Near-A-Car Scooter ??

Has any one heard of a Near-A-Car Scooter. This may not be spelled correctly, but I think it was a small motor scooter made in the 1930's. Any info or links would be appreciated.

They are listed in a motorcycle book I have, will check it tommorow.

More of a Motorcycle considering it was made in the 20s. Was made in Syracuse NY. A friend owns an on restored one. I have pictures of a resotred one along with the info board from it if I can figure out how to attach them.

Yes it is a motorcycle, ner-a-car its a single cylinder motor, I have seen only one at a motorcycle show years ago. check the net i have seen them listed, it's has a erals type fork on the front with a center hub steering, really an unusual bike.

Carl Neracher invented the Ner-A-Car in 1915. Could not find a manufacturer in US so had some made in England and then finally started making the US version around 1920. It's a one-cylinder upright engine with a friction drive. Steering is accomplished by "near-a-car" type linkage with a king pin in the center of the front wheel hub. Center of gravity was below the hubs of the wheels making it an extremely stable bike. It is generally classified as a motorcycle, although the almost step through construction could make some call it a motorscooter Cannonball Baker once drove one from New York to San Francisco (or vice versa) and claimed an average of 100 MPG. I have one and some factory photos if you want more info.

Brad30 there are a few pictures in the book "American Motorcycles" by Tod Rafferty, One bike original the other restored. Ronbarn, was black the only color as both examples are?

Thanks for the photo Jim. Guess apehangers are not an original chopper item.

There is an web site devoted to the Ner-a-Car and a book written on the vehicle. The site contains about a dozen photos (many of them show Ner-a-Cars in action) and a chronological history of the vehicle at:

http://mysite.freeserve.com/neracar

According to the web site, there are 40 complete vehicles known to exist.

Bruce, Thanks for the website info. Was not aware there was one. Hopefully will finally get around to working on mine soon. Only 40? Think that number is a little low since I knon of one man that used to own about 15-20. Ron

Nearchoc, Yes it was really Carl Neracher that made the statement, "You can have them any color as long as it is black". And I'll bet you thought ol' Henry was the one that made that claim,

Yes and what do you think the odds are for a man with a name like that to build a contraption like that?