Popular Science Monthly 



357 



-STEERING WHEEL FILLING CAP 

 STEERING COLUMN / 



3pARK ADVANa & THROTTLE. CONTROLS 



WATER 

 (CONNECTION 

 ETnOTOR& 

 RADIATOR 

 RADIATOR 



FAN 

 RADIATOR 

 SPRINGS 

 BUMPER 

 TIMING 

 GEARS 

 MOTOR 

 'CRANK SHAFT 

 FRONT AXLE 

 BOTTOM OF 

 CRANKSHAFT 



FLYWHEEL^ 

 WITH GLARED 

 - RING FOR 

 SELF STARTER 



LUBRICATING CONNECTING 

 OIL PUMP j,op5 



is the number of gears and gearsets. 

 Note how carefuUj- the weight has been 

 distributed. This is a most important 

 consideration in the construction of tht 

 modern motor - truck and automobile 



Two Workingmen's Tandem 

 Motorcycle 



DIFFERING from other 

 two-seated motorcycles 

 in that the riders sit side by 

 side on a common seat 

 instead of one be- 

 hind the other, the 

 motorcycle shown in 

 the accompanying il- 

 lustration is used by 

 two Norwalk, Ohio, 

 workingmen to ride to 

 and from their work 

 each day. 



The machine, with its 

 ability to carry its two 

 passengers between 

 seventy-five and one 

 hundred miles per gallon 

 of gasoline at speeds up 

 to forty-five miles per 

 hour, offers a quick and 

 cheap method of getting 

 to and from work. Fur- 

 thermore, the weight is 

 more evenly distributed 

 over the rear or driving wheel, effecting a 

 considerable saving in tire wear and insur- 

 ing easier and steadier riding. The man 

 driving the machine generally sits on the 

 left-hand side, because the clutch is 

 operated from that side. 



Making the Front Axle Help in 

 Driving the Automobile 



THE idea of using all four wheels in 

 driving an automobile has struck 

 many an engineer and has' tempted him to 

 work on the problem. The demand of the 

 automobile-buying public seems to be con- 

 stantly for more power regardless of whether 

 it affords additional comfort or not. Ob- 

 viously, the advantages of making the front 

 axle help in driving, lie not only in obtain- 

 ing far better traction and thus more 

 power, but in simplifying the driving gears 

 as well. 



From the standpoint of the automobile 

 engineer the great difficulty, however, has 

 been with joints on each end of the axle, 

 so designed that they allow the wheels to 

 swing about them and thus transmit the 

 turning power at the same time. In try- 

 ing to combine these features in one axle 

 joint many inventors have met their 

 Waterloo. The fact is that the stress from 

 the transmission, plus the stresses which 

 would be obtained from riding over rough 

 roads would prove too heavy a load for a 

 joint of this kind to withstand. 



Notwithstanding these difficulties, it 

 appears that a Dutch engineer, 

 Peter J. Batenburg, has con- 

 ceived a workable plan. By 

 relieving the axle joint of 

 the function of serving 

 as a turning support, 

 Mr. Batenburg uses 

 it to transmit power 

 only to the front 

 wheels. The casing 

 around 'the axle 

 members is made in- 

 to a joint which 

 works very much 

 like a guided ball- 

 and-socket joint. It 

 is this joint which 

 takes up all stresses 

 / due to turning and 

 to supporting the 

 body of the auto- 

 mobile. The axle it- 

 self is made flexible 

 by a suitable joint 

 and it fits loosely 

 It makes easy connec- 

 tion with the hub of the wheel through a 

 steel plate at its end. 



All stress is taken up by the supporting 

 joint and no weight is left to be borne by 

 the weaker axle inside. 



The old idea of sitting behind the driver 

 gives way to something better. The two 

 men sit side by side on a common seat 



inside this casing. 



