47 Whizzer

Dirt Nerd

Dirt Nerd

Member
Dad signed the title over to me just over a year ago. I've spent a lot of time digging for parts and history and now tearing into the project to complete it for his 80th birthday in February.

Here is my Flickr set


You will see that it's a true barn find. Some things are missing or in need of TLC. something we've probably all encountered.

I am also the Whizzer Motorbikes group curator on Flickr. there are alot of great finds in there if you have time check them out. If you have a Flickr account, feel free to join and share.
 
Hey Dirt Nerd, Quenton is the Whizzer god, working on a 47 myself, lots of great advice here. One more question for Quenton, is there a proper setting for the brass float in the Tillotson ML5? Still having problems with flooding, runs great when its running, but after it stops harder then heck to start back up, getting some popping noise out of the new ignition modual (not always) and small backfires out of exhaust. When I removed cylinder to replace gasket the piston looked clean also the rings looked new, slight buildup of carbon on top of piston, just at one end wiped off with a rag and some penetrating oil. Cylinder wall looked smooth. Bike starts up real easy after sitting for awhile or overnight. Seems the idle goes up and down when sitting on the stand, im thinking maybe something to do with the float, I did mess with it a little when I first got the bike, and dont know how to set it properly. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks again Joe
 
Hi,

Float level

Tillotson ML5B 1-3/32"

Tillotson MT12A 1-13/32"


Carter [all] 1/4"


Tillotson:

Turn so that float is on top [carburetor is upside down], measure from carburetor housing to TOP of float, adjust level by bending tab.

Carter: Float on top [carburetor is upside down], measure from carburetor housing to the BOTTOM of the float [distance between the housing and the float], bend tab to adjust level.

Idle not steady can be caused by a lot of reasons, including worn bushings in the carburetor, wrong float level, plugged passages, leaky valves, sticking valves, poor compression, weak ignition, etc. Check throttle butterfly shaft for extra play [loose].



Have fun,
 
Great stuff! Were the rubber sleeves under the motor mounts always an option? Dad mentioned he used old rubber bike tubes, since they didn't come in the box.

He also mentioned he kept blowing a head gasket. Being a farm kid, i think he knew his way around the motor, but he also had a few hills to climb, which i think may be the culprit for the damage. He's put many a motor together with great success. Curious if this was a known syndrome for the H.
 
Hi Dirt Nerd,

The kit had the rubber sleeves included. The sleeves are available from Memory Lane Classics, as are the mounts.

Only the early "H" motor had a problem with head gaskets. Motors with serial numbers above 120XXX had 5/16" head bolts, whereas earlier motors used 1/4" bolts. The fix is simple, drill and tap the cylinder to accept 5/16" X 18 bolts and open the holes in the head to allow the larger bolts. Be VERY CAREFUL because the head bolt ramps on the early "H" heads were different heights and the bolts could break off some of the fins. In fact Whizzer used two different length head bolts on the earlier motors and often they were mixed when re-installing the head and many early "H" motors had broken cylinder fins for this reason.

Have fun,
 
thanks again Quenton - I'm really hoping you have started writing the Whizzer bible :-)

I am not set up with the right tools for the motor, so i've been working with a indy motorbike guy who's tackled everything. I'll pass this along. It's greatly appreciated. I cannot wait to share the progress and final pics. (of course, when are they ever 'final'?)
 
Thanks VOETOM - it's been a joy just digging for any info i can find on them. My wife's already nervous because i'm thinking about the next one, and haven't finished the first one.
 
Those Flickr pictures were great! Is that your Dad in a couple of them? There's a thick coating of gray dust on the bike. Where was it stored all these years?
Jay
 
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That was fun looking through the slide show. How is it your dad came by the bike? Did he buy it himself? Does he have stories he likes to tell about it, about those times and adventures he had on the bike? At one time I did some work for our local county in recording old timers. Having his recorded words, late transcribed would be a wonderful thing to go along with that bike and something you will have of your Dad's for a long, long time. Your Whizzer is a time machine and I should think when the day comes that you fire it up and ride off into the sunset it will be one you will never forget. I think what you're doing with the bike and with your dad is something very special. I wish I could have done something with and for my dad as you are doing with yours. Wonderful.
SB
 
Thanks silverbear & jbcruisin

Dad bought the bike in Hays KS in 1947, but didn't register it until a year later, incurring a penalty of $8. the fee was only $5. HA

He grew up on the family farm, and drove this to high school from time to time when he wasn't delivering milk. after he went to college and then into the Navy in the 50s, he mentioned that one of the hired hands back on the family farm got it running again, but that was short lived.

it went from barn to barn. I grew up just down the road from where he grew up. hence the grime. the lens on the speedometer is baked, so it had to have been hot in the summers where ever it was parked.

When dad saw the new Whizzers in the Harley shop window, that got him thinking that it should run again. he dragged it into their shop, where it sat for 10 years. It's not their fault - they expanded from a small family shop to a large facility out by interstate, and just didn't have time. I asked dad if i could fix it up. My brother and i rescued it from their storage shed.

Dad wasn't certain but he had thought he had given them everything, manuals, papers etc. He got a call from the HD dealer who said he had the original license tag and needed to return it. he had kept it in his tool chest so it wouldn't get lifted. as for the manuals, he thought they were in a box of stuff that got traded and was gone.

Until...

i got a call from my Dad while at work. He never calls during the day. i thought someone had died. You woulda thought he had won the lottery, but he said he found the title, registration (with fines recorded) and manual, all original.

i have collected his emails that have described the various quirks.

I'll keep this forum posted as to the progress.
 
Thanks for sharing that. And I do hope you'll consider sitting down with your dad sometime over a cup of coffee with a tape recorder going in the background... not an interview or anything formal... just talking about the old days of his youth and when he got that Whizzer, what is was like riding it, the reaction of kids at the high school, that sort of thing. Someday you'll be glad you did. I was thinking about your post a little while ago and about how much I would like right now to hear my grandmother's voice... what I would give to hear her again. I like your thread and I like what you're doing. Thanks.
SB
 
Mason - funny story (insert sarcastic laugh)

I had left my bike w/ a cycle shop owner about a year ago - long story short, he didn't do much, so i finally got it back last week. If you wanna do something right, do it yourself.

With that, i'm tearing down everything myself, including that brake assembly. Someone on the CABE site said he sent two sets to that shop. I haven't heard back yet. I will probably get to that in the next month.

Check out the link again, the motor is further along. All looks to be in good shape, and the piston will be free in a week. Just a slow soak to loosen it.

I will be using this thread to document my progress for the group. I'm very excited to get going again.
 
Needless to say, Don't let those papers your dad found get out of your hands. Restore it with authentic parts and don't let anyone talk you out of any part of it. You have a piece from the past and it is absolutely priceless. I passed up several of these over the years that I could have bought but wasn't into motor bikes at the time & they meant nothing to me other than that they were old Whizzers. I've enjoyed this thread immensely.

Norm Starr
 
Thanks Norm!

I am going to many lengths to ensure quality. Single stage paint will match. ReCAD and chrome plating many original parts. I've missed my original goal of delivering this for his 80th bday. Now I'm aiming for his 81st (feb - '12).

frame is at paint. Motor is disassembled, parts have been purchased, other parts are being readied for plating. winter is approaching. time to hole myself up in the basement.
 
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