User talk:Howard33

Cushman Motor Scooters were built from 1936 until 1965 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Cushman company had been manufacturing engines for pumps and other agricultural uses for about three decades. Then in the mid-1930's, they got the idea to build motor scooters in order to sell more engines. Before long, scooters became their major product line.

The first Cushman scooters were called Auto-Glides. They were powered by 1.5 hp Cushman Husky engines. They were air cooled, cast iron flatheads with a single cylinder.

By the time World War II started, Cushmans were 4 horsepower and some models had a two-speed transmission and electric lights. They also built three-wheeled delivery vehicles.

Cushman found a place in history when they won contracts to produce motor scooters for the military. Some of the Cushmans that went to war were just civilian scooters painting in military colors, but the Cushman model 53 Airborne was designed to be dropped by parachute. Mostly they were used for messenger service and for transportation around sprawling military bases and air fields.

Beginning with the model 53, the Auto-Glide name was dropped and the scooters were known as Cushmans. The Husky name remained on the engines.

After the war, cars were in short supply and Cushman sales boomed. Their 50-series scooters had a rounded body enclosing the engine. The model 52 used an automatic clutch and the model 54 had a two-speed transmission. Both had springs front and rear. They used the same engine as the Airborne Cushman.

In late 1948, Cushman began production of the 60-series scooters. The model 62 was called the Cushman Pacemaker. It had an updated Husky engine with 5 horsepower. The Road-King was the two-speed model. Also available was a varible ratio automatic transmission. It was not popular and was soon discontinued. Later in the run, another new engine with 7.2 horsepower greatly improved performance.

1949 brought the Cushman Eagle. It had a tubular frame with the gas tank up front, giving it a motorcycle look. Early Eagles had 5 hp, but an 8 hp "square-block" Husky with a 3 inch bore soon became the engine of choice. Almost all Eagles had a two-speeds with a shift lever on the left side of the fuel tank. Eagles stayed in production for 16 years. Late in the run, a 9 hp aluminum, overhead valve engine made by Outboard Marine was available in the Silver Eagle.

Other scooters produced by Cushman included the 720 series Pacemaker and Road King, beginning in 1957. There were also various models of Highlander.

Cushman also built several models of Allstate scooters that were sold by Sears. Most popular was the Allstate Deluxe, model 811.40. It was mechanically a 60-series Highlander with an art decco style body. It had a distinctly different fairing on the front that extended down from the handlebars and covered the front wheel. Allstates are very popular with collectors.