Cushman at Indianapolis

My Super Silver Eagle, a 1963 model that is unrestored, sits ready to go at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We made one slow lap around the famous racetrack.

OMC Engine

This aluminum engine made by Outboard Marine was used on Cushman Eagles in the Early 1960's. This one is a manual start model, but most have an electric starter. The engine has overhead valves and produces 9 horsepower. It seldom overheats, and with a two-speed transmission, it is a good performer.

Cushman Goes to War

This Cushman Autoglide is a civilian model drafted into the Army in World War II. While Cushman made strictly military scooters, many ordinary motor scooters were used during the war. They were well suited to messenger service, and with side cars, were used to transport pilots to their airplanes.

Package Kar

This Package Kar is probably a 60-series. It looks like it is nearly complete except for the front fenders. That makes restoration easier.

Some Cushman delivery vehicles had steering wheels instead of handlebars.

Cushman Autoglide

Cushman began using this body style in 1940 with the Model 12, but this one is likely a model 32. The 30-series Autoglides using this body were produced from 1942 until 1945.

The scooters in the background are Eagles.

Cushman with a Winterfront

This windshield is a style that Cushman called a "winterfront." It would probably slow you down, but in cold weather it was better than no protection at all. The white part appears to be vinyl, which leads me to believe that it is a reproduction. The original Cushman winterfront was canvas.

The scooter is a late '47 or '48 Pacemaker. Also know as a Model 52.

A Passenger Vehicle?

Cushmans bring out the creativity in people. This early 3-wheeler has a bench in front of the driver. How does the tropical unbrella stay on there at high speeds? Well, there are no high speeds involved here. It looks like the body is held together by bumper stickers, but this is really a very restoreable Cushman.

Did you notice the truck?

Cushman Eagle

A neat Cushman Eagle with a cast iron Husky engine. Accessories visible here include a front fender protector, a windshield, seat rail, passenger foot pegs, and buddy seat. Even the rear view mirror was an accessory.

Pacemaker

This is a Cushman Pacemaker from the early 50's. If it was a Road King, you would see a clutch petal and a shift lever. But did you notice the carburetor and exhaust? That is probably not a Husky engine in there.

Allstate

Cushman built scooters for Sears. They sold them as Allstates. in the early and middle 50's there were two models, the 811.40 and the 811.30. That's the .40 on the left. It was called a DeLuxe and had four horsepower. The Standard, above, had 3 hp. The DeLuxe is popular with collectors because of the unique styling.

Custom Highlander

Customized Cushmans are popular. This one was probably a Highlander 721.

Autoglide

In the 1930's Cushman called their scooters Autoglides. That name was used up until about 1945, but those later Autoglides didn't look much like this one. This is about 1938.

Civilian Airborne

Very popular with collectors is a Cushman called a Civilian Airborne, model 53A. This one is a late 1947 or 1948. The switch to the "barrel springs" was made in the middle of the 1947 model year. The civilian version was decended from the model 53 Military Airborne.

Cushman Truckster

Cushman's popular commercial vehicle was called a Truckster. I believe the correct model number for this one is 780. They were used to deliver mail and just about anything else. Many cities had "meter maids," or lady traffic officers and most of them drove trucksters.

Early Highlanders

The orange Highlander is my 1951 model. It has a lot of incorrect parts. The green one is more correct. Some people like to put the 8 hp engine in these lightweight scooters, but many of them came with only 3.2 horsepower. Both of mine have 5 hp, which is enough.

Cushman Highlander

The Highlander was Cushman's economy scooter. This 1961 Highlander is a model 721, the last model in the line. It has a low seat, springs only on the front wheel, and a nice knee guard. The leather kit on the handlebars was added because there was no place to carry a spare spark plug and a cell phone. I never go very far without those two items.

Formerly Barn-Fresh

The scooter in the foreground is a 1947 Cushman that I got in barn-fresh condition. It took two years to make it look like this. I was finished in 1995.
The middle scooter was the result of combining two really bad barn relics. It's an Allstate DeLuxe made by Cushman. The back half is a '54 and the front a '53, but those years were the same.
In the background, is a 1963 Cushman Super Silver Eagle. It was one of the good ones. It needed a complete fuel system clean out, and a back tire. The chrome is pitted and the paint is faded, but it is too close to original to restore. I prefer scooter original or restored to original. I don't want them modified or customized.

Wanted: barn-fresh motor scooters

I'm looking for barn-fresh motor scooters. Dead or Alive. This one appears to be dead, but it may have a few usable parts. Some barn-fresh scooters have been sitting around in barns (or sheds, garages, basements, etc.) for decades Just waiting for someone to rescue them. Almost all of them need work. The best of them need the fuel system cleaned out and rotten tires replaced.

But the main reason for this site is that it gives me a chance to post pictures of antique and collectable motor scooters. This gives people a place to properly identify motor scooters. You have to do that before you can sell or restore them.

So scroll down through the pictures. Enjoy these historic vehicles. Most of them look better than this first pictcure.