1950 Mustang Model 4

Say the word Mustang to most people today, and they'll probably think you're talking about a 1960s pony car. But long before Ford Motor Company's runaway sales success was even a gleam in Lee Iacocca's eye, another Mustang had been a reality. This one was the two-wheeled brain-child of engineer John Gladden, whose Glendale, California, company manufactured aircraft parts during World War II.

When the war came to an end and Gladden had to figure out what to do with his plant, his thoughts turned to his favorite pre-war activity: motorcycles. What was needed, was an inexpensive, lightweight bike that could serve as a transition between a motor scooter and a full-sized motorcycle.

Gladden laid out the plans for the first Mustang with the assistance of fellow motorcycle enthusiast Howard Forrest, who was participating in the design of a new air-cooled, single-cylinder industrial engine to be build by Gladden. The bike, scheduled for sale in 1945, was to be powered by a 125cc Villers two-stroke Single. A few of these machines, called the Colt, were produced, but with limited availability of the British-built Villers engines prompted a redesign of the Colt to accept Gladden's own engine.

The result was the Model 2, which became available in the fall of 1947. It featured a single cylinder, 320cc side-valve engine, a three-speed Burman transmission, a tubular front fork, a solid rear suspension, disc wheels and 4.00x12 tires. Mustangs also placed well in the lightweight division at the Catalina Island Grand Prix, ridden by Fulton, Jim Phillips, Tom Bizzari and Ed Kretz, Jr.

The little bikes were active at drag strips, as well; and in the hands of a racer named Tom Beatty, a highly modified Mustang routinely turned 90 mph, with clocking in the low-12-second range.

from: The Mustang Motorcycle Club of America