I know this sounds like a story that I made up, but it happened to Mike, a guy that I know who lives way up north. He got a call from a man who lived five blocks away. He said he was tearing down a shed and there was an old Cushman motor scooter in there that he wanted to get rid of. It had been in there for 40 years. Someone had told him it was worth $200.

So Mike goes over there and for $200 he gets a 1948 Cushman scooter, complete with engine and transmission and big fat tires and a buddy seat, for about a fifth of what it was worth. Mike said he spent all winter fixing it up and took it over to show the man he bought it from. He said the man's wife took pictures.

The odds are against finding anything like that. Most such scooters have already been found. But to find one that close to where he has lived for a quarter of a century, tells me that Mike is incredably lucky. It makes me wonder about all those backyard sheds in our neighborhood. I have been collecting Cushmans for about 10 years now and I guess I am averaging one ever two years. I have five Cushmans, plus two Vespas, and three motorbikes.

My first Cushman was in a junk yard in Florida. Somebody rescued it and sold it to a friend of mine and he sold it to me. It's a 47 model.

My second one was bought from, a friend at a scooter meet.

The third one was put together from two junkers that I bought at scooter meets. One was in good condition in the front and the other was good in the rear.

The forth one was found on the internet. I had posted a "Cushmans wanted" notice on a bulletin board and a man in Louisiana called and said he had one. I drove three days there and back to buy it.

The fifth one was out of a barn in southern Georgia and it was also an internet find.

This doesn't count two incomplete ones that I found down in Rutherford County recently. I saved some parts off them and sold the rest.

Collecting old stuff like Cushmans requires a lot of detective work and a lot of luck. Sometimes you search for years and then for no reason at all something great just falls in your lap.
Howard