WHIZZER PACELINE
... this is what American youngsters used to get busy on in the 1950s. The Whizzer was a cheap-as-chips two-wheeler – a teen favourite pre-dating a certain 50cc Yamaha that captivated the UK’S youth in the ’70s
If you have a fondness for the Fizzie, this is the American equivalent from the 1950s
For American teenagers in the late 1940s and ’50s the Whizzer was a route to motorcycling, much in the same way the Fizzie was to the teenagers of Britain in the 1970s. The first Whizzers appeared in 1939, originally as an engine kit that could be bolted to a Schwinn-style cruiser bicycle frame. The Model D Bicycle Motor, as it was known, cost $54.95 and was produced by a Los Angeles-based company called Breene Taylor Engineering Corporation, who also made aircraft parts.
Only 1000 of the Model D kits, with a roller drive system, were produced in the first year, being superseded in 1940 by the Model E, with an alloy head and redesigned camshaft – but neither the Model D or E were of particularly good quality.
In 1942 Breene Taylor sold Whizzer Motor to financier Dietrich Kohlsatt and Martin Goldman, a lawyer for Breene Taylor. They then persuaded the United States Government to allow them to continue producing Whizzers, which were by then known as the ‘New Model’ (referring to the fact they were belt-driven), as transport for defence workers for the duration of World War II. In 1946 they relocated the Whizzer Motor Co business to Pontiac, Michigan and announced a redesigned Model J engine featuring new crankcases, new crankshaft and a Tillotson carb. The company also began making their own Schwinn-style frames which enabled them to sell complete machines as well as engine kits – but fell foul of the bicycle company’s lawyers, who rightly pointed out that their cruiser frames were patented. Whizzer frames were subsequently produced by Schwinn and used as the basis for the Whizzer motorcycles.
By 1948 the company had manufactured some 150,000 engines, and in June that year Whizzer launched their first complete motorcycle, the Pacemaker model. Its air-cooled, sidevalve, four-stroke single-cylinder Model J engine was bolted to the frame at three points, and it featured direct drive to the rear wheel by a steel-cable V-belt, while the pedals and drive chain were used as the method of starting.
That year, a Model J engine cost just $97.55, while the
complete, ready-assembled Pacemaker sold for $199.50. The bikes were sold through a network of some 3500 dealers, with the company’s advertising poster claiming: ‘Well over a hundred thousand in daily use...’
The early 138cc engines were fed by a Tillotson carburettor (prone to leaks and plastic parts cracking) and initially produced a mere 1.375bhp – but from 1948-51, fuelled by a more reliable Carter carb, Pacemakers had their power pumped up to a heady 3bhp. That was good for 30-40mph, depending on terrain, which proved quite a scary speed under some circumstances, considering the only form of braking was the ‘coaster’ bicycle brake in the rear hub! Petrol consumption was an amazing 125mpg – perfect low-cost motorcycling for a teenager.
Larry Houghton is one of the most innovative custom bike builders in the UK, but he also has a love for classic bikes and couldn’t resist the charm of the Whizzer pictured here when he spotted it for sale. It’s a 1951 Pacemaker, recently bought in the UK and he says: “These are really desirable classics in the States and can go for up to $5000. Here, though, there’s not that same connection with the past, I suppose – but they still tend to fetch a good price, on the rare occasions they come up for sale.
“You could originally either buy the engines in kit form and bolt them to a bicycle frame yourself or you could buy complete bikes. This one was sold originally as a complete bike. They are really rare in the UK.
“I absolutely love it. It’s a weird old thing and a pain to start sometimes – you have to pedal like mad – but it’s a really fun thing to ride. Because it’s a single-gear, centrifugal clutch, you just can’t poodle around on it. The thing is set to ride at 30mph or nothing – and the brakes are bloody awful. But which one would you rather have – this or one of those bloody electric bikes? This is real fun!”
Whizzer continued to produce engines and complete machines until 1965, by which time the rapidly expanding American motorcycle market was being flooded by lightweight two-stroke mini bikes from small US manufacturers, ranges of European mopeds from various companies and, of course, the infinitely more reliable Japanese lightweights. The Whizzer name was revived in 1998, producing classic mopeds in the style of the originals, but the company has not produced bikes since 2009.
‘IT’S A PAIN TO START SOMETIMES, BUT IT’S A REALLY FUN THING TO RIDE – IT’S SET TO RIDE AT 30mph OR NOTHING’