Has anyone ever gotten one of these kits? I think I'm going to get one since I found $225 in Amazon gift cards I have yet to spend. Sadly Amazon does not have much in the tuba department for $225. Hopefully it will be not too bad since it is Chinese "jin bao" like engine. ITs probably made on the same factory floor! who knows.
I bought one of ebay the vibration it puts into the frame is very excessive. The engine itself was very reliable but the controls were very fragile.
My bike only had centre pull block calipers and it took a long time to stop so I could not use it in urban areas and its muffler was not up to the job.
It was a fun bike an easy 2 hour build but not legal for use on the public road in Ireland.
Back in the fifties, you had the choice of a "Power-pack" which bolted to a carrier behind the saddle, and drove the bike via a rubber roller that pressed against the tire (at maybe 6 mph in the dry), or for the wealthy there was the "farting gemini", built into the hub of the rear wheel. I seem to remember the Gemini even had brakes.
The Whizzer goes back to 1939. I've seen one, probably a '50s model on an equally old frame, I think it had a springer fork. Honestly I was a bit envious, it was ... gnarly.