Lot details
Registration No: OAS 726
Frame No: S8428
Engine No: S8428
cc: 500
MOT Expiry Date: None

Sunbeam was founded in Wolverhampton in 1912 by John Marston. Postwar, and as an unwanted part of AMC, the brand was sold to BSA, who made a new line of Sunbeam twins. Both the S7, and the S8 variant, were designed by Erling Poppe and introduced in 1947 with an in-line, two-cylinder motor, four-speed gearbox, shaft-drive to rear wheel and telescopic forks. The S8 was lighter than the S7, both being made until 1958, whilst having been employed on a BSA scooter the famous name disappeared completely in 1964.
This S8, a 500cc twin with shaft-drive, first left the factory in 1949. The owner tells us that, when purchased at an auction a couple of years ago, it was running well - although, since acquisition, the 500 has not been run, though carefully stored, and will therefore need to be recommissioned before being taken onto the highway again.
Currently, frame and suspension as well as cycle parts are rated by the vendor as being in good condition and black paintwork and bright work described as tidy. The 500c twin-pot motor is reportedly in good order as are gearbox and shaft-drive components.