Post Listing Update: This Leoncino was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. However, I’ve since found out that it made its way into the collection of a Bike-urious reader in Nashville!
The Benelli Leoncino, or the “Little Lion”, is a beautiful tiny two-stroke with one of the more interesting visual cues I’ve ever seen on a bike – a lion on the front fender, a la Jaguar automobiles.
The Leoncino was available as a 98cc two-stroke or a 125cc 4-stroke engine – today’s bike is the latter. Cheap post-war transport was in high demand in Italy, so bikes like this sold very well.
Musical Intermission – here’s the perfect song for you to listen to while you put around on your Little Lion:
This specific Benelli Leoncino has 6,138 miles and is claimed to be in excellent condition. It’s spent the last 5 years as a display piece for the current seller, during which time the fluids have been drained. The bike is claimed to be in excellent condition, though the seller notes there was an oil leak from the clutch cover when it was filled.
If it helps your pricing estimates, a museum-quality Leoncino went for $7,000 at the 2012 Pebble Beach Antique Motorcycle Auction. Or, Michael’s Motorcycles has a lovely example for sale for $7,299. Find this Benelli Leoncino for sale in Sterling, Colorado with an opening bid of $1.00…and no reserve(!)
This bike-uriousity brought to you by John S!