Moto Rumi Junior Sport 1957
Donnino Rumi founded the Rumi organisation around the beginning of the twentieth century and originally supplied cast components to the textile industry.
After the Second World War, during which the company had manufactured armaments including miniature submarines and torpedoes, it was decided to begin the production of lightweight motorcycles. The engine configuration chosen was a twin-cylinder, 125cc, two-stroke with horizontal cylinders and down-draft carburettors.
By 1952, Rumi was producing scooters with pressed steel monocoque bodies and a range of touring, sports and competition motorcycles. The early motorcycles were equipped with telescopic front forks but the later ‘Junior’ models featured leading link forks. The ‘Sport’ featured a single carburettor while the ‘Super Sport’, which later became the ‘Competizione’, had twin carburettors. Competizione models were often stripped of their lights for road racing and one was ridden to win the 1954 Italian National Championship. The Super Sport was superseded by the ‘Gobbetto’, which was a pure factory racer.
In 1955, the Competizione was superseded by the ‘Junior Corsa’ and ‘Junior Gentleman’. The Junior Corsa was marketed as the Junior Sport in the US and UK. This Rumi Junior Sport was purchased for the NZ Classic Motorcycles collection from a dealer in St. Louis, Missouri, in June, 2009.