Report

on a 1920 Briggs & Stratton Flyer

Scope of work

I was asked to prepare this report to verify the authenticity of a 1920 Briggs & Stratton
Flyer.

This entails explaining the historical background of the manufacturer and product,
explaining my observations and details of my qualifications.

Background history on the vehicle

The motor wheel, or as it was first known, the Auto Wheel, was invented by A. W. Wall
sometime prior to 1909. Production began in 1909 or 1910 by Wall Auto Wheel Ltd of
London. The Wall company was the first to produce the “auto wheel” but others would
soon follow. The Auto Wheel was a single cylinder motor with a drive wheel mounted
directly to the motor without a clutch. It was designed to be mounted on bicycles and was
advertised as, “the cheapest form of Motoring and the most enjoyable form of cycling.”

In 1914 the A. O. Smith company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin licensed the rights to produce
the Auto Wheel in the United States. They redesigned the Wall wheel to better suit the
American market, and named it the Smith Motor Wheel. They went into production with
immediate success. In 1916 the company introduced a new adaptation of the motor by
mounting it on a little car, today we would consider it a Go-Kart, and they named it the
Smith Flyer. The Flyer measured just under 8’ total length with a body made of wood
slats, similar to a horse buckboard and two little wood bucket seats with bicycle wire
wheels.

The Motor Wheel and Flyer business was successful but of the many products A.O. Smith
produced it was a relatively small portion of their business. In 1919, A.O. Smith sold the

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rights to manufacturer motor wheels and the rights to the little car to the Briggs &
Stratton company also of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At that time Briggs & Stratton was
producing ignition parts for the automotive industry. The company had never produced
anything like the motor wheel before.

Briggs & Stratton redesigned the motor yet again and increased power output. They renamed
it the Briggs & Stratton Model D Motor Wheel. They did not change the design other than
some finishes for manufacturing efficiency and renamed it the Briggs & Stratton Flyer
Model J.

The timing of this sale and redesign was in favor of Briggs & Stratton as the bicycle craze
that began in the 1890’s was in its post World War peak. The new motor wheel went on
sale late in 1919 but 1920 would prove to be the big year. Sales of motors were brisk. A
worldwide dealer network was established and the motor wheels were sold from Japan
to England and everywhere in between.

Despite the strong sales of motor wheels and Flyers in 1920, in 1921 Briggs & Stratton
began to explore other markets and uses for the motors. They made a variation of the
Model D called the PB and another called the Full Power, these motors were adapted to
run industrial machines, home washing machines, and the newly invented power lawn
mower.

By 1922, sales of Motor Wheels and Flyers had dropped precipitously. Increased sales
were happening to distributors as Briggs & Stratton concentrated on the new small motor
market that would ultimately define the company to this day.

In 1925, all remaining inventory of motors and flyers along with all rights and
manufacturing were sold to the Automotive Electric Service company of North Bergen,
NJ. AES sold off the remaining stock of motors and Flyers under the brand name Auto
Red Bug. When the supply of motor wheels was finally exhausted, AES continued to
manufacture the buckboards with electric power.

The subject vehicle

The vehicle that is the subject of this report is identified as car J4404 with motor D4327.
Because I have been interested and researching these motors and cars for so long I have
accumulated a number or rare resources. The most useful item I have come to posses are

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the royalty records from the Briggs & Stratton company covering this period. Motor
Wheels produced by Smith and Briggs required royalty fees be paid to Wall Auto Wheel in
London. Consequently Briggs kept a record of every motor tied to when it shipped from
the factory, presumably because that triggered the royalty payment. The records are not
complete but they do allow me to trace the shipping date of most motors made.

Motor D4327 shipped from the factory on April 21, 1920 directly to a customer, Mandus
Mattson, 1118 Washington Ave., Detroit, Michigan. This sale is also referenced on invoice
# MW2504. Customers could order products direct from the factory or from dealers
when one was available.

Motors and Flyers were often sold separately. Dealers often sold motors to mount on
bicycles but later the customer wanted them moved to a Flyer. Serial numbers of Flyers
are not recorded as rigorously as motor wheels in the records because no royalty was due
on the sale of Flyers. In fact, no Flyer is identified by number after serial number 2083. Yet,
I can unequivocally say that Flyers were made with serial numbers up to at least 4619
because I own that car.

There is nothing about this motor and Flyer combination to make me doubt the
authenticity. The numbers are legitimate. I have looked at so many of these I can tell you
by the stamps used to create the Flyer serial number plate that the numbers were stamped
at the factory.

Plus the car has a lot of original features that would be difficult to duplicate such as the
staining on the seats that was caused by the original tacks used to fasten the upholstery.
The motor lifting handle and gate are the correct shape as is the steering wheel center.
These are parts that are often duplicated incorrectly when fakes are being produced.
Some parts have been replaced with more modern variants out of necessity, this is
common since replacement parts do not exist. But, the vast majority of this vehicle
displays factory authentic parts.

The motor is similarly correct. It has the correct carburetor and magneto cover. It even
appears to have the correct guard over the magneto cover and these are frequently
missing.

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Summation

I have looked at hundreds of Motor Wheels, Flyers and Red Bugs over the years. I am
frequently asked by people to authenticate things from photos sent to me over the
internet. I see a lot of fakes. This is not one of them. The numbers on the motor and Flyer
support that I am seeing an authentic Briggs & Stratton Flyer with an authentic Briggs &
Stratton Motor Wheel. While the year of these vehicles is often hard to pin down because
of missing numbers, that is not the case in this instance. The motor clearly has the factory
stamped serial number and that is recorded in the records as being shipped in April
1920, so this car was manufactured in 1920 and would be registered as such today.

Who am I?

I have been interested in and collecting Briggs & Stratton Motor wheels and Flyer cars
and history for 44 years. Through my web site www.Auto-Motives.com I welcome
inquiries for technical assistance, historical research and help of all kinds revolving
around these motors and the related products. I get inquiries from all over the world and
have been deemed the expert on the subject of these unusual items. I own and maintain
my own car collection including five Smith and Briggs & Stratton Flyers and another six
Auto Red Bugs. I have a collection of every variation of Smith and Briggs & Stratton motor
wheels made.

I have been writing about collector cars, automotive history and car collecting since 1992.
I have done appraisals of collector cars for individuals, banks, lawyers and courts from
1992 until 2019. I have been a judge at major car events including Cheif Judge at the
Greenwich Concours d’Elegance and the Radnor Hunt Concours.

Jed Rapoport
Allentown, PA, USA

January 25, 2022

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