This Moped You’ve Never Heard Of Looks Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen – Jalopnik

The world of motorcycles is peppered with unique builds lost to time. Every once in a while, they surface as a reminder the times builders created something like nothing else. This 1965 Express Kavalier 115 is like that and it would be the perfect pairing to that Virtual Steering Monkey from earlier this month.

In 1961, a collaboration of German manufacturers DKW, Express and Victoria called Zweirad Union released a moped that looks more like those concepts that never reach production. But it was real and its striking design earned it the nickname Tin Banana. The name of the little moped depended on the distributor, with the cycle also getting called the Victoria Type 115. The mopeds were all the same, with colors differentiating the distributors.

These mopeds are already rare from the jump, but they were never officially imported to the United States. That makes this 1965 Express Kavalier 115 on Bring a Trailer pretty special.

The Kavalier 115, like its siblings, feature a pressed-steel body. Like Italian scooters of the day, the Kavalier 115 hid the dirty mechanicals under pretty bodywork. Even the drive chain is all covered up.

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I love the amount of work put into making this thing pretty. Even the Zweirad Union 48cc two-stroke single looks like an art piece.

The little fan-cooled engine produces a wee 2 horsepower driving a three-speed transmission and drinking from a 12mm Bing carburetor. A moped engine could be left as-is, but no, Zweirad Union covered it with a chrome shroud.

If this German Wikipedia entry citing a book on the history of DKW motorcycles is true, then maintaining this thing is a lot of work. A spark plug change is said to require a bunch of tools and as pictures from the seller shows, simply getting to the fuel tank requires taking a part off.

That fuel tank in itself is pretty wild because it and the headlight shroud are one single piece.

This Express Kavalier 115 is said to have been owned by the seller for 31 years and its in immaculate condition.

How good is it? It won a best in class at the Boca Raton Concours dElegance in February 2020. The seller says that this paint is original and the moped has only seen a refurbishment before they got it. Over 56 years in this shape is amazing. Part of that is because it hasnt been ridden since the seller got it. Instead, it was displayed sans fluids.

The odometer reads the equivalent of 5,000 miles, but true mileage is unknown.

Its hard to say what the buyer should do with it. On one hand, the little thing hasnt been ridden in over 31 years. On the other, much of its value is going to be tied into the fact that its in such perfect condition. The buyer gets a sales brochure, the original German permit, a signed photo of Jay Leno riding a different Express Kavalier and a bill of sale.

For the current bid of $11,111 on Bring a Trailer with three days to go, its definitely one of the most distinctive things you can own.

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This Moped You've Never Heard Of Looks Like Nothing You've Ever Seen - Jalopnik