Antique Motorcycle Club, Magazine Features: The Mighty Whizzer

Magazine Features

	The Mighty Whizzer By Greg Williams Gary Breylinger, second from left, aboard his hot rodded and bobbed Whizzer ca. 1949. Perhaps no other American-made machine gave as many young folks their first taste of powered two wheeling as did the Whizzer. Just the name, Whizzer, smacks of excitement and independence. What follows is a glimpse into the world of the Whizzer, and is by no means intended as a definitive guide. From the 1940s and through the 1950s a Whizzer motor kit could be had for close to $100. A reliable, 138cc four-cycle side-valve motor bolted snugly inside just about any mens' balloon tire bicycle frame using uncomplicated clamps. A rear wheel sheave attached to the spokes and took a v-belt drive running from a slip-pulley clutch that mounted to the rear of the motor. A shorter v-belt provided the primary drive, and a stylish gas tank straddled the top bar of the bike frame. Controls – throttle, compression release and clutch – attached to the handlebars. And presto, a motor-bike. That's oversimplifying the Whizzer, as there were complete Whizzer motorbikes produced and sold such as the Pacemaker, Sportsman and Ambassador; we'll learn more about the various engines and models as we go along. For the most part however, the Whizzer was sold in kit form, destined for installation in a bicycle frame. Gary Breylinger and Peter Banks wrench on a Whizzer at the 1968 Daytona AMCA meet. Gary is behind the bike. Developed in 1939 by Breene-Taylor Engineering Corporation, a Los Angeles maker of aircraft components, the Whizzer engine was introduced and sold as an efficient form of transportation. The concept was unveiled in July, 1939, but orders weren't met until November of that year. Whizzer's first attempt was dubbed the Model D, a single-cylinder side-valve engine unit with 2 1/4" bore and 2 1/8" stroke, with cases split vertically down the middle. Those dimensions provided 8.45 cubic inches and 1 3/8 horsepower. The Model D utilized a friction roller, mounted just below the pedal cranks of a bicycle, to drive the rear tire. A lever, operating through a cable to the roller, was mounted on the left side of the 2/3-gallon gas tank. This provided a crude form of a clutch, as a ratcheting device was used to hold tension on the drive roller. This tension however, often caused the gas tank to twist, or the lever's mount to break. Breene-Taylor introduced the Model E Whizzer in July, 1940. This configuration offered a few improvements over the D, with a redesigned cylinder and an enhanced carburetor produced in-house by Breene-Taylor. Gary Breylinger, June 2007, frontage road from Great Falls, to Wolf Creek, Montana. But there were warranty problems with those initial Breene-Taylor motors and unfortunately sales were slow. In 1942 the company was sold to Martin Goldman and Dietrich Kohlsaat. Rather than collapse the company and liquidate remaining stocks, the pair decided to further improve and develop the Whizzer motor kit, and began operating under the name Whizzer Motor Company. What needed development was the drive system, and experiments were made with both chain and belt power transmission. This was 1943 and war production played a significant role for many American manufacturers. The Whizzer Motor Company had to convince the government that their "New Model," as they called it, motor kit was essential. The company was granted the opportunity to sell their product to war personnel as an efficient way to travel to and from work. The New Model introduced the now-familiar v-belt pulley drive system and the redesigned five-quart gas tank that would be used throughout the rest of Whizzer's production run. In 1945 Whizzer started marketing their kits to the general public, and the New Model became the Model F. Sales were much better than before and would become even more positive with the introduction of the Model H motor. Henry Schurict, an engineer from Breene-Taylor, who stayed with Whizzer during the ownership changes, had redesigned the motor. What he developed was an engine with the same physical dimensions as previous units, but the crankcase was now one piece. All internal components were held in the deep-dish of the case, and were concealed by a flat cover on the right hand side. A cast iron exhaust manifold pointed forward (rather than to the rear as it had on earlier engines) and accepted a flexible hose. Whizzer had begun subcontracting all manufacturing and moved to Pontiac, Michigan, where Wilson Foundry, a firm that had produced Jeep parts during the war, began casting the Whizzer cylinders. Bill Felton and Gary Breylinger top off the oil in the Whizzer on the Wolf Creek Run, June, 2007. Several Whizzer motor models were made, including the H (1946-1948), J (1948-1949), the 300 (1949-1952) and the 700 (1952-1955). Each had its own improvements, but none of them progressed beyond the simple side valve layout. While the first engines made only 1 3/8 horsepower, the last models made close to 3 h.p. It's unknown exactly how many Whizzer engines were produced, but it's suspected the number could be between 350,000 and 500,000. Production ceased in 1955-56 but engine kits and parts were still being sold right into the 1960s. The Model H motor featured a dual lever-style throttle and compression release that was affixed to the right side of the handlebars, while a lever on the left worked the clutch. It wasn't until the J motor that motorcycle-style twistgrips, throttle on the right and compression release on the left, were employed. After using up the supply of Breene-Taylor carburetors on the early H motors, Whizzer switched between Tillotson and Carter throughout their entire production run. The Model 300 Whizzer engine bristled with bigger valves, a larger-finned high compression head, and a taller oil breather. Whizzer's last motor was the 700, which was pretty much identical to the 300, but featured an alternator and came supplied with headlight and taillight and a license plate bracket. Fighting traffic on the frontage road to Wolf Creek, Montana, June. 2007. Whizzer did, of course, produce its own complete machines, sometimes in conjunction with famous bicycle makers such as Schwinn (WZ507) Hoffman, Columbia and Roadmaster. The bike could be purchased separately, or sometimes, dealers would assemble the bike and motor kit and sell it as a complete machine, or it was sold as a Whizzer "Special." Complete Whizzer bikes included the Pacemaker, introduced in 1948. The Pacemaker had 24" wheels, Sturmey-Archer drum front brake, and telescopic front fork. The Sportsman was next in 1949, when the machine abandoned the bicycle pedals and came with a kick starter on what the company called the 300S (presumably for Sportsman) motor. Wheels were much smaller at 20", and the machine featured the Whizzer telescopic fork. The DeLuxe Sportsman came with a Bi-matic two-speed automatic clutch. Lastly came the Ambassador in 1951, which had many of the features of the Sportsman but came with a larger frame and 24" wheels. The motor now had the built-in AC alternator and the bike came equipped with lights. While the Whizzer may have moved war defense personnel during the war, it was mostly youngsters looking to expand their horizons who eventually got hold of one. Just like Dave Sauerberg, a Lethbridge, Alberta, motorcycle enthusiast. In 1950 he was 13 years old when he bought a used Whizzer motor for $10. His uncle, an experienced tug boat engineer, helped rebuild the engine. Sauerberg learned how to replace the bearings on the connecting rod, and how to set up the Whizzer to run. The pair also fabricated the necessary brackets to hold the motor in a balloon-tire bicycle frame, something Sauerberg hand-sanded and painted with a brush. "I made my own exhaust pipe for that bike," Sauerberg recalls. "And it was a little short; it exited right near the crank hanger of the bike. One night I was out racing down the road and I looked behind me and all I saw were sparks, and I didn't know where they were coming from. I looked at the cuff of the brand new jeans my mom just bought me and realized my pants were on fire. Boy, did I get into trouble." Helen Strickland rode this Doodlebug for a season before her dad traded it – and some cash -- for her Whizzer. Another youngster who got their start aboard a Whizzer is now 74-year old Helen Strickland of Nanaimo, B.C. In the fall of 1948 her dad traded in a Doodlebug scooter and some cash at the local John Deere agency for a brand-new Whizzer WZ507. "I was in grade nine at the time, and rode it to the Arcola (Saskacthewan) High School until I graduated," Strickland says. "I'd also occasionally ride it about 20 miles to the next town—Manor--to attend a school dance." Written in ink on the back of this photograph is 'Helen Margaret on her motor bike'. Strickland says she was often late for her early morning classes, and with it's distinctive exhaust note the Whizzer would always announce her arrival. "The teacher's knew when I got there," she says with a laugh. Her brother, Jack, was five years older and drove a pickup truck. When Strickland was riding her Whizzer down the road and saw her brother coming up behind her she'd "put on this little show for him," she says. "I'd ride without my hands on the handlebars and wave or put my hands on top of my head; anything to just sort of annoy him. The Whizzer was so well balanced I could have ridden it for miles without hands." Everyday transportation was this ca. 1948 WZ507 Whizzer for Helen Strickland. Photo is dated 1951. The Whizzer piqued Strickland's interest in motorcycles but she never bought a larger machine. In 1955 she obtained her private pilots license, and says that distracted her from pursuing the purchase of a motorcycle. "I never owned a motorcycle but I still love to look at them," she says. "And up until two years ago I'd have liked to have had one." Helen Strickland in 2006, still together with her Whizzer. She last rode the machine in 2002 in the Arcola (Saskatchewan) Fair and Homecoming parade. Amazingly, Strickland still owns her Whizzer; it's completely original, right down to the handgrips, pedals and the Goodyear balloon tires. In 2002 she rode the Whizzer in the Arcola Fair and Homecoming parade. Prior to trailering the bike to Saskatchewan she had the engine serviced and tuned at TJ's Cycle in Calgary. "I did my thing and rode it in the parade, and people remembered me and the Whizzer. They couldn't believe I still had it, and they couldn't believe that I could still ride it," she laughs. Long-time AMCA member Gary Breylinger was 14 in 1949 and in his freshman year at high school in northern San Diego County in California, when he got a Whizzer. "I started out riding a secondhand Doodlebug, and the clutch slipped so much on those things they wouldn't get out of their own way," Breylinger says. "They were only good for about 25 mph, and most of the rest of the guys were getting Cushmans or Whizzers. Geez, I felt left out of it. I was a big, lanky kid on that Doodlebug. "So my dad came home with a brand new Powerbike attachment. And that was just terrible, although it was a bit faster. It was embarrassing to ride it, and the guys would end up leaving me behind. I got rid of that turkey and finally got a secondhand Whizzer." When Breylinger bought his Whizzer it had already been "bobbed"; the front fender was missing and the rear fender had been cut short. Buckhorn handlebars topped it off. Breylinger went even further and cut the angled tip off the straight exhaust pipe with a hacksaw. "I cut it at just the right spot; when you backed off the throttle it would rap back." He removed the pedals and crank and put a steel rod through the crank hanger for a footrest and fabricated a rod-operated rear brake. He hot rodded the engine by boring out the cylinder, installing larger valves and finished it off with a Whizzer high-compression head. Weber Tool Company of Los Angeles produced speed equipment for various cars and bikes -- including Whizzers -- and Breylinger ran a Weber cam. He had to push his bike to start it, but says that wasn't a problem. "It was the fastest Whizzer around," Breylinger recalls. To recapture that misspent youth, Breylinger has recently built himself another Whizzer. This one features an engine rebuilt by Vahan Vandoian of California. His rebuild included a hot cam, relieved head and bigger valves. The bicycle is a Schwinn and it has internal expanding drum brakes front and rear. Breylinger recently rode his new Whizzer quite a few miles on the 2007 Northern Rockies chapter annual Missouri River Road Run out of Great Falls, Montana. "I got the guffaws from the folks when I pulled up on the Whizzer, but I made the day for quite a few people," he says. "I was clipping along the I-15 at 50 mph!" Rollie Hilfer A 1948 Whizzer Pacemaker owned by Rollie Hilfer. This is a rare example, as Whizzer made the frame in-house. Only 1,000 of the Whizzer Pacemaker frames were produced before Schwinn took over chassis production. It was 60 years ago that Wisconsin's Rollie Hilfer sold his first Whizzer kit. Hilfer was 14 years old in 1947 when he took money earned from his paper route and went to Wheel Goods Corporation in Minneapolis and bought three Whizzer kits and a few hundred dollars worth of parts. "I set up shop behind a building my dad had built," Hilfer recalls. "I had a space that was about 24'x24'. I sold bicycles and the Whizzer kits from 1947 to 1952." Rollie's Cycle and Hobby Shop was in Tomah, Wisconsin. Hilfer was still in high school and says he rode his own Whizzer everywhere. He can only recall a few issues with the Whizzer motor; the first was a problem with the flywheel-driven Bendix generator. The generator mounted on a bracket held down by the four screws securing the belt cover. "The Bendix fiber wheel wouldn't last, and then Whizzer went to the Hall generator. The other issue was with some of the Carter Model N carbs, the floats leaked, and that was a big problem for a while." The first motor kits he sold were the Model H. He says the introduction of the 1948 Model J was a tremendous step forward. "The J had the maroon embossed gas tank, twist grips, chrome beltguard and the notched steel reinforced belts," he said, and added, "The motor kits were the most popular seller. For $100 you could buy a kit; but you have to remember in those days you could buy a Model A Ford for $100 or less. "What happened in the end was sales started to dwindle, and Honda really sunk them all (the majority of American made small-capacity machines)." Hilfer now has a small collection of Whizzers, and concludes, "I love my Whizzers." SOURCES Willard Larson's A New History of Whizzer 1939-1965 is chock-full of engine details and design changes over the machine's production run. The book is self-published, over 100 pages, and is $24.95, plus $2.00 postage. Willard Larson, P.O. Box 338, Isanti, MN 55040. The Wonderful Old Whizzer Motorbike site at: http://www.geocities.com/whizzer_17044/ is also a great place to learn more about the Whizzer. New Whizzer bikes, engine kits and more history at: http://whizzermotorbike.com/ © 2008 AMCA

The Mighty Whizzer

Rollie Hilfer