This has been a great thread! I have been obsessed by RRA's from this time period for a number of years. I sold my first one to Peter Kohler and missed it so much I now have four of them! I really like all the special in-house made super lightweight parts, so super lightweight that in fact many of them broke, thus finding all the right bits is an ongoing challenge.
I have two of my RRA's in original black enamel, and although they were dull when I bought them, that Raleigh enamel polished up like glass. Raleigh advertised a "Bonderized" finish during this period and I think the black that you are seeing is the bonderize base coat. My Lenton has the remains of its green polychromatic finish with large patches of this black base coat coming through. I have grown to like it. One of my other RRA's had remnants of an light blue polychromatic finish and showed large expanses of the silver base as well as the black bonderized base coat under that.
One thing that draws me to the the RRA and Raleighs in general of the era up to about 1954, is the fact that they were really were beautifully built for production bikes, by the biggest manufacturer of the era. Really, each part is just so nicely made. Anyone who saw the '46 Raleigh Dawn Tourist in utterly amazing condition would not fail to be impressed. After that the quality gradually slid. Were the beancounters trying to squeeze more profits out for the stockholders? Was the competition forcing them to lower prices? It any case, the years up to about '54 were the zenith for Raleigh for their production models. It seems like many consumer items have this sort of history. Coincidentally Lionel electric trains hit the same amazing quality peak at the same time and proceeded to slide in a similar fashion.
Hand built bikes were great then,,,and are great now too.
I have also wondered about the building of the RRA's. Was there a seperate shop? Did they hire some specialty builders? I have never read a first hand report on this. Postwar it does seem like the 1948 model is by far the most numerous. Perhaps Raleigh over estimated the demand and cut back production in later years up to 1954.
Paul Ra(i)ley(gh)
Leonardtown MD
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