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Arguably most famous for creating one of the best fighter aircraft of WW2: the Zero, Mitsubishi were left without military contracts when hostilities ceased in 1945, and like Piaggio in Italy, turned to the production of motor scooters. Kojiro Maruyama, an engineer working at General Motors, had brought a scooter back with him from America. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was so impressed that they invited Maruyama to help them develop a Japanese-made version. Japanese manufacturers had been copying European and American motorcycle designs since the 1930s, and Mitsubishi's Silver Pigeon had clearly been influenced by the Motor Glide, produced in the USA by the Salisbury Corporation during the 1930s and '40s.

The first prototype was completed in 1946 and looked almost identical to the Motor Glide, as did its immediate successors. It was powered by a 112cc air-cooled single-cylinder sidevalve engine developing 1.5bhp, and had a top speed of 31mph. Designated C-10, the scooter was named 'Silver Pigeon' and went into mass production at the beginning of 1947. A host of larger engined and more refined Silver Pigeon models followed as production continued into the early 1960s, beginning with the C-11 in 1948. Over the course of Silver Pigeon production both two-stroke and four-stroke engines of single- and twin-cylinders were used, ranging from 112cc through to 210cc.

The Silver Pigeon's primary competitor in its home market was the Fuji Rabbit and, from 1954, the Honda Juno. Motor scooters were considered so important to Japan's post-war industrial recovery that in May 1948 both a Silver Pigeon and a Rabbit were presented to the Emperor of Japan. In the USA Mitsubishi's scooters were imported by the Rockford Scooter Company, whose advertising was careful not to mention the Silver Pigeon's Japanese origins (memories of Pearl Harbor were still fresh). The Silver Pigeon was also retailed by Montgomery Ward under its Riverside brand name. By the time production came to an end in 1963, over 463,000 Silver Pigeons had been manufactured, making a major contribution to Mitsubishi's success.

Offered unregistered and without documents, this historic early Mitsubishi motor scooter is an older restoration.

Following a period of inactivity, this motorcycle will require recommissioning and/or restoration to a greater or lesser extent before returning to the road and thus is sold strictly as viewed. Prospective purchasers should satisfy themselves with regard to this motorcycle's completeness, history, authenticity, originality and mechanical condition prior to bidding.
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