1960 Cushman Eagle
Now, I love Scooters! Scooters of all sorts. My father rode to and from work on a Lambretta. I have owned a 1959 Honda CA102 for it seems like a hundred years. When this little motorbike was designed it was built to “be easy in your hand” and that it was. That was the bike bike that my daughter learned how to do wheelies on. Yes, you can do wheelies on a 1959 Honda step through. I have sold Scooters and taught new riders how to handle the streets of Los Angeles on a Scooter. I love Scooters!
But this is all about a Cushman Eagle. The Cushman Scooter company decided that even though they had been known for traditionally styled scooters (step through, full body work, auto trans, etc) ands then more Buck Rogers style… they wanted to get a more ‘motorcycle look’, here comes the Eagle. After World War 2 returning soldiers we’re buying motorcycles by the thousands, but economics as they were, often times a Scooter was was much more cost effective. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to run and cheaper to maintain! Cushman capitalized on that market. But it had to have the look.
The Cushman Eagle had a more traditional ‘Peanut’ gas tank, standard looking frame but was it really the same Scooter they had been selling for years…the same Scooter that was used for mail delivery, pizza delivery and parking enforcement but the Eagle was much cooler.
The Eagle was without a doubt the most fun you could have with just 9HP. The Eagle came out in 1949 and was in production for 16 years. A 318cc single cylinder and a two speed transmission. The first of the ‘naked’ scooters. Sears sold them under the Allstate brand for years.
Now more fun stuff from Cushman…I have never thought about going Sky Diving. Why jump out of a perfectly running airplane??? Get me three feet off the ground and I want stewardesses, jet engines, movies and cocktails. However in WW2 Cushman built the Airbornes! Scooters that were parachuted out of airplanes!!! I don’t think the rider was on it?? What a ride that would be!!!
Nowadays, most Cushman’s you see are on the Golf Course, yes Cushman did build Golf Carts, but I did find a really nice Eagle on ebay this morning. It doesn’t need a thing except a rider.
Click on the pics below for more pictures and more info. More importantly…have fun!
1960 Cushman Eagle