Hi everyone, I haven't tested the new version of the Ambassador. I did stop riding my early edition Ambassador at 1500 miles, it is sitting in the corner of my stock room with a dead battery. The ride is much smoother than the NE5, but the bike is very, very heavy and has a difficult time in traffic. The rear springs are so stiff that myself and 2 other people couldn't make them move [guess they are only for looks]. In stock form the motor doesn't have enough power to propel the bike past 40, in fact if the rider is over 200 pounds it might not even make it to 40 MPH. Just before I parked it I installed a modified cylinder and a Westman high compression head, but the heavy bike still had problems reaching 50 MPH, and I only weigh about 165 lbs. The brakes are really good, but mine required a complete rear caliper assembly, and new pads on the front [the cable pulls the assembly to one side and causes the shoes to wear at an angle] to keep them working correctly. Whizzer did exchange the new 1.7 gallon tank for the original 1.2 gallon version when the tank split open at the rear and spilled gasoline on me, but because of the tilt the new tank only holds a little over 1 gallon. I saw the ads claiming 90 MPG [some even said 120 MPG], but mine never exceeded 60 MPG, and like the Harley Sportster you must stop for gasoline every 50 to 60 miles. As far as liking the steamers , I didn't, but they broke off anyway, so it wasn't really an issue. There is no way the Ambassador will pull away from a stop as good as an average vintage Cushman.
The version I have is the early model with the automatic clutch, but it is now using the 3rd version to make it move forward, the first had a cracked hub, and slipped so bad it wouldn't move at all, the second was the replacement, and the 3rd and current version is one of my modified units, and does work well.
I don't think they are legal in CA yet [carb approval]
If anyone purchased the new version, sure would like to see an article about it.
Have fun,
Quenton