 

 thousand feet, made in 1914, was bettered 

 by two thousand feet by a trio of motor- 

 cycle enthusiasts who braved wind, storm, 

 ice and snow. The record-holders started 

 from Portland, Oregon, before six o'clock 

 in the morning and arrived at Government 

 Camp, situated sixt>' miles awav, at seven 

 o'clock. After resting for a few hours they 

 started for Emergency Camp, four miles 

 away, at two o'clock in the afternoon. 

 This was one of the most tr\ing ordeals 

 ever experienced by motorcycle 

 riders, the entire four miles of 

 roadway consisting of rocks and 

 boulders. However, the riders 

 reached Emergency Camp in good 

 condition. 



After an overnightrest theclimb 

 was continued from Emergency 

 Camp at five o'clock the following 

 morning. For hours the three riders fought 

 with steep grades and deep snow until the 

 final goal of nine thousand feet was reached 

 at nine o'clock. At this point the machines 

 were obliged to run over a thick, hard 

 crust of snow, and in some places the weight 

 was too great for the snow, causing machine 

 and driver to stop abruptly. Several times 

 the crust was only a thin sheet, so that the 

 riders had towalkalongwith theirmachines. 

 The return trip to Government Camp 

 was made under still more tr\ing circum- 

 stances, for the sun had melted the snow. 



