Would you believe?

[earlfor]

Not really a story here, just a parking lot encounter.
I was coming out of Lowes yesterday, following a half dozen steps behind a guy wearing a jacket, cycle boots and carrying a full face helmet.
Being curious, I scanned the parking lot to see what he was riding. I didnt see any motorcycles and he walked out of sight around a car. Still curious, I
followed to get a look. His bike was all decked out with touring luggage, a Windjammer type fairing, custom seat and various goodies and painted a bright, electric blue. I'm not normally a big fan of cruiser styles, but this one I liked. i commented to him, that When I was in high school, I would have killed for one of those. He said, "yeah me too, but I had to wait until I was 72 years old to get one" :-) He was riding a 1958 Cushman Eagle.

Earl

[marvinsc]

How Cool is that!:-)

[bonanzadave]

The local barber rides one. Hes been cutting hair in town since about that long ago. If you drive by his shop the Cushman is parked next to the barber pole which looks like a scene from the 50s.

[Hap Call]

During one of our Texas Hill Country rides we came across a whole gang of Cushman riders...several of the bikes were decked out with hard saddle bags and fairings. Many had been upgraded to the overhead valve Briggs & Stratton engines. They were way cool!

Hap

[lurch12_2000]

is this what you're talking about?

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1958-cushman-eagle-and-pacemaker.htm

interesting get up....beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

[80GS750]

wow that looks strange

[MelodicMetalGod]

Wow. Ya know, one of the great things about this site is the range of motorcycling experience and motorcycles experienced by the collective membership.

I've never even HEARD of that bike and I've been into bikes since before I could form complete sentences. Admitedly, I've always tended to be into more contemeporary stuff and haven't been motorcycle historian type, but I do enjoy hearing about and seeing the bikes that led up to what motorcycles have become today.

Great stuff here. Thanks for another lesson in motorcycling history!

[Zooks]

..........Many had been upgraded to the overhead valve Briggs & Stratton engines. They were way cool!...........

Now there's an engine that I would want to take out onto a lonely country road - NOT!!!!!

lol

[earlfor]

is this what you're talking about?

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1958-cushman-eagle-and-pacemaker.htm

interesting get up....beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

Yessir, thats a 58 Cushman Eagle. :-)

Earl

[earlfor]

Now there's an engine that I would want to take out onto a lonely country road - NOT!!!!!

lol

They werent anything fancy and high tech doesnt apply in this instance, but they were dependable as a Flintstone pedal rock. LOL

Earl

[heathen]

we had to run an engine based off of a 5 hp briggs in our jr. dragster. after 6 years of running them our last engine made 28hp and went 8.4 @76mph in the 1/8 mile with 130 pound driver.

[Agitator]

Great story. It's great that he finally got a chance to buy a bike and ride it. Being 72 shouldn't stop someone from fulfilling their dreams.

The briggs and stratton bit really made me laugh though. Just reading a sentence that combined the words "upgrade" and "briggs and stratton..." Boy!

At first I thought the whole ohv briggs thing was a joke, but I guess that not all of their engines are that bad. After all, I use 'em with my business. They're not half bad, but the newer ones are a little raspy.

Thanks for posting this story