The machines matter, but the people and memories around them bring the marque to life.

This highly modified Rumi Formichino was created by Peter Caisley in the early 2000’s to realise an ambition he has had from his teenage years . The concept was to create a Rumi that reflected the Rumi Formichino’s 1950s racing success which had been referenced by the UK Rumi importers and had impressed a young Peter. There are two elements to its creation, one being its appearance and the other its performance to match its cafe-racer looks. Appearance The crash rails/foot rests and front mudguard were removed as well as the tail end of the rear body. The replacement front mudguard is in fibreglass and was based on the mudguard of a contemporary Peugeot scooter. The rear mudguard is again in fibreglass and is moulded from the original Rumi alloy part. The mould was then modified to create the cut-off look with provision to attach the Rumi tail light and a hanging numberplate. When the crashrails were removed , motorcycle footrests were attached to the rear mounting hole for the original crash rail and a new rear brake pedal and mechanism were fabricated and attached. To complete the racer look an extra fuel tank and lightweight saddle were also made. The tank was made by a local fabricator in alluminium and is covered by a fibreglass shell. Peter was very conscious of the integrity of the original Rumi design and was very careful not add anything that might conflict with its iconic curves. For that reason the tank cover was moulded partly from the Rumi front nacelle and partly from the front end of the Rumi rear nacelle so that it could be loosely claimed the final shape was a Rumi design. The saddle was made to a motor cycle style with an openable rear ‘aerodynamic’ tool container. To complete the racer appearance, period drop handle bars with ball ended levers as well as expansion exhaust pipes were added. Performance Having transformed the look the next task was to modify the engine to match. To achieve this Peter took advice from successful two-stroke tuner Dave Goddard who recommended replacing the Rumi cylinders with more modern cylinders with reed valves and identified the Piaggio Typhoon 80 as a suitable donor. As these cylinders have no inlet track the crankcase had to be modified with inlet tracts welded directly onto the casing and suitable to take the reed valves. To obtain the correct cylinder height to match the Rumi conrods an adapter plate was inserted between cylinders and crank case but two other problems arose being non matching cylinder studs and the width of the cylinders not matching the position of the Rumi conrods and crankshaft. This led to the original stud holes being welded up and repositioned new holes being drilled and tapped. To match the cylinders to the conrods the inside sides of the Piaggio cylinders were machined off but this then exposed the inside transfer ports which then had to be covered by small plates welded over them. Suitable reed valves and carburettors for the Piaggio cylinders were sourced and racing style exhaust expansion pipes were made and fitted although the modified engine works almost as well with the standard Rumi silencer box. A consequence of replacing the crash rails with rear-set footrests was that the gear change lever was now out of reach so a remote mechanism was made which could be operated by up or down toe movement. When completed Peter used his cafe racer extensively, attending many Rumi Club events and several times travelling to France to join some of the events of the Rumi Club France. Peter himself did not however escape the ravages of time and after knee replacement he was no longer able to ride his beloved machine so he reluctantly decided to sell it on to another enthusiast. To widen its appeal to potential buyers he then removed the obvious cafe racer parts and returned it to a more normal appearance but left the modified engine in place. An advert was placed and the Rumi was sold almost immediately including all the cafe racer parts so that the new owner if he wishes can return it to its cafe racer appearance. Perhaps at some point in the future we will once again see it on the road.