My first of many bikes was a Cushman. In VA in the late 50’s you could ride one at 15 years old, which I did. Don’t remember the model, but it had a centrifugal clutch, and not a lot of power, and did get me from point A to point B. One morning I attempted to start it up on a very cold wet morning. Stomped on the starter, my foot fell to the side, and I did a face plant on the handlebar. At 82 years of age, I still sport my broken tooth from that day. Ah, the memories.
@georgeroberts4422 ай бұрын
Yeah, that’s my story too. On one occasion I had a friend on the back. His right foot got caught in the chain, and went all the way around the rear sprocket. Of course it threw him off the scooter. When I stopped and got back to him, the toe section of his right shoe was cut completely off, just the way a can opener opens a can. But there wasn’t even a red mark on his foot!
@markmark20805 ай бұрын
My best friend had a red Cushman Eagle, and then a year later a black Super Eagle, starting in 1961 when we turned 14. (In those days a 14 year old could ride something with less than 5 hp on the street.) He kinda hated it because all the others guys had Honda 50s and such (real motorcycles), but his dad wanted nothing to do with anything that wasn't made in the USA. I didn't have a 'bike' as I was saving for a car when I turned 16, but he let me use it when ever I wanted, we logged a lot of local miles on that thing. Riding over to Longmont CO, in the evening and 'dragging Main' was was always great fun (Longmont was just like 'American Graffiti') Our biggest adventure was riding double from Boulder up over Trail Ridge Road in RMNP at the age of 14, my first 'motorcycle trip', of which there have been many more over the decades... Beautiful scooter you have there, brings back great memories...
@countermoonman5 ай бұрын
What a great description of the good old days, when you could leave your garage door open all day long, sleep with all the windows open all night long, take off with your friends in the morning and not come home till lunch or dinner and your parents never worried, gawd damn I miss those fine summer days…growing up here in So. Cal. we too had nice folks in the neighborhood who had Cushman’s, Honda’s & Vespa’s as well as the numerous mini bikes with the old Briggs & Stratton lawnmower engines on them, good times in deed, thanks for bringing back the great memories!
@Scotty2hotty-xc6gi5 ай бұрын
I don’t remember Honda 50s and 1961⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️🤣🤣🤣🤣
@countermoonman5 ай бұрын
@@Scotty2hotty-xc6gi google them, Honda 50 from the early 1960’s. They were real dandy’s, loved the old step thru model. Lol.
@darryllspalding96805 ай бұрын
@@countermoonmani think you should read again scottys comment😂
@countermoonman5 ай бұрын
@@darryllspalding9680 lol I suppose he was born in the late 80’s or 90’s? I get it
@countermoonman5 ай бұрын
Mr. Kaplan, you said it, you do have the best job in the world….gotta love the big saddle seat on the Cushman, what a great little ride that is.
@poppajretired4104 ай бұрын
Born in 1951 and remember Cushmans well.
@UncleWally35 ай бұрын
Imagine rollin’ into high school with that beauty? Never be late for the Yearbook Club again . . .
@TheWolfsnack4 ай бұрын
...maybe....I rolled into HS on a 42 WLA....
@boater182814 ай бұрын
Dad’s first Cushman had a platform where your feet sat. In 1961 he bought a used Cushman, same as pictured in this video. It was red color with the twin chrome pipes, a buddy seat and a pedal start. At 14 years old with my buddies we rode all over east central Indiana. What I wouldn’t give for that very bike today. He died st 82 and had Red Honda scooter that would run over 70mph. Thanks for the memories.
@jamesschneider38285 ай бұрын
I had a friend in Fremont Nebraska that had one of these and I had a 1970 BSA Thunderbolt and we would ride all over the area. 15 years later I worked with a couple of guys in Lincoln Nebraska that used to work for Cushman in the Lincoln factory. Pretty well made machines.
@legalmexican4 ай бұрын
I graduated from high school in 1962. Some few of the guys had these things, so they were the cool ones. I never had one. Sad.
@JoeLucero-r5l4 ай бұрын
The "Mods vs. Rockers" took place in England, and the Mods typically rode Italian Vespas and Lambrettas.
@keithbarker-e4q4 ай бұрын
Some things have instant class. This has it in large amounts. Thank you .
@ronduff43253 ай бұрын
I remember a red one when I was a kid in our town . AWESOME
@LeeShcolnik5 ай бұрын
Just hearing the name Cushman jog’s memory cells! I grew up in St Louis and one of my friends dad was a Shriner.
@davidlj534 ай бұрын
My dad had a Cushman, rode it to work, it was a sweet ride!
@arcticgummibear45004 ай бұрын
beautiful vehicle. Back in the late 60s my next door neighbor had 2 cushman's and I used to ride one of them...really fun for a 10 year old kid.
@DrakeAlan312 ай бұрын
Never knew they made motorcycles 😮
@wfdix13 ай бұрын
I remember Shriners in the Houston/Galveston area riding Cushmans.
@1924ab4 ай бұрын
At 16 I had a job as an ice cream man riding a Cushman 3 wheeler with the cold box on the back. It was hell to drive down a hill with it, tank slapper deluxe!
@panheadsforever745 ай бұрын
Zohner had a great eye for classics.
@thunderbolt53544 ай бұрын
Correction Zahner not Zohner !
@KL-nj7vi5 ай бұрын
Cushman was THE golf cart company of that era.
@countermoonman5 ай бұрын
@@KL-nj7vi your so right, every golf course across country had them, that old 3-wheel model with that big metal steering thing 😆
@faschwank2 ай бұрын
Finally! An adult sized mini-bike.
@donnieallums48473 ай бұрын
Sweet ! My oldest brother had a similar scooter a 1959 red one . Unfortunately he lost his life in Vietnam may 6th 1969 . ☮️❤️
@EdwardKelly-vi9sg4 ай бұрын
NOTHING HERE BUT AWSOMENESS...😎👍
@Richard-Seekingwulf4 ай бұрын
I got my first bike when I was 12 a 1949 Cushman and man that I love that little scooter
@Aux1Dub5 ай бұрын
I think it’s cool this guy just like motorcycles of all kinds.
@EvanMiller-q8j4 ай бұрын
Back in 1958 I would have loved to own one a red Cushman Eagle.
@cradlesafe57215 ай бұрын
Cushman are the shit man! I remember growing up with these. Ice cream companies bought and used the trike version. Very cool!
@countermoonman5 ай бұрын
Lmao, your so right about the ice cream trikes…classic good ol days man!
@alleyoop12344 ай бұрын
I heard that back in the day, these lil Cushman's could be hotrodded & would kick ass on most everything stop light to stop light!
@shawncozad85655 ай бұрын
That thing is 100% bad ass!
@auggie8034 ай бұрын
Fairly bad But not as bad as that hundred precent that you say,No Not even close.
@specialse5 ай бұрын
What a brilliant thing !!!! love that . Only in America 😎
@Helm-w1q5 ай бұрын
In 1964, when I was fourteen, my father bought me on it was an Eagle but I couldn't tell you what year. Compare to this beautiful scooter, mine was a bobber. Nothing on it to slow it down. My uncle had a machine shop and milled the head down boosting compression. Two years later I traded it off for a Honda 305 Super hawk. That was a good bike. I loved looking you scooter over. Wondering what brand bags are those. My Mom use to work for Buco back in the day. Fine scooter ya got
@royfrye28714 ай бұрын
I'm thinking Bates. Because they look like the old Bates bags I've seen on old harleys
@Helm-w1q4 ай бұрын
@@royfrye2871Looking them over I think you are right. And period correct for a 65.
@chetcarman35303 ай бұрын
I would LOVE to see a Mod who rode a Cushman! (Or a "little Honda") 🤣🤣🤣
@brianminkc5 ай бұрын
My ded was a production manager at Ford Motor in Kansas City. He used to tool around on a cushman cart that ran on natural gas.
@ClovisPoint5 ай бұрын
Budget version of a HD Duoglide
@eutimiochavez4155 ай бұрын
Love the cushman❤❤❤ had one in 1960 😊
@texomajohn29164 ай бұрын
That OHV motor just never looked as good as the old flatheads
@132west25 ай бұрын
Wow beautiful little bike, first time I've ever seen one. Would love to scoot my kids to school one at a time on that little bad boy.
@jackquillman76804 ай бұрын
Mustang was another ---" wanna have bike" Thanks for showing
@DarrenFinley4 ай бұрын
Back in the 60's when I was 5, 6 year old my pappy introduced me to cushman our neighborhood ice cream man made his rounds on a cushman three wheeled servy car or cushman's equivalent. Cushman was really big back then.🙏🙋♂️🙏now that I think about it our mailman drove one and downtown the meter reader did their rounds on/in one aswell. This was Shreveport,LA. Back in the early 60's. Boy I long for those days! 🙏🙋♂️🙏 we even had trolly cars that ran on electricity looked like any trolly except there was a long pole at the ends that skidded along the power line at the top of telephone poles dude that trolly would be trowing sparks as it ran down the street. Occasionally would start a fire, in August when the leaves were really dry, probably why they stopped using them they were really cool though. Stand at the trolly/buss stop watching it coming towards you really got you excited to travel by buss/trolly.👋🤠👍🙏
@northerniltree5 ай бұрын
Looks like the scooter Liberace would have ridden.
@countermoonman5 ай бұрын
@@northerniltree lmao, now that was funny! 😂
@FREEMANRACINGАй бұрын
I had a souped-up 1950 Cushman Eagle (Springer) that had been stripped and used racing on Texas "Scrambles" events (yeah dirt motocross tracks). I rode it through Jr. High and High School. It was "de-tuned," and "re-streeted" licensed, and off I went. I Joined Marines and gone from home in 1964--1971. Dad asked in a letter to me if he should keep it and I told him probably not. He sold it for $100. DAMN I was stupid ! I stayed in for 8 years, served in the Vietnam War, and then my body told me that I should decide to get out. Worked as a design artist for another 30 something years before I was forced into retirement. During the seventies, I rode a 1972 Honda 360 instead of my car (during the early "gas-shortage" crisis (?) Sold it for $600. bucks. DAMN I was stupid ! Somewhere in the Y2K Era I bought a (Red) 1962 Cast Iron Eagle (3 speed transmission) from a guy in Georgia and turned it into a show bike. After I restored it, it was popular at the local spring and summertime Hot Rod & Custom Car shows. Later, I sold it for $5500. back in the early 2000"s. DAMN I was stupid ! Just bought my third Cushman from Ken's Kaplancycles. I think, at 78 years, this will stay with me as long as I'm able to ride. This one is a Shriners 1965 Silver Super Eagle that need some TLC to make it show-ready and streetable. Inflation sure has inflated so this one stays put. I'm betting by the time this one gets resold I will be thinking "DAMN I was stupid !"
@godsowndrunk11185 ай бұрын
My aunt had a red Cushman Eagle.....60 years ago.
@JohnSmith-cf4gn4 ай бұрын
When I was 10 years old a Cushman Eagle was like a Harley hog to me.
@TooLooze4 ай бұрын
Wow! I've never seen an Eagle all tricked out like that.
@Wedge-r9o3 ай бұрын
It’s you dude. You look 👀 good on that one 😂
@davestambaugh72825 ай бұрын
The ones I remember in my neighborhood always had the Wisconsin side valve engines.
@RandThompson-dd3sk4 ай бұрын
Stripped super eagle was my very first bike.
@jameshuffman8354 ай бұрын
Currently own a 59 Highlander!
@CalmApron-nl7lw4 ай бұрын
I was going to say it looked like a old Shriner bike, but u confirmed it
@frankfurther38285 ай бұрын
Dig the Quadrophenia reference. Gordon Sumner (Sting) was in the movie.
@vincentdorsey85454 ай бұрын
I had a 1965 Super Silver Eagle in Black and it had the 11 hp side kickstart motor LOVED IT! My first 2 wheeler. And as for rolling up into the h.s. parking lot, I got hassled to much cause it wasnt a MOTORCYCLE.
@bigcatproductions27895 ай бұрын
🎶 Get yer Motor runnin ! 🎶🏆🇺🇸
@colmcc-ij3nn2 ай бұрын
Every day's a school day 😮
@alvan40805 ай бұрын
That guy gets to ride some cool bikes
@DarrenFinley4 ай бұрын
If you couldnt afford a indian or harley, this the next best thing!😎👍 beautiful cushman cap.
@HeatherMizzell3 ай бұрын
We always called them pushmans
@elhoward74404 ай бұрын
Looks like a miniature Harley Electra Glide! So yeah, cute bike. Not sure about that engine though.
@williamcoale22104 ай бұрын
Love it...I had 1962 super eagle
@daveblevins33224 ай бұрын
I love the Cushman design and always will 👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
@brucebrinkley17654 ай бұрын
My brother had a 65 cushman eagle red very cool 😎
@ronaldjohnson14744 ай бұрын
Mine has 1957 miles on it, Cadillac Escalade Pearl White. Btw, new Cushman tires are available, no tubes needed on this model.
@jameswest6853 ай бұрын
Sweet bike, I'm green.
@thomasd92374 ай бұрын
Nice 👍👍
@DarrenFinley4 ай бұрын
Sounds to me like the valve rockers could stand a little adjustment, not much but i can here them, i know they are supposed to have a little play but that sounds a tad bet excessive.🤠👍🙏
@MrTomjolly5 ай бұрын
God, PLEASE bless AMERICA!
@jimwynn64215 ай бұрын
What? No wheelies? Come on, man!
@donnieallums48474 ай бұрын
I would love to see a Cushman, Pop a wheelie 😂
@buzzwaldron61954 ай бұрын
They don't do wheelies... just chug away...
@MichaelArsenault-s4s3 ай бұрын
I wanted to see how it handles on the motocross track.
@buzzwaldron61953 ай бұрын
@@MichaelArsenault-s4s - LOL! they are not motocrossable... we had a couple of them... they feel like they are bolted down to the earth...
@buzzwaldron61953 ай бұрын
They are not motocrossable... we had a couple of them... they feel like they are bolted down to the earth...
@william13895 ай бұрын
Cool little thing! 👍
@Jungleland335 ай бұрын
The Mods rode Vespas and Lambrettas.
@raybanbunny4 ай бұрын
Absolutely! I don’t think the Mods were ever in America. This side of the the pond we had the Beatniks 😅
@damienoregan62115 ай бұрын
Another zauner machine I'll be happy all day with this bike in my mind.
@sprokethead4 ай бұрын
any Mustangs in that museum?
@alfredstevens95864 ай бұрын
That’s cool ❤ all that old stuff
@frankdillon61275 ай бұрын
my first vehicle was a paper route earned new 1957 eagle 5 hp version.
@pauld56313 ай бұрын
That is so cool
@wdhewson5 ай бұрын
A fine example !!!
@dirkr70995 ай бұрын
Very cool Bike👍
@bobbymeyerti93004 ай бұрын
It even sounds like a Cushman💐💐💐
@DennisBocock4 ай бұрын
16yesr old cushmanhighlander first powered 2wheeler 60years later I quit riding poor health fun memories even with broken leg
@butters3954 ай бұрын
actually..... the british mods rode vespas and lambretas 😉👍
@jonnysuperglide4 ай бұрын
Lolololol Ken your the man bro wow that reminded me of zeds bike on police academy movie in the late 80s early 90s lol
@ronnieshields1595 ай бұрын
I AM SO JEALOUS AIN'T EVEN FUNNY. You rocking they cool as all get out. Ride with pride BOSS
@NathanCornwell-gi9uq3 ай бұрын
Why NOT keep it for the museum? It is cooler and rarer than lots of other bikes and sentimental for some people. Electric start… same years as first Harley electric on Electra glide!
@martinleicht59114 ай бұрын
K❄❄L !! 👍
@jonnysuperglide4 ай бұрын
That guy said no wheelie lmao below Lolol with Ken you never know what he will make these bikes do
@allenstayduhar71393 ай бұрын
You should call that bike funny money! It is funny looking it's like a mini roadkind police bike. Definitely goofy looking!
@jeffreygreene10424 ай бұрын
Wait, those are the original tires? Hmmmmmmm....
@auggie8034 ай бұрын
Front tire original but the rear tire was a new one,probably because it was the drive tire & most of the weight was on that rear tire.
@jeffogden81685 ай бұрын
what an eye catcher. don't ever sell it have fun
@johnclifton2185 ай бұрын
Thanks enjoyed.
@Foxtrot19674 ай бұрын
Bagger Beginnings
@OO-by2jl4 ай бұрын
Price?
@curtislong19875 ай бұрын
That thing is cool, as shit 👍
@rchydrozz7514 ай бұрын
This guy needs to clean himself up. The 60's are long gone.
@nigel9005 ай бұрын
Beautiful. 🫡👍🏻
@The3334 ай бұрын
I think this might be the most mild-mannered I have ever seen Kappy ride on this channel, LOL. Cool bike!
@trooperg12344 ай бұрын
pretty bike, too bad it isn't safe anywhere on the roads of the USA that I know of.
@Tony-tt5mn4 ай бұрын
No, we have Harley FLH at home son....
@robertaccorsini46634 ай бұрын
Suicide shift, crazy
@brianbishoff5 ай бұрын
Is that Dog the Bounty Hunter?
@jjreddog5714 ай бұрын
If the rider was 3 foot tall it would look like he was riding a Harley.....LOL
@jamesburns22324 ай бұрын
Midgets can look cool riding on a Cushman. 🤭
@londolly3 ай бұрын
needs to grow up
@hillbilly4christ6383 ай бұрын
I can get 100 miles per gallon on this hog. Traded it for the van straight up.