A Pune-based entrepreneur has collected time gone by in the form of two-wheelers dating back to 1940s. Vineet Kenjale, who is now 55 years old, has been collecting vintage bikes and scooters for the last 30 years. Vineet, as of now, owns more than 550 vintage two-wheelers and wants to open a museum to display his collection.
Born on June 18, 1966, Vineet has been fond of scooters and bikes since he was just 10. He not only collects the bikes but also restores and repairs them. “I have vehicles from World War time. Since childhood, I never let my family members sell old vehicles. It has been more than 30 years since I have started collecting two-wheelers. I am working on opening a museum,” Vineet told ANI.
Maharashtra: Pune-based Vineet Kenjale collected over 550 vintage bikes"I recently got vehicles from world war time. Since childhood, I never let my family members sell old vehicles. It has been more than 30 years now. I'm working on opening a museum," he said yesterday pic.twitter.com/Vv8pSbEEw0
— ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2021
His collection varies from mopeds with a meagre 50-cc powertrain to Royal Enfield’s 1950 model, which is arguably the first self-start bike ever made in India. “In the 80s, I saw people moving from one bike to another frequently and discarding the old models. So I started wondering what would happen to those discarded models. This was when the idea of collecting the models struck my mind,” Vineet told The Better India.
Vineet has sourced most of his collection from donations of the vintage machines by his family, friends and others who he approached, but has purchased some models. The first bike that he purchased was a Lambretta 59 for Rs700. Vineet accepts the bike, irrespective of the condition of the vehicle. His collection also includes LML PL170, Kelvinator scooters, Kinetic scooters, Rajdoot scooters, Ramona 1960, BSA Bond and Hercules Moped 1967, among others.
In 2018, Vineet received a mention in the Limca Book of Records for the maximum number of bikes in a collection. Vineet and his team of 12 employees maintain these bikes, and almost 90 percent of the bikes are in working condition.
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