1925 Raleigh 799cc Model 12

Registration no. KM 189 Frame no. 1654 Engine no. V1644

• Rare Raleigh twin-cylinder model
• An older restoration offered for re-restoration
• Comes with a spare Raleigh v-twin engine

Britain's best-known and longest-lived bicycle maker, Raleigh also manufactured motorcycles from circa 1902 to 1905, and again from 1919 to 1933. More recently, the Nottingham company offered a range of mopeds plus a scooter in the late 1950s/1960s. Raleigh's first powered two-wheeler looked very much like the contemporary Werner, carrying its engine in front of the steering head with drive being transmitted via belt to a large diameter pulley clipped to the spokes of the front wheel. Already obsolete, that first Raleigh was soon superseded by a range of more conventional machines, the first of which appeared at the 1903 Motor Cycle Show. Sales must have been disappointing though, for only two years later Raleigh announced its complete withdrawal from the motorcycle market. The firm was back immediately after The Great War with a horizontally-opposed inline twin of advanced design, and during the 1920s the Raleigh range would expand to include machines of a wide variety of capacities and types, ranging from a 175cc unitary construction lightweight to a hefty 998cc v-twin. In 1924 the horizontal twin was replaced by a new 799cc v-twin, which was available as a solo (Model 12) or motorcycle combination (Models 13 and 14). Rated at 7hp for taxation purposes, the sidevalve engine was of Raleigh's own design and manufacture. The new v-twin featured all-chain drive via a Sturmey Archer three-speed gearbox, Brampton Biflex forks, dummy belt rim front brake and a 7" drum brake at the rear. A compact design meant that wheelbase ended up only 2" longer than that of the contemporary 350 single, making the twin a pleasant machine to ride in solo trim.

This example of a rare British v-twin was purchased by the private vendor's father sometime before 1970, from a Kent-based dealer who had secured this and various other motorcycles from Chatham docks where they had been laid up by WW2 servicemen. We are advised the motorcycle has benefited from a replacement Alpha big-end bearing (at date unknown). An older restoration offered for re-restoration, the machine comes with a semi-dismantled Raleigh v-twin engine (numbered 'V1511') and a V5C Registration Certificate.
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