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My Omega 350cc touring model
My Omega 170cc Junior
Omega history
Other brands called Omega
Omega pictures
Historical Omega pictures
Omega advertisements
Omega catalogues and folders
Omega JLO - Belgium 1951 - 1954
N.V. Presto in Brussels imported the German Sitta scooter, but also built motorcycles under the name Omega, or Omega JLO, from 1951 to 1954. The frames had been designed by mr. Engelbrecht, who was an engineer at Monark in Sweden.
Engines were bought from the German manufacturer ILO. Although ILO (the Esperanto word for tool) is the official name, it was better known as JLO because of the styled I in the factory logo, which looked more like a J than an I. Probably this is also the reason that Presto used the name Omega JLO and not Omega ILO.
Here a short chronological overview of the Omega JLO models as far as I know:
- In 1951 Omega built light motorcycles and tandems with JLO engines.
- In 1952 2 new models appeared, one with a 125cc JLO engine, the other with a 175cc JLO engine.
- In 1953 the model range was expanded with a 50cc moped, a 118cc lightweight motorcycle, a 150cc motorcycle in 2 different models, a 175cc standard and luxury model and a 200cc 4-gear motorcycle specially designed for use with a sidecar. The 100 and 120cc models were also available as ladies model, with extra shields around the engine. In 1952 Omega succesfully joined some Belgian endurance races.
In 1953 there were also a 250cc 1-cilinder and a 250cc 2-cilinder available, both with JLO engine. Omega proudly announced that they were the only motorcycle manufacturer that offered the complete JLO range! That year also a scooter was offered under the name Omega.
- Sales were rather disappointing, and in 1954 the motorcycle production was stopped.
Let's look at some examples of these Belgian Omega's.
First a light Omega motorcycle. Probably a 98cc, as it has moped pedals. The picture is of low quality and does not show the full motorcycle. Despite this I wanted to place it here, because of the motorcycle on the background. This is a 1953 or 1954 125cc Hulsmann, my favourite (Dutch) brand!
Now a better example, a 125cc from 1952. This motorcycle was for sale by The Motorcycle Factory in Herselt, Belgium, at the end of 2012. The original speedometer also carries the logo of Omega JLO. The engine has a manual gear shift mechanism.
The manual gear shift mechanism is visible on the back of the engine
The next has a 175cc engine. The year must be 1952 or 1953. Strange is that the logo on the tank is completely different from all other Omega-JLO's.
Here a 98cc ladies model, introduced in 1953. This motorcycle is probably in the Netherlands now.
The logo on the tank
The next one is a special one: the tandem motorcycle. Although hard to see on this picture, it should be an Omega. The front and back of the motorcycle indeed show a lot of similarity to the ladies model above, so probably this is a 1953 model.
The next motorcycle was offered in 2018 on a Belgian website as Omega tandem. It is clearly different from the one above. It was stated to be from 1951, and looking at the front forks, which are still of the old fashioned parallelogram type, this can be correct:
Recently I found a very nice picture of an Omega JLO with a 250cc engine, taken on some event like a motor show. Have a look at the frequent use of the brand name: in big letters on the back wall, 2x in the logo in neon, on the road sign pole and on the platform in front of the motor.
Looking at the single exhaust pipe, this must be the version with the single cylinder 250cc engine.
I also found an advertisement in the Dutch and French language. Looking at the offered models, it is probably from 1952:
And finally some brochures. As they are all Belgium (probably the Omega JLO was only sold there) most are bi-lingual, in Dutch and French.
The first is probably from 1952, as it shows only models up to 175 cc. It also shows a scooter, but this is the Sitta scooter and this is a combined Omega JLO and Sitta brochure. Both brands were imported by Presto.
The second is a brochure made for the "Bicycle Salon" in Brussels. Although not dated, it is probably from 1953 as the ladies model (introduced that year) is also on it.
On the backside of the brochure is the plan of the total hall, I marked the Omega and Presto stands (no. 1061, 1063, 1064 and 1155) with the red rectangles. Below the Omega JLO stand is the stand of Ets. VanDerHulst, the Belgian importer of my favourite Hulsmann brand.
The last one shows the 250cc single cylinder model. The brochure has got quite dirty and a bit damaged, but luckily it is still readable.
Remarkable is that this brochure is in Dutch only. It can be that originally there was a French text below, as the bottom part seems to be missing.
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