Raleigh RM1 moped brochure

Keeping up the theme of variety (or continued alienation of any one particular group of blog readers, take your pick) here's the 1958 Raleigh Moped brochure from 1958.

For more info on Raleigh mopeds see Andrew Pattle's excellent Moped Archive.

 

1924 Raleigh 2 3/4hp

A bit of a mystery this photo - on the reverse is written, 'arrived May 1924 japan'. The registration number is certainly British and not Japanese though and the backdrop, hard to say, it looks fairly British but then again it's just a fence and gate and could easily be Japanese....

The bike itself is evidently a Raleigh, it looks rather like a 2 3/4hp model (350cc) from c1924. A charming and high quality bike that one seldom sees original photos of. Note the klaxon above the petrol tank.

Raleigh 2 3/4hp from c1924.

Bristol Classic Bike Show 2017 pt2

The second and final selection of photos from my wanderings around the Bristol Show last weekend. So many more marvelous motos that I didn't get to snap due to the crowds but I hope you enjoy the selection.

A Raleigh Light Delivery three wheeler. This one is the 'Factory
Truck' version. This is the forerunner of the Reliant motorcar.
Reliant was formed as a breakaway from Raleigh when in the
mid-thirties Raleigh management decided to halt three wheeler
production.

Raleigh 500cc Sports.

Lovely early Greeves. A 1955 20T trials model. Last year of the
rubber in torsion rear suspension. Note also how the early
models have cast ally engine plates.

The Gold Star Owners Club had a brace of
pre-war Goldies on their stand.

Royal Enfield Bullet diesel conversion. One of the nicest
I've seen. Rather than using an industrial unit this motor
is from an Aixam microcar. It is 487cc, water cooled, cruises
comfortably at 65mph and gives 150mpg.

Nice period badge seen on Matchless JAP
special.

And here is the business end of the Matchless JAP. I couldn't
get a decent snap of the whole machine such were the crowds
it drew. Goes to show that you don't need anything shiny to
interest folks. The running gear is a 1931 Matchless Silver Hawk
frame (with cantilever rear suspension as original) into which
a 750cc JAP sidevalve twin has been inserted to replace Matchless'
ohc V4 unit.

And t'other side of the Matchless JAP.

Just one of the many crackers on the Vincent
Owners Club stand. A Python engined HRD.
Python was the name Rudge gave to their motors
when they supplied them to other manufacturers.

Other side of the HRD Python. Note the four
valve bronze cylinder head.

Something rather special. A 1935 works HRD
racer used in the 1935 TT. It was rebuilt for the 1936
TT with a Zoller supercharger fitted. However the
supercharged arrangement proved unsuccessful
in practice so was removed for the race.

One of the two pre-war HRD twins on the VOC stand.

Incredible the work some people put in to their
bikes. This Moto Morini Dart has had a 501cc motor
fitted to replace the original (either 350 or 400). The
bodywork is not merely carbon fibre stickers, it's the
real deal. Each panel has been replicated in carbon fibre.
Wow!

Very impressive handiwork and the bike is obviously used too.

If you're going to have a chop do it properly.
This Triumph based beast was on offer in the
autojumble. Recently imported and carrying an
American plate there was no price tag... It looks
like it has been fairly recently built, a close look at
the frame and it seems to be new. Great homage to
the golden era of chops.

1929 Harley Davidson model DL 750cc. Nearly finished and
very shiny on the Wessex Veteran and Vintage VMCC stand.

A couple of the pre-war Douglas ohv machines at the show.
Very very desirable bikes. I've never ridden one but they often
get rated as one of the best vintage machines. With their
popularity in vintage sprinting they can evidently be made to
really fly too. The machine to the fore is a 1922 S2 and the one
aft a 1928 RA. Very dull names for such exciting machines.
Note the disc brakes on the 1928 bike.

Close up on the 1928 Douglas RA currently
undergoing restoration. The RA stands for
Research Association - or British Motorcycle
and Cycle-Car Research Association to give them
their full title. The RA were the chaps behind the disc
brake design and as far as is known it is the first disc
brake fitted to any vehicle. The brake is not a disc
as we know them today - the disc itself is angled inwards
(ie very slightly conical) and a v is cut in to the friction
material on the caliper to mate with the disc. The caliper is
on a pivot and when the brake is applied it is pulled down on
to the disc. Though reputed to be good for their day, if
slightly grabby, the RA discs can't have been a resounding
success for they were not widely taken up. 

1930 Raleigh Model 15 250cc

I'm sure there are folks out there who can correct me if I'm wrong but I reckon this dapper gent is the proud owner of a 250cc sv Raleigh Model 15 from 1930.

1930 Raleigh 250cc Model 15.

Bikes I have owned pt 1: 1931 Raleigh MO31

Forgive the self indulgence but I've just found a box full of old photos of bikes I've had over the years. This one in fuzzy focus is a 1931 Raleigh MO31 300cc sidevalve. Must have been about 15 years ago I had it. A sweet little bike, it was a high quality machine of its day with a full electric lighting set from new.

The MO31 was happy to rev and purred along at a 40 to 45 mph cruising speed. The handling was good for the time as were the brakes. 15 years ago a bike from 1931 was a bit unloved as it wasn't eligible for pre-1930 vintage events but didn't have any of the sophistication of later machines. The Raleigh came from a deceased estate up in Herefordshire, it had been unused for years, possibly not at all since restoration. I put it on the road and ran it around for a season. In the end it was sold to a guy from the Czech Republic who was a big time Raleigh collector.

1931 Raleigh MO31.

1931 Raleigh MO31.

Another mystery machine....

A great animated period photo, there's a bit more fun going on than the usual rigid poses of the time. The bike could just be a Raleigh though I'm really not sure. Can anyone out there identify it?

Do you know what this bike is?

Raleigh flat tanker

Looks like Sunday best for a photo pose in a working class neighbourhood. Different rider and passenger on each photo, same machine. Easily recognisable as a Raleigh, possibly a 1924 2.75hp model.

1924 Raleigh 350cc flat tanker.

1924 Raleigh.

Raleigh MO31

A couple of nice family snaps of a Raleigh. I'm fairly sure it is the 1931 300cc side valve MO31 model as I owned one for a little while. A really nice bike and a decent performer. Only snag for me was its diminutive size.

1931 Raleigh MO31.

1931 Raleigh MO31.

Raleigh Safety Seven on a family holiday

Not the finest quality picture but worth showing. This is how family holidays used to be in the thirties, that is if you were lucky enough to get that much time off and luckier still, you were the proud owner of a Raleigh Safety Seven. The trailer is a nice touch, presumably a necessity if you wanted to go on a camping holiday with a Safety Seven and family. It's a fairly professional looking job. The wheels even seem to match the Raleigh's.

I remember living in Earlsfield, South London, fifteen or so years back in a thirties build ex-council maisonette. The couple downstairs had lived in there since the building was new. They let me park my Bantam in their front garden rather than see me leaving it out on the street. The chap would regale me with tales of family holidays in the fifties with him and his wife plus three children travelling down to Dorset on their Panther combo. The jouney would take them something like nine hours! Easy to forget that motoring from town to town was once an adventure and far from the norm.

Raleigh Safety Seven on holiday.