A Rare Resurrection
What was once an old rusty 1929 Raleigh Model 15 de Luxe, this motorcycle was treated to a sympathetic restoration and now shines like gold.
As found, the 250 cc British motorcycle was in original condition and it represented a unique challenge that intrigued Calgary’s Roger Brown. Seemingly in a perpetual state of motion, restorer Brown has brought a remarkable number of interesting old machines back from the brink, and one of those was a 1947 Triumph 3T. This 350 cc Triumph figures into how the Raleigh was obtained.
Restoration Requirements
“In 2018, I was looking around for my next project,” Brown explains. “There were two requirements: it had to be old, and it had to be British. I was talking to people at the Red Deer vintage motorcycle swap meet, and through the grapevine, I found out Steve Williams had two older British bikes for sale.”
Williams had an OK Supreme 250 Flying Cloud, and the Raleigh. Photographs of each were sent to Brown, and it was the Raleigh that piqued his interest. “The OK Supreme had coil ignition and pressed steel forks — and that didn’t excite me,” Brown says. “But the Raleigh did.”
After a couple of discussions, the idea of trading his finished Triumph 3T for the Raleigh plus some cash from Williams was presented. Williams accepted the swap. “I like to keep working on stuff, and I can’t hold on to everything forever,” Brown says about letting go of his ’47 Triumph 3T. “This worked out great. I could move something along and get something else to work on.”
Work Progresses Slowly
With the swap completed and the 1929 Raleigh in his suburban Calgary workshop, Brown spent almost two years looking the machine over, and once a month he’d spray penetrating oil on everything that needed to move. Not much of the Raleigh’s origin story is known, apart from the fact the bike was laid up in 1946 by the widow of the original owner. “It would have been interesting to know how it found its way to Alberta, because motorcycles of this age are hard to find here,” Brown says. The machine changed hands in the 1980s and was stored away again until Williams acquired it in 2016.
Brown says surface rust covered much of the Raleigh, but there was no extreme corrosion on any of the parts. The motor was not seized, the forks worked (sort of), the wheels turned, brakes were operational, and the magneto turned and showed signs of a very weak spark. While…
Thanks for Reading
If you don’t already subscribe to Motorcycle Mojo we ask that you seriously think about it. We are Canada’s last mainstream motorcycle magazine that continuously provides a print and digital issue on a regular basis.
We offer exclusive content created by riders, for riders.
Our editorial staff consists of experienced industry veterans that produce trusted and respected coverage for readers from every walk of life.
Motorcycle Mojo Magazine is an award winning publication that provides premium content guaranteed to be of interest to every motorcycle enthusiast. Whether you prefer cruisers or adventure-touring, vintage or the latest models; riding round the world or just to work, Motorcycle Mojo covers every aspect of the motorcycle experience. Each issue of Motorcycle Mojo contains tests of new models, feature travel stories, compelling human interest articles, technical exposés, product reviews, as well as unique perspectives by regular columnists on safety or just everyday situations that may be stressful at the time but turn into fabulous campfire stories.
Thanks for considering a subscription. The Mojo team truly appreciates it.
