It was great anticipation for me as a new club member to present a favorite bike at the small bike rally last spring. The mighty Mustang Stallion created the same effect on mini club members that day as it did when I first discovered Mustangs when I was 10 years old. This small US made motorcycle company captured my interest and started a fever that still continues to this day.

As a young boy growing up in suburbia Houston the Grace boys lived three houses down and threw the cycle on fences. I could see the bad boys in the neighborhood tuning their Ducati, Triumph, and Mustang motorcycles for another terrorizing run up and down the streets of the neighborhood. I was immediately drawn to the Mustang because of its size or lack of it and I could just picture myself on one but never got the ride. But I thought… Someday!

Fast forward about 60 years to the small bike rally where I enjoyed several of the members scrutinizing the little Mustang. I could see their minds working back when they first heard of Mustangs and probably wanted one like I did. Everyone seemed to enjoy the bike with some not recognizing the marque.

 

Mustang was a small California company in business from 1947 to 1962 or so. They started with their own frames and used Villiers two-stroke motors for their first model. Production runs were small numbers at first and then they started competing head to head with a Cushman and Vespa in a theme heard through most motorcycle companies, we need more power!. So the horsepower race was on through the 50s early 60s and by then some were calling the Mustangs “Cushman killers“, and they were getting faster. How fast is fast? By the end of their run, different models of Mustangs were bragging about 65 mph.

 

The Stallion model has a 4-cycle, single cylinder, flathead engine with a displacement of 19.4 cubic inches (318cc). The engine is mated with an English made Burman four speed gearbox and is housed in a rigid, hardtail frame with telescopic front forks. The little Stallion will do 65 mph but you might need to rub your rosary beads to get the courage to ride that speed on the 12 inch tires and rims with minimal braking/stopping power from the rear brake. The stopping power of the front brake is even worse, there’s not one! With a good stiff shot of courage and my butt seated only 20 inches or so off the ground, I realize this indeed could be the ride of my life. The thrill of the ride was certainly there. It is a little twitchy at that speed, so if you ride one, don’t turn your head and cough, it could be disastrous.

Somehow, I caught the Bonneville bug and signed up this summer for the run what you brung class. I got my registration and number but the event was canceled this year due to Lake Bonneville reappearing. Just as well, I got it ready for tech inspections, safety wiring, etc. while looking for more speed through carburetion and adjustments and/or sprockets. But really, I was waiting for my Amazon shipment for extra-large gonads to place in my leathers. Eventually, I canceled that order because I have another year to try to grow some bigger ones. The Bonneville thing is definitely a bucket list item and I thought it would be novel if I could do 70 mph at 70 years of age on a 60 year-old bike. If I have an off at speed, I might have a chance to survive at my age. I don’t have a death wish, just looking for that fix of adrenaline from motorcycling.

If you see me at an upcoming small bike rally, don’t hesitate to ask me for a little test ride to validate my opinions. My payback is seeing the enjoyment in old people like us turning into kids on scooters and I appreciate the feedback. And thanks for the camaraderie. 

Now from some stats from the factory brochure on some of their models.

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SPECIFICATIONS

Engine..................................... Single cylinder, four cycle, L-head

Engine Model.......................... Mustang MC “75”

Bore........................................ 2.875 inches

Stroke..................................... 3.000 inches

Displacement........................... 19.4 cubic inches (318 cc)

Lubrication.............................. Splash with plunger pump to lift oil into splash trough

Oil Capacity............................. 3 pints

Carburetor............................... Dellorto UBF-22B

Ignition.................................... Flywheel magneto

Transmission........................... Burman foot shift

Gear Ratio............................... 4th – 4.59:1, 3rd – 5.99:1, 2nd – 7.80:1, 1st – 12.16:1

Clutch...................................... Multi-plate

Frame...................................... Tubular type

Forks....................................... Telescopic

Wheelbase.............................. 50 inches

Seat Height.............................. 27.5 inches

Tire Size................................... 4.00 x 12

Gas Tank Capacity.................... 2.4 gallons

Weight.................................... 220 pounds