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About the Whizzer
First and foremost, the Whizzer was originally an engine kit for on a bicycle...
...you provide the bicycle.
Up until 1948 Whizzer produced few if any "factory" bikes. The engine kits were bought by individuals and bike dealers and mounted on the balloon tire bikes of the day. The Whizzer was not intended to make a motorcycle out of a bicycle, nor was it a kid’s toy. It was intended to make bicycling easier, particularly for those people who used a bicycle for transportation.
Before 1948, Whizzer advertised "America's Finest Bicycle Motor"... After 1948, the ads read "America's Finest Motor Bicycle"
* There is some indication that even the "Whizzer Specials" of the fifties were shipped with the engine separate, to be installed by the dealer. Seems the Federal Government levied an Excise Tax on complete motorbikes..., but not on bicycles or bicycle motors...*
THE WHIZZER MOTOR COMPANY
The Whizzer Motorbike originated in 1939 with the Breene-Taylor Engineering Corporation, a Los Angeles maker of aircraft parts. Production began with the "D" engine, and soon switched to the somewhat improved "E" model. The Whizzer Division was bought out before WWII by Martin Goldman, who was an attorney for Breene- Taylor, and Dietrich Kohlsaat, who was evidently the financier. Henry Schuricht, who had been an engineer for Breene-Taylor went with the new Whizzer Motor Company. He was the person responsible for the designs of the later engines, "H", "J", "300" and "700".
The earliest Whizzer
The individual parts for the Whizzer were made by various sub contractors. The early engine components,"D", "E", and "F", were made by "Diamond Tool Company" and by "Pacific Airmax".There are frequent references in early Whizzer correspondence about problems with both delivery and quality of the early engines.
The company was moved to Pontiac, Mich. in 1945 to take advantage of the heavy manufacturing and production capabilities in that area which had grown up during the war years. One of the key manufacturers of post war Whizzer parts was the Wilson Foundry of Pontiac, who made the cylinders, and who had manufactured "Jeep" engines during WWII.
Another player was Bohn Aluminum and Brass, who made a lot of the crankcases, and at least some pistons. ("BOHNALITE")
Manufacturing appears to have ceased in the early 1950's, with engines being assembled from parts thereafter. The last major engine innovation was the "700",introduced in 1952. The Whizzer Motor Company, now Whizzer Industries, terminated its Motor Division August 1 , 1970, and the remaining inventory was bought out by automobile collector and restorer Leonard Davis. The collection, which included over 100 NOS engine kits, was gradually sold off over the years. What remained of the Davis collection, now reduced to a considerable number of fasteners and small parts, was aquired by collector Larry Master in late 1998.
There are still a couple of NOS 700 engine kits, in the original boxes, floating around.
The demise of the Company was due to a number of factors:
1. States passed laws requiring drivers of motorbikes to be licensed, and setting the age to be licensed at 16.
2. Used cars became plentiful and inexpensive.
3. Japanese imported motorcyces were inexpensive and having a transmission, would outperform the Whizzer.
4. The management of the company, instead of innovating and producing newer, better performing units, chose instead to refine the existing concept. The last engine produced in 1952, the 700 series, was essentially a refined "J" engine with a built- in generator, and was not significantly different from the "H" engines introduced in 1946.
One case in point is the ill- fated "Bi- Matic" transmission. The transmission, made for Whizzer by Reef Industries, was doomed by the use of cheaper bicycle type bearings instead of heavy duty caged automotive bearings. Although this shortcoming was recognized by Whizzer's Engineering Department, Management, in the interest of economy, short- circuited an attempt to improve the product by switching to caged bearings. A number of collectors are running bi- matics which have been re- engineered with automotive style bearings quite successfully, and so the basic concept was good.
Chain- drive Whizzers, with manual transmissions, were put together by some dealers and even by Whizzers own Engineering Department, but again management was reluctant to make the investment needed to mass- produce the product. There was at least one ready- made transmission available by Albion which could have been used.
The advantage of overhead valves was well known by the fifties, and a few overhead valve Whizzer engines were even produced which performed quite well, but the concept would have required re- designing of the bottom end of the engine in order to be really dependable, and so was not done. Even so, the Whizzer far outstripped any similar product both in the numbers produced and in the longevity of the line. Between 1939 and 1952, some 250,000 units were produced, and sales continued into the late 60's.
What Might Have Been
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No, it's not a Sportsman. If you look closely, there are provisions for pedals, which haven't been installed yet. Built by Whizzer as an experimental unit, this bike is part of the Reg Williams Collection
