Saturday, January 31, 2026

Fun stuff from 2026 Dania Beach show

Little motorcycle with small sidecar.
Is it a real Indian motorcycle and sidecar? Nope.

 Motorcycle shows are supposed to be fun, and the 2026 Dania Beach (Florida) Vintage Motorcycle Show was plenty of fun. 

So, before we get into the priceless restorations and rarely seen historical treasures, let's look at some fun stuff: 

Carousel ride converted to motorcycle.
It looks big, but is kiddie size.

The motor looks real, but it's a unit motor; the fire extinguisher is toy size, and the saddlebag is no bigger than a lady's purse. The sidecar is too small to hold even a dog. 

The giveaway is the side of the motor, marked "Lenaerts, Brussels, Belgium — a maker of (originally) non-functional carousel rides for children. 

But this one functions, as this video shows:

The noise you hear in the video is the crackling of the wind. The machine moved silently. The rider claimed the motor is real but that had to be a lie, onlookers agreed. It's electric.

Hand-made racing motorcycle.
Arthur Kowitz, of Ormond Beach, Fla., and a friend built this monocoque motorcycle for 1973 AMA racing. It carries a 350cc two-stroke Kawasaki motor.

Long kickstand on Norton motorcycle.
1974 Norton Interstate has a l-o-o-o-ng kickstand.

Old-fashioned parking meter.
Vintage parking meter: two hours for only 5 cents!

1974 Dneper 650.
1974 Dneper 650 shown by Etier Vichot of Miami looks rough, but came in under its own power. It sounded great!

Child's push bike shaped like a bomb.
Children's push tricycle made from an actual war surplus 110-pound practice bomb. A rarely seen vintage toy.

Little lever under seat is choke lever.
Shiny little lever under the seat of 1955 Triumph Thunderbird 6T shown by Nigel Cardwell of Boca Raton, Fla., is the choke lever. Why crowd the handlebars when this is a closer and easily reached placement?

Child walks amid vintage motorcycles.
Lots of children enjoyed the vintage motorcycle show. Great to see them being introduced to artworks on wheels, plus there was an ice cream truck.

Man polishes motorcycle.
Already gorgeous motorcycle gets a little more love.

Vespa with low mounted mirrors.
Heavily stickered Vespa has really low mounted mirrors.

Sidecar fender warns "No Step."
"No Step!" warns fender of sidecar on BMW R75/5 shown by Harold Hickey, of Miami.

Motorcycle with three rear-view mirrors.
Why does 1966 BMW R20/2 shown by Gray Harker of Fort Lauderdale have THREE rear view mirrors? Because it's actually a spotlight. See video below.


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