Off the Wire
News- General News Matt Wrye, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/12/2010 07:53:29 PM PST
The Mustang motorcycle is being brought back to life.
"Everybody loves motorcycles and dreams about them, but they don't want to get a big bike," said Steve Seidner, owner of California Scooter Co. at Brackett Field Airport in La Verne. "When they see this, they want one."
Seidner is trying his hand at making and selling a motorcycle that hasn't been produced in almost 50 years.
The last Mustang rolled off the original production line at Mustang Motor Corp. in Glendale in 1963.
An aircraft parts manufacturer, Gladden Products, created Mustang Motor Corp. after World War II to make a smaller motorcycle that would appeal to a broad market. More than 20,000 Mustangs were produced.
As the owner of Pro-One Performance Manufacturing Inc., Seidner is used to customizing motorcycles, transforming them into sleek beauties for hard-core biker enthusiasts and classic collectors.
But the recession has knocked down sales so much, the entrepreneur said he needed to diversify.
"It's really a universal bike for everyone," he said about the $4,995 Mustangs his company makes.
The 240-pound chrome work of art looks like it popped out of a vintage magazine. It has a 150cc engine, letting riders reach 60 mph.
Seidner says his target customer market keeps growing. First it was the old-timers crowd, the people nostalgic for the original Mustangs.
Now it's the college student, the inner city professional who
doesn't own a car and the retiree who wants to rev up his life.
California Scooter Co. is already selling Mustangs directly to consumers, but Seidner is working on building a dealer network.
"We could probably handle four or five good-size dealers," he said.
He plans on going international, too.
The company offers the Pony model right now in three styles - the Classic, with a sharp red-and-black body; the Greaser, a stylish 1950s black-and-silver option; or the Babydoll, which is pink and white for women.
Soon enough, Seidner foresees bringing back other models that made Mustangs popular in their heyday - the Bronco, Thoroughbred and Stallion.
Former Mustang Motor Corp. manager Jim Cavaunagh wishes Seidner the best. He worked at the Glendale company from 1949 to 1962.
"I remember when the Honda threat was real," Cavaunagh said.
By the early '60s, Honda motorcycles were outpricing U.S. motorcycles.
"We had a loyal dealer network but knew Mustang days were soon to end," he said.
For Seidner, the Mustang days are just beginning.
He's ready to re-introduce this piece of American history in a new way that just might make bikers out of your average teenager, young couple or senior.
"All these guys who rode motorcycles back then, this is what they learned on," Seidner said. "It's what they cut their teeth on."
matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
909-483-9391
Original article...
http://www.sbsun.com/business/ci_14393178#ixzz0fSBh3JyG
