Post Listing Update: This Centaur was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown.
I actually remember this from the early 60’s. Popular Science and/or Popular Mechanics had a feature on it. I didn’t give it much consideration then. The owner of this one isn’t sure what year it is, but they were built from 1960 to 1965.
The Centaur came from the mind of James Wilford Foster and American Scooter Company. He had been in charge of parts distribution of the Lambretta Scooter Company in the 50’s and when Lambretta hit the skids Foster decided to build a better scooter. The Centaur was in production from 1960 to 1965.
Billed as ‘the All American Scooter’ the Centaur used parts sourced from General Tire, Alcoa and Raybestos among others. The gas tank had a shut off valve and a sealable vent so the scooter could be transported and stored in any position. The two stroke motor had a sealed main bearing so there was no oil to leak at all.
It folds into a nice 20” x 30” x 16” self contained box that was meant for anyone that needed portable transportation such as boat and airplane owners. Portable is relative as the Centaur weighed 90 LBS.
The Centaur was powered by a 5.2 HP two stroke air cooled Clinton Go Cart motor from Go-Power that was pushed through a belt driven torque converter that was developed by Walter Hoover, the man that pioneered the variable pitch propeller for an available top speed of 40 MPH.
This particular Centaur Folding Scooter (VIN # 18408) is in Sachse, Texas and is listed as a good running and well preserved survivor. The bike is currently priced at $405.00 with reserve not met