[Silly Little Cars] looking at an 84 cushman and 97 interceptor (David Buergler)

Wed Feb 20 12:20:13 PST 2013

Forks are real similar to motorcycle.  I had a motorcycle mechanic rebuild
mine.  The only hiccup was that the kit of O-rings that should cost about
$2.00 was $200.00 from MME which were from Westward.  But boy what a
difference that made.  I can confidently drive the thing at 60 and the nose
came up about  inches. 

From: silly_little_cars-bounces at lists.sillylittlecars.com
[mailto:silly_little_cars-bounces at lists.sillylittlecars.com] On Behalf Of
goaliefergy1 at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 2:16 PM
To: silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com
Subject: Re: [Silly Little Cars] looking at an 84 cushman and 97 interceptor
(David Buergler)

What issues do the Interceptor forks have? Also are the front forks similar
to motorcycle forks that are filled with fork oil? I found a really good
deal on an Interceptor that I'm probably gonna pick up this weekend. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Alec Bennett <wrybread at gmail.com>
To: Silly Little Email List <silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com>
Sent: Wed, Feb 20, 2013 11:49 am
Subject: Re: [Silly Little Cars] looking at an 84 cushman and 97 interceptor
(David Buergler)

I have both as well. There's things I like about each. Off the top of my
head: 

Cushman Pros

Awesomely simple

Cute as hell, and awesomely goofy looking

A bit shorter than the Interceptor, which is nice since you can park
perpendicuar to the curb a bit easier. I park perpendicular with an
Interceptor too, but sometimes not on narrow streets, and you have to be
careful not to box anyone in.

Super cheap ($300 to $1000), and parts are cheap too, not that I've needed
many.

Massive trunk.

Cushman Cons

Engine is under the seat so you always have a whiff of engine

That '84 is going to be air cooled (they switched to water cooled mid 1989)
so you won't have much heat

No protection during an accident at all. 

Interceptor Pros

Comfy comfy comfy. Bucket seats.

Rock solid engine, fuel injected

Ultra powerful. You can go 80, not that its the best idea. But where I live
(SF), it gives me the freedom to cross the bridges, which you can't do with
a Cushman, at least not without a lot of planning and adrenaline.

Has a roll cage and shoulder strap seatbelt

Lots of heat.

Great area under the seat to mount a subwoofer and 6x9s for a thumping
stereo...

Most Cushmans don't have the solid doors, but all Interceptors do.

Interceptor Cons

Longer than the Cush, so harder to park perpendicular

Pricey. Everything is more pricey on an Interceptor, including the purchase
price ($1500 to $6k)

Looks like a prop from the Terminator (I guess this could be a pro too, but
I like the look of the Cushmans more)

The engine is under the trunk so you have a relatively tiny trunk.

You don't have that nice area between the seats and the trunk for grocery
bags. Actually I guess pre-97 had a little storage area back there, but they
got rid of it on later ones.

The frickin fork can be an issue.

On Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 10:47 AM, DanTuel <dantuel at frontiernet.net> wrote:

I have both & I like the Interceptors better but the Cushman is going to be
easier to get parts for. Engine parts for the Interceptors are no problem
because they use small 4 cylinder car motors and transmissions but anything
other than that can get frustrating and expensive. God luck with whichever
you buy.

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