- Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon
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Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon 
Manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Production 1946–63 The Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon is a series of scooters made in Japan by Mitsubishi between 1946 and 1963.[1] The first was the C-10, based on a scooter imported from the United States by Koujiro Maruyama, which began production at the Nagoya Machinery Works of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.[2] Along with the Mizushima three wheeler pickup truck it represented Mitsubishi's first contributions to the Japanese post-war personal transport boom.[3] The Silver Pigeons primary competitor was the Fuji Rabbit, and in 1954, the Honda Juno.
The Silver Pigeon proved sufficiently successful to remain in production for almost twenty years. Motor Cyclist magazine voted it "best in styling" for three consecutive years in the 1950s, a decade after its introduction, while from 1950 to 1964 it maintained an average 45 percent share of the domestic scooter market.[4] By the time production came to an end in 1963 over 463,000 had been manufactured, with the 1960 C-200 proving the most popular individual model, with almost 38,000 sales.[4]
Year Model Specification 1946 C-10 NE10 112 cc, 1.5 PS 1948 C-11 1950 C-25 1953 C-26 1955 C-57 192 cc single-cylinder engine 1955 C-70 125 cc two-stroke 1957 C-90 200 cc 1958 C-93 210 cc 1960 C-111 210 cc four-stroke 1960 C-200 125 cc two-stroke 1960 C-300 125 cc two-stroke 1960 C-76 192 cc four-stroke 1960 C-110 175 cc 1960 C-300 125 cc two-stroke single-cylinder engine 1961 C-110 175 cc four-stroke, 8.3 hp 1963 C-140 125 cc two-stroke twin cylinder engine, 8 hp, three-speed transmission, 143 kg 1963 C-240 143 cc two-stroke twin cylinder engine, 9.2 hp, three-speed transmission, 143 kg References
- ^ Mitsubishi scooters, scootermaniac.org
- ^ Silver Pigeon C-10, Mitsubishi Motors Web Museum
- ^ "Rebuilding the Nation", Mitsubishi Motors History, Mitsubishi Motors South Africa website
- ^ a b Silver Pigeon, Mitsubishi Motors South Africa website
- "240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology - Silver Pigeon (Motor Scooter)". Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan. http://www.jsae.or.jp/autotech/data_e/4-6e.html. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
External links
- "What's a Silver Pigeon?", Marvin Wuehle, silverpigeons.com
- 1959 Silver Pigeon, Max's scooter page
Categories:- Mitsubishi Motors motorcycles
- Motor scooters
- Motorcycle stubs
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