1962 Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon C-76; Mitsubishi; 1962; CMM169 on eHive

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Name/Title

1962 Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon C-76

About this object

As Japan began its recovery following the Second World War, there was a need for inexpensive transport and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry was quick to launch production of the Silver Pidgeon scooter at its Nagoya works in 1946. The name is a reference to a dove, a symbol of peace. The first C-10 model was based on a Salsbury Motor Glide scooter imported from the US but by 1947 Mitsubishi was exporting its scooters to the US, where one of the main distributors, Montgomery Ward, marketed them under the ‘Riverside’ brand although Sears sold more under the Mitsubishi brand despite the prejudice against Japanese products at the time. In May 1948, to underscore their importance to Japan’s economic recovery, a Silver Pigeon C-11 and a Fuji Rabbit, its main competitor, were presented to the Emperor of Japan. Through a range of many models produced spanning 18 years, 463,000 Silver Pigeons were manufactured. More than 35,000 of them were exported to the US.

As the models progressed, both two- and four-stroke single cylinder engines were used. The C-76 was powered by a 192cc four-stroke engine with a belt-and-pulley continuously-variable transmission (CVT) and chain final drive. Top speed is estimated at around 70kph (43mph). It has a single seat with a small baggage compartment behind it. It was purchased for the Nelson NZ Classic Motorcycles collection as part of a collection of 12 scooters sold by a private collector in Nelson, New Zealand, in December, 2008. It was acquired by Transport World for the Classic Motorcycle Mecca collection in May, 2016.

Maker

Mitsubishi

Maker Role

Manufacturer

Date Made

1962

Place Made

Japan

Object number

CMM169

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