Description
This motorcycle is Lot 130 of Bonhams Motorcycles Online – The Summer Sale; open for bidding 5-15th June 2026. This Lot is available for public view and eventual collection from Bonhams Motorcycle Department, Milton Keynes.
Please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Auction Timings:
Bidding on all Lots commences Friday 5 June, 12:00 noon.
Bidding closes Monday 15 June, 12:00 noon, starting with Lot 1
Each subsequent Lot will then close one minute apart unless bidding remains active.
Public Viewing (BY APPOINTMENT ONLY):
All Lots:
Wednesday 10 June, 9am - 5pm
Thursday 11 June, 9am - 5pm
Please email using the button below with your availability to schedule an appointment.
Lot 130
The Connoisseurs Collection, Part III
c. 1959 Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon C-83 Bobby De Luxe Motor Scooter
Registration no. not registered
Frame no. 59-C83 10685
Engine no. 1375/ 1375
This Lot has arrived in the UK from overseas under Temporary Admission. Shippio Ltd must complete all post-sale customs clearance administration, for import or export, on behalf of the purchaser. A compulsory fee of £195 + VAT will be added to the buyer's invoice for this service. This Lot may not be collected from the auction venue by the purchaser or any third-party transporter until Shippio Ltd has confirmed that this Lot has cleared customs.
If this Lot is to remain in the UK, or is not exported within 90 days of the sale, Import VAT at 5% of the hammer price will be payable.
"In 1958-1959... The four-stroke C-83 complemented the Standard C-73 with lines similar to the new Lambretta TV1! The 5. 5hp C-83 was nicknamed the Bobby De Luxe in a curious bit of Japanese-English." - Dregni & Dregni, Illustrated Motor Scooter Buyer's Guide.
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.
Currently displaying a total of 17, 745 kilometres on the odometer, this C-83 appears to be in original condition, albeit missing its front indicator lenses.
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.
£1, 200 - 1, 800
All lots are sold ‘as is/ where is’ and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding. Visit the Bonhams Motorcycles website for all pertinent auction information.
