I've seen some at bike shows but never ridden one.

Man I had some good times on those bikes,flat head motor,outside primary case,real easy to work on, cool pipes. They use england tranies and when they went with enclosed primary and the jap bikes came on they pretty much had to fold up. Those rides made high school almost ok. They are going for up to 9$ now makes we wish I had kept one of mine. J

When I was growing up the rich kids had mustangs and we rode used cushmans. Actually these scooters were very nice and very fast. Mustangs were made in California and mostly sold west of the Mississippi river.

This is a 1956 Mustang Pony

This is a 1956 Mustang Stallion

fred

O Man!!! I still love that Bike Thanks Fred! The first one I had was a Pony I bought it with the frount end touching the frame some other crazey kidd had wrecked it hmmmm I sold it the same way some little ol Lady stoped in the middle of the intersection I went over the bars thru the windshild of her car,back out and landed on top of the car. NO lie Bro of course I was 17.

As soon as I could walk ( my knees hit the bars a little hard) and the stiches were out I was back up on the throughbread It had rear springs and a little different frame and it was a nice ride but really I liked the Pony better. Back then even a wrecked Mustang was worth $200 so I got I am thinking like $70 for the first Pony put that down on the TB with the bike shop in Midland Texas and sold it back to them after a month or so and bought another damaged Pony.
Belive me my folks dident like all this one little bit but I had a job at the Pizza Hut and they went with the first Pony but after that I was on my own by this time I knew how to trun a wrench and this ride had been hit about the same way only not as bad I got the frount end straight with a lot of help from a local Guy and I was back up.

Money now and Money then is different but I had a few Pals and we got that Pony Nice,,releved the block just a little and installed a carb off of a gas powered compresser if you can belive it with a manafoild that turned left and down drafted to the side, that factory frount mounted Carb would pick up dirt like your cant belive, anyway it seems slow now but that little ride would do 65 pretty quick.

I went into the army pretty much after high school, sold the Pony and all that. While I was short time in El Paso I was up on a TR 550 and then a Norton 750 but really That Pony is still a love of mine.
Thanks again Fred.John

John it is amazing we survived our scooters as kids. I don't think the traffic was as congested as now and things seemed a little slower.
Over the past 3 years I think the prices have come down a little for the mustang scooters. There are a lot of beautifully restored bikes out there for sale. You might enjoy this site http://www.mmcoa.org/
There is a large motorscooter swap meet in Portland IN each July with all kinds of scooters and parts for sale. Always many Mustangs and parts.

Fred

OMG...I am not alone!! so funny. I havent really done a google on Mustnags I usualy am over on the deck site they had a new listing on Scooters so I drifted on over here.
You be right Fred,riding must be a whole nother smoke now a days. I always thought it was just a matter of time before I was back up on a bike but in El Paso after I got out I started a build up on a four door hardtop 57 chev sold the Norton, then I started hearing that sound in dreams and just every now and then, the sound of hitting that windsheild like chrushing plistic bags in your hand I dident think about it much with the military and all.
I most always was keeping up on the Sporties with the 1200 motors, a few years later I thought out that I was scared to death of riding funny how that comes to a person little at a time.
Cool site! thanks! I noticed the carb thing has been addressed in a few ways, a lot of Folks still love those ol rides. I tell you Mon the sound of that flat head motor and the feel of twisting on the power with that short wheel base, knowing every part on it and how it worked, what a rush. You dident get on that Bike you got in it.

Latley with all the Bike shops around I am thinking about geting back on a person can just about go putting around on a clear sunday or a moon lit night and enjoy being on a Motor, mabey being the ol lone wolf just every now and then. J

Hey Folks,, I do have the bug again,,local bike shop>>Royal EnfieldAny youall, riding one, down the road upkeep,things like that. Thanks John

John the 500 Bullet Classic is a good looking bike, the 'old school' look. I have been lusting for one for a couple of years. The newer models with electric start and electronic ignition a very nice. It is a good riding, reliable bike but it is not a new Honda there is still a lot of 50s-60s technology. It is not fast, it will run 60-65 down the road, not a long distance cruiser.
I want a Bullet Military with the optional saddle seat.
Check out http://www.royalenfield.com/app/US/

Send pictures if you get one.

Fred

Yo Fred,a local bike shop had a couple of Bullets, I took the one with disk breaks with a kick/electric start out for a little ride. They also had a 65 Pony if you can belive it back in the shop it had a leak going on with the carb but they let me take it out anyway,Sweet!!!

The Bullet is a dog,no lie that 40 year old pony was faster the guy was telling me it had been ported and realived but still I was thinking it would be a little like the BSA 500 no way I cant see that motor pulling a side car.Very hard to shift something I havent seen before on any Bike.
I went to that site and a few others and it seems the Bullet has a long break in period with an adjustment or two needed. Also they have it set up for a really lean burn combined with a very mild cam and the pipe completly stoped up with a batted muffler. There are parts to fix these things but a Person would have to break the whole thing down,change the carb and the jets,install a desent cam, remove the muffler and get a straight baffel some place for the tail pipe .While I was giving it a second look the tires are really thin and there is not enough room on the back frame to fit a larger tire on it.
They must be setting them up for some other market then I am in. Still Looking. John

My 2nd motorcycle was Mustang Pony. Great ride. It was probably a '50 or '51. I rode it all over the streets and fire roads of Southern Calif. I spent all my spare time and money, when I wasn't riding it, customizing it. I then moved to New Jersey - nobody there had ever heard of a Mustang. Since my girlfriend wouldn't be caught dead on the back of something like that, I ended up with an 1933 Plymouth 4 dr. sedan. Lots of fun of other kinds in that one.

Anybody know where I could buy one? If it didn't come too dear I'd sure like to have one.

My current rides are a 2001 Triumph Bonneville - great bike. All the good stuff of the originals and none of the drawbacks. It will do 110 dead stock with a windshield. Also a Kawasaki Concours - great sport-touring bike, solid, trouble free, fast and pretty comfortable. At my age that helps (figure it out - I graduated from High School in '52.

Hi Ya Bass,drift on over to> www.mmcoa.orgThey are a little spendy, $7 to $9, Some of those owners have defently taken them to the next leval. John

John

John Hyatt.

If you want some good advice on older Sportsters make a run over to WWW.Sportster.org and look for the link to XL-List

Sign up to the List then post a message that Ken told you to look up, Lee C. Bussy, and ask him for some advice on Iron Head Sportsters. He will most likely point you to another mailing list that specialises in them. There are also others at the XL-List who like the old Iron.

Im loving that site! Thanks Ksh! J

John,

In case you have not found it yet for the older Sportster join this group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theironheadsportstergarage

I'm not a member but see it mentioned by Lee and others who know alot about the Ironhead years.

One note, if you see a mention of FE Sportsters think back to chemistry class, FE is the symbol for IRON.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Yahoo group for older Sportsters

Long-time Sportster owner and Sportster.org lurker here, and no offense but I can't imagine why anyone would want an ironhead Sportster, especially from the AMF era, other than perhaps if you collect old Sportsters, or really prefer working on them instead of riding them. They leak oil like crazy, break down a lot, and vibrate like a paint shaker.

They do have a certain "panache," in that owning one is somewhat of badge of honor among Sportster afficianados, though not so much with the AMF models. But if you want to actually ride, an Evo-era Sportster is a much better deal. You can pick up a mid-'90s 883 for a song, install a 1200 kit yourself for a few hundred, even if you have limited mechanic experience, and have a very cool, very reliable Harley.

I ride an '00 1200S model -- in my opinion the best Harley ever made -- and though I also own and ride Japanese bikes, I really love riding the Sportster. It's just a flat-out kick in the pants. Yeah, it leaked oil too (until I fixed the leaky rocker boxes) and vibrates quite a bit, but is a veritable Rolls Royce compared to the Ironheads I've ridden.

my $0.02,
Matt

Hey Mat,,and I have been lurking there as well, for some reason that site sends me all the E-mail those good ol boys and girls post over there. Anyway you are right problems seem to be very odd thread size and angle with bolts in important links with the timing,cluch, and various bearings. Bottom Line>> I would be working on the ride most all the timeBut Man that feel!! ghesssss same as the kick you got. I am thinking you are right, Craigs list was one place them Sporster folks were talking about for a good price so Im looking over there regular.

You can see my progres in geting back on as this post goes on. No problem wrenching with a bike and I got just the place for it. I am still looking but its going to be a Sportster of some kind. Mat!! let me know if you hear of something with in a few states of Oklahoma City. I just want to have the ride start,be reliable,the rest I can enjoy working on.

A big bent elbow with the Tecate to all you good Folks posting over here, I plan on having a ride come spring,that is if all this snow/ice has melted by then!!

Thanks again! John

Yo John:
OK City, eh? I did my time there in the '60's and 70's, living in Norman as a kid. Can't say I miss it much, though it was more fun than Kansas, where we moved to after Norman.

Being out here on the Coast I imagine I won't be seeing too many Sportster deals near you. Plenty of 'em out here though. Just found one for a friend, a '99 Custom 1200, for less than $6k.

Happy hunting! Let us know what you end up with.
Matt

I hope I am not sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong, but wanted to say my husband would have loved this thread. He belonged to the Cushman Club of America and the Kansas club for years. He knew about Mustangs, but never ran across one for sale at a reasonable price. He had about 8 Cushmans that he restored, plus a few other types of scooters and we still have the Whizzer he restored. He sold his scooters when we moved because his health made it impossible for him to ride and continue with the hobby. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and have fun.

Your fine Jonesy, man how we did love those scoots in highschool, with me that little pony was the only thing that made it worthwhile during that time even the girlfriend took second place.

Little story>> I would paint that bike about every month or so just for grins in the woodshop spray room I finally got a color on it that I liked we called it baby s#%t gold anyway while I was priming/sanding/painting I still had to ride of course so I rigged up an oil can for a gas tank. One street in Midland Texas back then was about a mile long with out any stops that lead into a dead end turn left or right kinda thing right in town so there was always a fair amount of trafic. It was one of those moments I had that Pony wrapped out winging in and out between cars, keep in mind the bike had no finders,gas tank,no plate or even a bracket completly stripped down with a straight pipe moving out around 70 mph or so sliding in and out between cars.

I was so into it and the bike was so loud I never heard the patrol car way behind me..... until I backed off for the stop sign....I had on boots,jeans and a garment from Mexico we called a Cunnya rag. The cop wrote me so many tickets he had to use the space around the edge, while he was doing that all those cars I had passed got to slowley make their turns while honking horns and laughing, I finaly had to just turn my back to it.

Would I change a single second of that ride??? No Way.

Well Guys as my search goes on I have just about passed over a Sportster all together and gone over to a Triumph the American stile. There is a local dealer over here in Cow Town thats working with me even with out motor cert on the licance, sweet ride, the money is about right. I figure I have already done the heavy harley thing now its time to just get on,putt around, on a bike with little vibration,easy to start,nice get in it feel and a local place to keep it going. John

Thanks, that's a funny story, especially now. Not so much back then I'll bet. LOL

There is no hope for me!! Right now I am up on a Triumph Bonneville two years old, nice ride. Geting motor cert,I went with a local riding school $125 one weekend. That was intersting everyone from teenagers who had never been on to us old guys wanting to get back on. Really it was a lot of fun and beat out trailor/cop road course.

A local Harley shop has a soft tail springer with the 88 motor, ghesssss thats a nice bike. They have it dolled up, what got me is the paint,its really close to the babey S&it Gold that Mustang was before I sold it.

I tell you Guys,there is no hope for me!! Anyway I remember the Springer frount end but not much about how it holds up. The bike looks like a Duce I love the look of the little girl. Any info on that Springer??

Matt my Man,you were so right!! I am up on a 2000 1200 yellow Sportster, I love this ride.

The bonie just wasent geting it, This Harley Scoot is exactly what I was wanting 6900 miles $5800,no leaks at all and a total joy to ride. I got it from a repo guy..re-cycles.com. The outfit is is Dallas so it was a short hop for me rented a u-haul 6 hr later bang bang I got the perfect ride.

Life Is Good John

Enjoy!!! It's all good.

Scoot update 9200 miles, around 40 mpg on the mix riding I am going to include the $ for the ride in my business I figure a small car would have cost a lot more. Using the Bike on bids going to the bank,post office,checking on jobs and the like makes a lot more sence than taking my 3/4 ton truck at 9 mpg or even the Tahoe at 12. That Sportster is going into the irs all they can do is say no.

Very little work done, went back to Harley plugs from the metric,tightened up the forward controls, raised up the frount end put in stronger oil, for some reason the Bike was lowered probley a short rider nice look but not good going over rr tracks, oil/primary change,new end caps on the drag bars. The Harley Tax has defently been paid on this ride the rejet is big enough to to make the drag pipes go into turbo mode at around 4000 rpm
Completly Kromed out whats not yellow gives new meaning to after market, I found out the embosed handpainted look with the Harley Davidson on the tank is pretty rare. A couple of my Carpenter Guys were looking it over one said " this is John's new toy" " no Guys this is not a toy,this is a GirlFriend" J.

It had to happen the ol Mustang got cloned.

www.californiascooterco.com Not a bad looking little ride. John

John, Your mention of the BSA 500 brings back memories of the early 50's. I had a BSA 'Iron single', the 500 was great for riding to Laconia Etc. I made it faster by putting BSA Gold Star intake and exhaust cams and upping the Monobloc to a larger size with increased main jet size. That ol' thing could stick with some of the 650 twins untoll 90. Then it sort of flattened out. I later went to BSA Goldstar 500 for compettion riding which was safer. Everybody was headed in the same direction and no stop signs or speed limits. BSA all the way!

For a kick in the ass that ol BSA one lunger was a hoot to ride, hard to keep runing, but a major Blast.

I tell you Mon, If I get even close to that Mustang clone outfit I am going to get on one,just for ol times.

JonMon