Magnetic fisherman fishes rare motorcycle from channel: “No idea it was worth so much”

A magnet fisherman from Sint-Katherina-Lombeek near Ternat has removed a Flandria from the canal, which is a very rare motorcycle. At first, Nadim Ghandour did not realize the value of his find.

Magnet fisherman Nadim Ghandour from Sint-Katherina-Lombeek regularly goes magnet fishing along the Brussels-Charleroi canal. Recently he started to practice his hobby in Anderlecht and suddenly he had a bite. “It was quite tough, because I first had to partially get into the water,” says Nadim. “And then I still used the power of my car to get the weight out of the water.” It turned out to be a rusty motorcycle. One for the bulky waste thought Nadim, it might save him a few euros.

It was officers who pointed out to me that it was a rare motorcycle

Magnetic fisherman Nadim

But nothing could be further from the truth, because when officers came to take a look at what Nadim was doing, they pointed out the uniqueness of the bike. This is a Flandria, a very rare model. “Hell, that’s a Flandria”, said an officer. “That is something rare and you should not get rid of it.” And the agent turned out to be right. In good condition, the motorcycles quickly sell out for thousands of euros, but enthusiasts also pay hundreds of euros for this rusted wreck.

“Flandria was a Belgian brand”, Nadim knows after some research on the internet. “The model I fished is the 1964 Rekord 5 Sport. The latter in particular makes it apparently unique.” The Flandria may have been in the canal for more than 50 years. Nadim does not yet know what he will do with the bike: “Now that I know how much it is worth, I doubt to get rid of it. There are already bids of more than 350 euros. I can of course put it in order, but that is quite a project. ”