My Rumi Story - Tony Mooring

I started off my motorcycle life with a 1935 James 250cc 4 stroke single (wish I still had it), then I progressed to a 350cc O.K Supreme with a J.A.P. high camshaft engine. Then there were others including a 1934 Francis Barnett Cruiser 250cc. Eventually I went for and passed my test on a 1949 Sunbeam 500cc vertical twin shaft drive machine.

I have had many many motorcycles ranging from a 32cc Cylclemaster to a 1955 Series D Vincent Black Shadow 1000cc
In 1960 I had a 225ccDMW and had a serious accident on it, coming off with no crash helmet on and splitting my head open in two places and breaking my collar bone.
After this I never felt safe on the DMW and was riding past Charles Simpson Motors at Staples Corner in north London and noticed they had a batch of Moto Rumi scooters outside on display.
Having seen and heard these things before I stopped and asked what they would offer me in part exchange for my DMW. The price must have been O.K. because a week later I went down again to pick up my brand new Rumi Tipo Sport. This was the first brand new machine I had ever had. After doing the preliminaries like signing H.P. agreements etc. I started the bike and rode off up the Edgware Road but after travelling about ½ mile it stopped. I had run out of petrol. They must have put about ½ a pint of petrol in it just to get it started. So I ended up pushing it to the nearest filling station. (that was the start of my problems)

At the time I was working for a company called Rotax on aircraft electronics and it was, like most of us, my only form of transport. So now (for the time being) I was the proud owner of 376 XMY.

After a short time (I can’t remember all the dates) the speedo drive packed up,

then the headlight glass cracked. I was back and forth to Austin's at Harlesden no end of times. There were no end of problems (and this was a new bike) the rear swinging arm seized up. It culminated in the crankshaft breaking, one of the crankpins snapped. Again my bike was off the road. Austin’s apologised and repaired it at no cost but again I had to strip it down to get the crankshaft out and get it taken to them.

In those days part of the HP agreement allowed you to return the machine after you had paid half the cost so after owning 376 XMY for 12 months I backed it to the HP company. ( I must have bought a Friday afternoon bike)
Eventually after I started the Rumi Club in the seventies 376XMY came to light again in the ownership of Paul Haines (who now lives in OZ). The number came up on the register that we used to have, so after negotiations with Paul, I was the owner again. It had evidently been more problems because the crankcases had been changed (he gave me the originals with big holes in them). It had no leg-shields and was in a sorry state.

During my travels around the country picking up spares and bikes for the club to survive, I came across an unregistered Rumi in a garage in south London which I bought. I eventually stripped down 376 XMY and used the rear casting with the right numbers on and rebuilt it on to the other one re-chroming and re-spraying into the bargain. So now it was back in it’s glory albeit French Blue instead of the original Red.
I ran the machine for quite a few years but eventually sold it to Roger Gedge who I know has resold it on. I believe it is still owned by a club member. I bet he will be interested to read this.

In, or around 1973 I had a couple of Ariel Arrows, one standard and one sport. An advert came up in the Exchange and Mart with a guy selling a couple of Rumi scooters. (the bug bit again) So I went to see them and struck a deal and bought them. I then promptly sold the Arrows to balance the finances.

Upon inspection of them I found there were no pistons in either so I proceeded to try and locate some. I contacted both Hepolite and Wellworthy and was promptly told by both that they never made pistons for Rumis. ( I could only assume that they didn't want to get involved again so they decided to deny any knowledge of them).

I thought at the time there must be many more like me out there who could not get hold of pistons so I contacted the original manufacturers in Italy, Asso Werke. They were very helpful but proceeded to tell me that if I could order in bulk they would be much cheaper. My thoughts now were, how do I contact all these "pistonless" owners of Rumi’s? So with no more ado I placed an article in the Motorcycle News that I was forming a register of Rumi owners. (which they kindly published). Naturally with my contact details.

I had printed off a Questionnaire which I sent back to each of the replies. This formed the basis of the original Rumi Register. It consisted of model, year, registration number ,engine number. frame number, complete or otherwise, spares required and spares for sale or swap. After a few weeks I had amassed an order for a batch of pistons.

Hence the Moto Rumi Club had started to form.

The internet wasn't even a dream in those far off days and the only method of advertising was the famous old Exchange and Mart or the Motorcycle News. I traipsed the country far and wide to gather Rumi’s and spares on one occasion coming home with three dismantled ones in the trailer. ( I won’t tell you how much I paid for the three or it would devastate you).

In my travels I eventually ended up at Stephen’s Scooter Mart to see if he had any spares. He seemed a nice old guy and we chatted and in the end he said for me to get a large van and come back and clear him out of all his Rumi parts and we agreed on a sum. He had now turned over to Japanese machines and the Rumi bits were taking up valuable shelf space. I went back a week or so later with a transit van and Dave Rothwell and we loaded the van to the hilt with spares. Unfortunately there were no body castings at all,( he told us they were in the foundations of a block of flats opposite, but I thought more likely they were sold for scrap). We did get loads of forks and leg-shields but they were very rusty but reclaimable. Most of the parts were engine and gearbox spares. Among the stuff when I unloaded it were many crankshaft oil seals and I counted over 200 sets of gaskets.

Also he gave me a scrap of paper with a load of names on and he told me he had paid a fortune for it. He bought it from a guy who worked for the importers and it was a list of suppliers in the U.K. who made parts for Rumi’s. Bearing in mind that about 15 to 20 years had elapsed, when I tried to contact some of them they had ceased trading. One company I did have luck with however was the firm that made the tail lamp lenses. I called on them in north London, when I was down there on my firms business, and ended up coming away with their original moulds for making the lenses, plus about three lenses. Happy days!!

Another name on the list was Britax for crankshaft rebuilds but when I contacted them they denied any knowledge of it. Delving deeper I discovered they evidently passed them on to Alpha Bearings to do the work.
I also came across another name, Pete Hasler, who was evidently the mechanic who worked at Stephen’s Scooter Mart. I tracked him down and when I spoke to him he stated that he was the only person in the U.K. who could rebuild a Rumi crankshaft properly. ( now there was a case of throwing down the gauntlet ). So without ado I approached my local garage, who I was quite friendly with, and they allowed me to borrow their hydraulic press and faceplate and I proceeded to rebuild my first crankshaft. After that one I rebuilt quite a few culminating in me buying my own press and tools and carrying out rebuilds for others in the club.
I recall on one occasion Lawrence Martin sent his crankshaft to Alpha Bearings to have it resealed, they informed him that they could supply the bearings but not the oil seals so he told them to contact me for them, which I promptly supplied. I then got a phone call from Alpha’s to say that one of the con rods was bent and could I supply one of those. Knowing that Lawrence had a “Junior” I sent them a sport type rod. When at last Lawrence received his crankshaft back he found that, not only did he have two different rods fitted, (one was a Formichino rod and one was a sport rod) the sport rod was fitted upside down. He then came to see me and asked if I could fit both sport rods as it should have. I agreed but pointed out that he should have given it to me to do in the first place. Funny how things turn out!
On another occasion I rebuilt a crankshaft for a motorcycle dealer who shall remain nameless.

With regards to the tail lamp lenses, I manufactured those using an arbour press and my wife’s oven, carrying out the process in the kitchen. I used to get the translucent red Perspex from the manufacturers, who were only a few miles away, and they would kindly cut it to size for me. After moulding I would cut off the surplus then cut out the aperture for the number plate light and weld in a clear prismatic lens, after which I would drill the holes for fixing.

Over the years during my association with the Moto Rumi Club, I have made contact, met and corresponded with very many people. A complete variety in fact. I have made many friends and one or two enemies! ( This is inevitable with people's different personalities.)

On one occasion, in the early days, two French guys turned up in an old Citroen van ( the corrugated type) and knocked on my door. It was dark at the time and they were wearing long full length leather coats and looked as though they had come from the Mafia or KGB.
Their names I remember were, Gerard de Fortis and Claude Othlieb. They spoke very little English and I spoke no French. They had called to buy Rumi spares and as you can imagine the transaction was difficult to say the least. But they left well pleased with the parts that they required.

On another occasion I had a chap named Alan Lurie from Johannesburg in South Africa called me from London to say he wanted spares for his Formichino. I picked him up from the local train station and sold him the parts he needed. We had corresponded by post previously.

I had a letter from a Swedish ex-pat who was married to a Russian girl and he lived in Moscow and was selling arc welders to the Russians. He sent me some photocopies of articles on rumi’s he had found in the Moscow Library.

A Swiss guy came over from Geneva for parts. I had to pick him up from the station. I said to him “It must have cost you a fortune to come over to pick up spares”. He replied with “No, I work for Swissair”.

We used to hold monthly meetings at the Post House Hotel in Hemel Hempstead on the third Friday of the month. Members used to come from all over to attend. That was where I first met Paul Stokes who is now the chairman and runs the club.
I used to go to many rallies and shows particularly with my blue Tipo or Junior. The 1000 Bike Rally at Brands Hatch used to be a favourite, I have blatted the Junior round that circuit quite a few times. I can remember when I persuaded some of the others to come along and ride. There were six or seven of them on rumi scooters and they started off round Clearways, down the dip and up round the hairpin, then opened them up, not realising the camber drops away, and they all ended up on the grass.

I also used to take the junior to Mallory Park, at the Vintage Clubs annual meet there and used to ride with some of the famous. For a couple of years, a few of us would go and meet up at the start of the London to Brighton Run. I think it was November time, I know it was very cold and I used to ride there with newspaper stuffed down the front of my jacket and trousers to keep the cold out. After which Gerald Grimes would kindly invite us back to his home in Highbury for breakfast

In 1995 I decided to go to Italy to the bi-annual rumi meeting in Bergamo. This meeting was organised by Riccardo Crippa and Lavetti. I manufactured a bike carrier and bolted it to the back of my Citroen BX to take my white Supersport.

We crossed the channel by hovercraft and travelled down through France stopping on a Eurocamp site in Auxerre for one night. The following day we carried on into Switzerland where we stayed two days on another Eurocamp site, after which we travelled down to Lake Garda. We were booked in there for 7 days. With similar stops on the way back we covered 3000 miles in a fortnight with the Rumi strapped on the back of the car.

On the first weekend we drove from Lake Garda to Bergamo to try and find the rally site. After difficult negotiations (I speak no Italian) with a policeman and taxi drivers we were led by a taxi driver to a suburb of Bergamo called Alzano Lombardo. There in a public park were many Rumi’s gathered. We had reached our destination!

I met up with the French contingent, including my friend Roger Tourdot, who had ridden all the way from Paris on their Rumi’s. Then I was introduced to Riccardo Crippa and the Lavetti family. There were Rumi owners from all over ,including Belgium and Austria. It was an excellent rally over two days but I remember it was very hot. We even drove to Venice on one day from the campsite at Lake Garda. It’s a pity that the Italians appear to have stopped having the bi-annual rally.

Riccardo had some of the machines from his Rumi collection there including a Rumi go-cart, the Fabbri four cylinder, and a modern 500cc Mono Rumi racer. At the end of the meeting trophies were given out and I was presented with one (along with a goody bag of stickers and tee shirt etc.) for what I believe, was for the furthest travelled. But I couldn't understand what they were saying. ha! ha!

We have had some brilliant rallies with the French club. One in particular was the Millennium Rally in 2000 at Poitiers. It was also 50 years since Rumi started manufacture. A Belgian guy turned up with a completely restored Rumi Gobbeto racer with open megaphones, started it up and rode it through the village we were at. You cannot imagine the noise, it was incredible, resounding off the buildings, and nobody complained! Can you imagine that happening in the U.K.?? We also had the local mayor turned up for the dinner and festivities. At the end of that meeting we all took our machines to the village square, set them out in a figure “50”( there were 50 of them) and some of the French guys went up on a crane to take photos. 50 Rumi’s riding in convoy is also something great to see, and hear!