Modern Vespa

A while ago i aquired a "complete, original, unrestored" Raleigh Roma from NZ, imported it with intention to sell it. Advertised it & Took it to scooter Nationals recently, but not a nibble, plus i found out it was seized (go to hill, roll, put into gear, rear locks up) , yet all cables work...
So ive decided to get it running before i sell it, but it oves me a bit & i need to spend the least possible on it, add nothing, spend the minimum on it (plug, tyres, rings, time & consumables...) & capture the original aspect of it, plus hopefully make money to pay for it.

I understand that its not Vespa, but an oddity (their forum is far smaller) , but that saves on the what are you doing here, & what specs is it... & hopefully more how did you do that or heres a tip to make it all easier.
Nope, i have no more knowledge of this Marque than you & tonight is the closest ive ever seen it, so lets learn!
Nope, its not going to be modified, but it will get a service, new rings, basic hone, plug...
I'm merely getting it running safely & washing it.

Sp far the worst bit seems to be damage to 1 side/foot panel, as its been wacked & 1/2 the rail is missing.


Its been undercover, but outside for the past few years, before that covered, before that about 30 years...

It was dirty/grubby/road-grimed... But no rust, Which are all good signs that its decent. Everything working is a bonus.
So tonight it was a rough clean & lube, before it goes out to the outside workshop for summer.

Had Spray piston with lanoline & WD40 quite a bit to loosen things up.
Figuring its probably worth purchase value (excl shipping & charges), so kept spraying piston, removed head & crank turns till piston/barrell jam.
Putmallet into head & packed wood between base of barrell & cases , smacked with a plastic mallet, sprayed, aited, bashed...
& it moved, so eventually all removed;
1 ring now broken (ie it was well stuck)
1 ring free
1 ring still stuck at 1 end.

Motor completely bog standard, never touched.

For paint; Out with the WD40 & scrubber.
Then repeat, then wipe off.
Dont let it run as it will make dripmarks (from very clean & kinda clean) as difficult to hide.
Repeat a few hours later, but lots more WD40 & scrubbing & remove quickly... Paint protected & basically restored (for now).
It lets tou know what you are dealing with.. I found original (white) paint, a later (slight grey) & orange which has been repainted in places & theres overspray. Then clear bad topcoat/clearcote, with some unbuffed (ie pretty rough) & it looks like it was put on far more recently than the paint . Not much paint came off while cleaning (keep checking your scrubber/rag for colour) & no parts ell off which is great.

All cables, brakes & gears seem to work.
Besides the paint it appears priginal, piston even seems original.
Not much is missing, some of the plastic has perished or turned to powder in the sun.
Everything that moved, screwed on/off, or held things together was speayed, it may be a whils vefore i need all the nuts, but they will all be eeady to be undone someday.


Cool bits;
Its sure got style!
Its got orange!
Its complete
naming it...
"The Raleigh" (thats what the badges say)
"The Shadow Conspiracy" (thats printed on one of the colour-coded cables)
" Quaranteeny " (50cc & a quarantine sticker on handle-grip)
"Quarantenia"
Dunno.

The pics i brought it from.

At the nationals (photos by others)

lovely scooter ,great looking shape and even like the colours
george

Damn I bought a bicycle off that guy recently bit of a hippster but a nice guy

Do like the old raleigh's but think owning one would be a slippery slope into a crazy obsessive raleigh collection

also- FYI that bike was also known and sold as the Bianchi Orsetto.

i used to own one.

in the states, also was sold under the montgomery wards riverside brand, alongside lambrettas.

Like the badge. Not just a Raleigh, it's the Raleigh

Do you know where to get parts?
So far i need rings, rear light & speedo.

not much is available.

Tom giordorno in new york woudl be the one to ask.

This morning I went to an old-skol engineering shop(80+ years in same building) & the guy who owns it (a spring-chicken who has only been there for a mere 25years & only works in imperial) is going to make 3 rings (yip, there are 3) to suit for $120, but he mentioned (& showed me that he always makes extras, as its easier to make 10 than 2 & less chance of stuffing up) he will make more, so I negotiated 6 for $150... score!
the only bit I will need to do is to cut the bit for the pin, which is not a stress.

Now to find a rear light & speedo that are 'about the right size' if I cannot find originals... I far prefer to have originals, but this can be a 'project' for the buyer, as the intention of this resto is to get it finished quickly.

Def that this motor nor most of the rest have ever been touched, washers have marks on 1 side only, nothing (incl washers/nuts) have been replaced nor were nuts damaged, AWESOME.

After a very light hone of the bore, new rings, & handmade gaskets the piston/barrell is back on.
There is good compression, & even spark!
But had to turn it with a drill, as have 'misplaced' the kickstart (i think i may have sold it with another scoot!).

OriGinal Pics (before pulling apart & those from seller) came in helpful, as there were 4 ways to fit the head, & i chose a wrong one initially (carb would not fit).

Camera phones are great to take pics inside tricky places.

Paint on the piston to mark where the ring ends should be, which makes lining things up simpler

The carb is a Dellorto, & while this is NOT a Vespa, the carb has the same basic components.
Upon dismantling (with before pics) it was pretty gunky & had water in it... So a cleaning i did go

Again, LOTS of CRC, then reapply overnight.
Re-assembly was pretty easy, but pics helped.

Everythong seemed to clean up nicely & nothing was damaged, therefore nothing needed to be replaced, not even the 67 main.

As there is no chance of getting gaskets locally, it was time to grab the paper & make some.
Here are some tips.

NOTE: its not a Vespa, this should save on questions about 'what size this...' ... 'What fits that' etc...
It is more as a reference for drunken evenings in the shed or a guide to what will need to be done anytime you buy a scoot that 'worked when i put it in the shed 10+ years ago'

The fuel tank was worse than the carb, but that was to be expected.

Firstly some kero, then the modified brush (brass bristles & head modified so it fits in the cap hole), then rinse out the slop.
Remove fuel tap.
More kero, more brushing, then rinse,
Then repeat, but also add a rag, use brush to move it around in tank.
Rinse, repeat.
Use metho, brush, clean rag...
This will dry things out
Repeat.... Possibly with a new rag.
There may be lumpy bits, but the rag picks most of these out & the rest can be flushed later with petrol.

It should be ok now to use.

If you still want it better go to a car radiator shop, they will make it all shiny again.

Yip, there is spark... So soon it will be time to see if it runs!

Very cool scooter and I like nothing more than resurrecting a project like this myself. Heck the darn thing may just run ! My only comment is that you might watch your hole-making procedure for the gaskets. Where you have rounded out the hole with a pen, extra material there could double the thickness of the gasket and cause a problem. The fasteners will obviously crush this but it could also affect the even seal pressure between the components that is needed. ( it could also end up within the hole and be OK ) You are better off with a slightly larger hole as long as the inner section is wide enough where the seal actually is needed . Or you could hold the gasket against one component end use your blade to shear off that material in the hole. My $.02 ( US). Good luck with the project.

cheers, I figured there may be a better way to do it (without the use of a hole-punch, as I did not have one), initially i used a wood drill (with the gasket sitting on a block of wood), but it was tearing the edges... possibly a normal drill bit would have been better. i suppose a few twists with a round file would also be a good way to soften the edge
For the base gasket I noticed it was not a great fit, so ended up fitting it, then 'bending' the edge with a screwdriver (to soften it & make it fit better into the ports, then used marker pen to show excess... removed it & cut excess off with scissors & it was a great fit.

h

One of those rotary head leather punches is perfect for these holes, you can select the right diameter then. Good for putting holes in your belt too!

Yip, its running.
Added engine oil & fuel
Have mislaced kickstart so had to pushstart, it popped pretty quickly, but stopped. Gunk on the plug (possibly from inlake pipe, looks like i missed cleaning that part!) was the cause., cleaned, then it started.... & stalled...
After a few laps it was still stalling under load, but once it warmed up that seemed to lessen.
Once warm it started to rain, so parked it & drained the oil.
So, it needs a good tuneup but everything seems to work, clutch is starting to free-up.
Now to find the taillight & speedo.

Congrats! That moment compares to little else.

Yip, the Raleigh Roma has Ben passed on... New owner got it as a birthday pressie (from his wife), what a lucky chap.

He needs a bit of help:
What SPARK PLUG fits it?
It came with one, & I fitted one while riding it, but took it out when I drained fluids... Then tidied the office (ie where I fixed it up),& misplaced the plugs!

Does anyone know where to get parts?
It needs a HEADLIGHT ASSY
& SPEEDO (which looks like a Lambretta, possibly Vega)

Cheers