Time passages

[Jeriatric]

Attached to a recent email from my Sis.

The year was 1962, the scooter a 1947 Cushman - retired from March AFB(yes, it was blue at one time).

Purchased for $50.00 with my own money(which was a lot of $ for this kid back then).

I called it the "Tomato Can".

It was a major change from the 1907 Harley(not mine, I only wished it was)I had learned to ride through the cow pastures of Oklahoma five years earlier.

But all the same, this one had wheels and a motor and best of all.....it was mine.

So too was the world it allowed me to explore(however small that world was at age 15)

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Do you have an early photo memory of your first? If so, we'd like to see it.

[Bob Denman]

WAY cool!!

[Chupaca]

Having lost all the pictures of my past I do not have one of my first....It was built from plans in Popular Mechanix magazine. Briggs engine, cessna wheels no brakes, no clutch but we had a blast with it while it lasted...Great picture of your first...

[Jeriatric]

Having lost all the pictures of my past I do not have one of my first....It was built from plans in Popular Mechanix magazine. Briggs engine, cessna wheels no brakes, no clutch but we had a blast with it while it lasted...Great picture of your first...

Understand about lost pictures for sure . Didn't even know this one existed, until my Sis sent it. Popular Mechanics 'How To' remember it well...now, those were the days.

[JerryB]

Hi Jerbear,

Re: Do you have an early photo memory of your first? If so, we'd like to see it.

Why, yes I do:

1941.jpg

My first motor vehicle was a little 2-wheeler called a DoodleBug. It was the summer of 1954 & I had a paper route. I paid $20 for it & I had mobility. It really did change my world.

Jerry Baumchen

PS) The following year, I bought a Cushman; just like the one in your photo.

[Saluda]

First new motorcycle, Honda 175 Scrambler. $ 495.00 if memory serves me (1970 s).

[granpa in Cincy]

First new motorcycle, Honda 175 Scrambler. $ 495.00 if memory serves me.

Mine was burnt orange. Yesterday's cognac???

[Jeriatric]

Hi Jerbear,

Re: Do you have an early photo memory of your first? If so, we'd like to see it.

Why, yes I do:

1941.jpg

My first motor vehicle was a little 2-wheeler called a DoodleBug. It was the summer of 1954 & I had a paper route. I paid $20 for it & I had mobility. It really did change my world.

Jerry Baumchen

PS) The following year, I bought a Cushman; just like the one in your photo.

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[Bob Denman]

Jer,
Your Mini Bike picture seems to indicate that it actually had a real braking system (rear wheel only.)
Ours only had a "scrubber", that would rub against the rear wheel tread, when you mashed the pedal. It was completely ineffective if you were riding in the evening, and the tire was the least bit damp...

[Jeriatric]

Jer,
Your Mini Bike picture seems to indicate that it actually had a real braking system (rear wheel only.)
Ours only had a "scrubber", that would rub against the rear wheel tread, when you mashed the pedal. It was completely ineffective if you were riding in the evening, and the tire was the least bit damp...

No doubt the one pictured has much better features than the tennis shoe draggers you guys had back when.

[Bob Denman]

Just think of all the excitement that you can miss out on, when you have functioning brakes!
(I know that I put ours down in the creek-bed on more than a few occasions!)

[JerryB]

Hi Jerbear,

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Yup. No muffler, no lights, no electrics, 2-cycle engine, no transmission - slip clutch, kick start, hand brake, no license, no insurance, just give her the gas: And away we go.



Jerry Baumchen

[ARtraveler]

Sorry, no picture. My first was a Yamaha 80 one lunger. A 1965 holdover and purchased new in 1966. $328.00. It did not take me long to seize the engine because I exceeded the speed before it was broke in.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

My first two wheels was a 1955 Cushman Eagle I bought in 1960 that looked almost exactly like this one. Rode it into a bush the first 20 feet! Oldest brother said I better come home from school and practice a little bit before I tried riding it to school! 40 mph top speed! Made a passenger seat for the back that could be swapped out for a metal box my brother made so I could haul my lunch and whatever. They actually weren't very safe riding. Honda 50cc Cub killed off Cushman scooters.


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