Mustang’s Simmons Loves Mustangs

By Bud Wilkinson

Place a Mustang motorcycle next to almost any other motorcycle and it would look a bit like a Tonka toy. All the pieces are there – the wheels, motor, gas tank, seat, etc. – but they’ve been slightly downsized. Is a Mustang is a miniature motorcycle or a juiced mini-bike in a motorcycle guise? It’s a question that collector Al Simmons presumably doesn’t ponder. He just adores them.

“I’ve been more of an accumulator than a restorer,” said Simmons when he gave RIDE-CT a look-see at his collection of more than two-dozen Mustangs. They’re stored in an alarmed warehouse in Terryville, which presents a story in itself.

Simmons is the founder of Mustang Motorcycle Products, maker of the well-known aftermarket Mustang Seats for cruisers. In the entry way of the company’s headquarters, enclosed in a glass case, is a bright red Mustang motorcycle. Across the parking lot is the warehouse that contains his collection.

It was 20 years ago that Simmons was at a trade show in Cincinnati when a Mustang motorcycle aficionado approached him and made the obvious suggestion, “You ought to own a Mustang.”  Simmons agreed. “I started shopping around,” he recalled. “I’ve bought them from all over the country.”

The Mustang motorcycle brand isn’t nearly as well known among riders as Mustang-brand seats. The bike was the brainchild of engineer John Gladden, whose company in Glendale, Calif. made aircraft parts during World War II. After the war, he shifted to making lightweight, inexpensive motorcycles. The first model was a Colt that featured a 125cc, two-stroke, British-built Villiers motor.

The Model 2 came next in 1947 with a single-cylinder, American-made 320cc engine. Other models followed, and were given names such as Pony, Bronco, Stallion,Thoroughbred and Special. These simple bikes attracted a following, largely in the west and southwest due to their looks and affordability. A 1950 Colt, which featured a 9.5 horsepower, four-cycle engine that got 70 miles per gallon and could go more than 60 miles per hour, sold for $346.30.

Simmons, though, has a rare 1946 Colt with a Villiers engine in his collection, along with every other model. “They’re all ‘run-able’ but you don’t want to leave them around with gas in them,” Simmons said. There’s also a 300cc 1959 Special with a three-speed transmission and high pipe.

How do Mustangs ride? “Because of the spring seat, they’re pretty nice. They are attention-getters,” said Simmons, who occasionally takes some of the bikes to display at shows. He’s also given them away. The Motorcyclepedia museum in Newburgh, N.Y. is the most recent recipient of a Mustang for display. “I probably should do some more farming of them out; get the word out there (about Mustang),” he said.

The Mustang motorcycle company made its last bike in 1963, although new models continued to sell through 1965. The company was yet another victim of the more reliable bikes being made in Japan. Said Simmons, “Who’s going to buy one of them instead of a thrifty, nifty Honda 50?”

Not surprisingly, vintage Mustangs have gone up in value. “An inexpensive one is about $5,000. The most I paid for one is $12,500,” said Simmons, reporting that one was a wood-paneled Delivercycle-model trike. He owns three Mustang trikes as well as a 1970 Stallion made by a subsequent company that tried to revive the marquee. It’s one of only 10 or so that were made. “I bought that one because it was one of the last Mustangs ever made.”

For his own riding pleasure, Simmons has Star V-Star 1300 Tourer and a KTM 450 dirt bike. “I like off-road riding the most,” he said.

Simmons is always on the lookout for Mustangs, though. Leads come from other collectors. “It’s a small world. There are a number of people that know I collect,” he said. While he does own one of every model Mustang made, he would still like to have one of every variation of every model made and continues to collect. “I’m looking to complete the lineage,” he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(This column was originally published in “The Republican-American” on January 7, 2012.)