1948 Whizzer 138cc Vintage Replica Motor-bike

Warrick is an aspiring builder from Victoria Australia. He proclaims himself to be a maker, not rider of motorcycles. He's wanted to build something unique for quite some time. Something he could take to the "show us your wheels" car show and know that no one has seen it before.

Warrick wanted to build a vintage motorbike that evoked the design style of the industrial revolution. The challenge - as for any project of this kind - was obtaining rare and expensive parts on a small budget.

In 2011, a 1912 Harley sold at auction for $115,000, there was no way he could afford that. He was looking for options when one day Warrick came across a picture of a 1948 Whizzer.

The Whizzer was an engine kit that could transform a regular push-bike into a motorcycle.. Originally it had an air-cooled, four-cycle 138cc engine that was capable of producing 1.375 horsepower, it also came with a 2/3 gallon fuel tank. They were made in the U.S. between 1939 and 1965 but the style evoked an older design.

Determined to find out more about the Whizzer, Warrick spoke to every motorbike nut he knew. The Whizzer was rare in Australia and no one had heard of a it before. Then he showed a picture of the bike to his 90 year old neighbour who's dad had a similar one when he was a kid. The bike was around 60 years old yet looked like it was older. The octogenarian was convinced the bike must have been 100 years old. That was the nudge Warrick needed. He thought ‟Perfect! If I can fool him I should be able to fool some more people at the car show!”

Warrick set out to build the 1948 Whizzer from the photo he had. He picked up all the parts on eBay for under $1200. The most difficult task, of course, was getting the right base bike; it took Warrick over 6 months of searching to find one.

He settled on a $70 'six three zero' beach cruiser with large balloon wheels. It wasn't exactly what he wanted but, was pretty close to the Schwinn frame that most new whizzer builds are based on.

Genuine Whizzer engine kits go for $3,000 on eBay. Trying to keep his costs as low as possible, Warrick found a company in Taiwan that made replica 138cc Whizzer engine kits costing him only $910 with freight. He completed his shopping on eBay with $70 springer front forks, $60 fenders and a $37 wide pedal crank.

Warrick fitted the springer forks and fenders then painted the rims red and cleaned the white wall tires. He moved the seat back as much as possible to improve knee to handlebar clearance. After goose necking the seat, the bike looked longer and lower.

Next up Warrick attached the sheave to the tire spokes and fitted the engine to the bike frame. He spent quite a bit of time trying to get the engine to fit with the mounts. The mounts that came with the kit were quite ugly and didn't fit the frame very well so Warrick made his own mount.

According to Warrick, the first rule of making engine mounts is building the ability to remove the engine from the frame. So he removed the engines mounting studs and replaced them with bolts to make it easier to remove the engine from the frame.

The engine kit also came with a clutch, brake and throttle control. It had all the switches and buttons you could ever need. But because Warrick was going for the vintage look he used a thumb throttle control he salvaged from an older motorcycle.

The kit also came with provisions for everything that you can think of, horn, lights, battery, key switch and speedometer. Everything he didn't want on his bike. The only thing really needed was an ignition system.

It seemed like everything on this project, needed some sort of modification; the tank and exhaust were no exception. The tank wouldn't fit because the tubular frame was over sized and the exhaust bracket supplied with the kit didn't align. After a few modifications he welded the exhausts and hid the wiring under the installed tank.

The spring and bracket for the clutch was easy to install. The levers came from an unknown model of vintage Triumph.

Warrick had a few problems with the belt drive. The Taiwan kit supplied a belt that was ½ a size too long. After some research it became apparent that you need the exact type of drive belt not just the right size. Warrick found automotive wedge belts in ½ sizes that fit his build. With the perfect size drive belt in hand, the next problem was that the belt rubbed up against the newly installed fenders. This was a simple fix involving a few cut-outs.

Finishing off the bike, Warrick replaced the pedals because they were touching the engine. He then attached the brake cables and replaced the old black and white walled tires with all white tires.

With the bike build complete Warrick entered his bike in a local Australian 'show us your wheels' motorcycle show. The only Whizzer in the show got a lot of attention and even made an appearance in the local newspaper.

It's a beautiful motorbike. Warrick rides the Whizzer around Victoria Province in Australia. You'll hear it coming, but instead of a roar, the 138cc motor broadcasts a unique putt-putt sound: Warrick's favourite attribute.

Follow this link to see Warrick's Instructables page.

 

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