Posted 10 years ago
gvgordon
(151 items)
Well the old yellow truck and I headed out early this morning to bring these gems back from southern Oklahoma.
They are Lenaert "Indian" motorcycles from a 50's era carnival ride. They were made from 1951 thru 1966 in a variety of styles. Obviously patterned after the early Indian cycles with the plunger frame and skirted fenders.
They measure about 55" in length.
From what I have learned about 500 are known to exist (probably not counting these two as they have been in a shed for 20 years).
I remember seeing these at fairs and carnivals when I was a kid and now I own a pair!
I also learned that Lenaert made 6 of these operational and they were used in the circus. Only one is accounted for.
Thanks for looking!
what a great find.its stuff like this that keeps you going.
That's a great find! If you plan to restore them, you can find parts in many countries but it will not be easy. The link from above as for parts, no use to contact this person. I know him very well and he doesn't sell anything.
As for the above mentioned one of 6 Lenaerts motorcycles with a real working 50cc Flandria moped engine, I'm the owner. As far as I could find they came in 2 different versions. Four were build like in the picture with the monkey on this site:
http://flandriaforum.bbforum.be/post5926.html#5926
The one I have is a later model (early 60's) There is no link here to find otherwise I could have added a picture.
Back to your great find, maybe hard to believe but these little gems are still in use here in The Netherlands and Belgium. In the past bolted on the carousels but because they are pretty sought after carousel owners have to weld them to the frames. Unfortunately there is very little known on the Lenaerts history.
If you Google for "Jef Lenaerts" you can find some pictures showing a lot of these little bikes ready for export to the USA.
Again, a great find and keep up the good work!
Bonjour je viens d'acquérir cette Indian avec sa carte grise je souhaiterais savoir où puis-je trouver des pièces correspondant à ce modèle cette moto était utilisée sur des fêtes foraines et les cirques
Hallo aus Österreich,
Haben Sie bitte eine Email Adresse von too-much-stuff ?
Lg
Walter Schreiberhuber