Category Archives: Bikes

Sunbeam Model 9 from the Land of the Rising Sun

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Many thanks to Takeshi Okazaki for getting in touch and sending some photos of his rather splendid and original 1927 Model 9 now being well cared for in Japan, some 6000 miles from its Wolverhampton birthplace.

Sunbeam from Japan

Sunbeam from Japan

I’ll let Takeshi give a little bit of the history of the bike that he now uses for long-distance touring…

“I was lucky enough to obtain this 9 two years ago from a famous dealer in Austria who specialized British Vintage Motorcycle.  Based on documents accompanied, the 9 was owned previously by Mr. Brian Wise in UK, and detailed observation on the 9 revealed that it had received careful treatment by Mr. Wise with much of love and enthusiasm for the motorcycle.  I am so pleased to own this motorcycle, and thus think to pass it to the next owner like Mr. Wise did.”

1927 Sunbeam Model 9

Spares and information are difficult enough to source here in the UK but the challenges further afield are significant. As Takeshi so succinctly puts it ” “Far East”,  which indicates “far from information” in case of my Sunbeam”  It’s great to see these bikes appreciated by enthusiasts around the world and I hope we can help with information and useful contacts.

Takeshi also has a friend with a 1931 Model 9 and hairpin spring head and I hope we can see some photos of this bike in the future. In the meantime perhaps it could be time for the Marston Sunbeam Club to start a new far-east section?

1927 Model 9

 

 

1930 Rudge Ulster or Special chainstays

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Browsing the web one evening I came across an advert for, as it were, “replica” Rudge TT replica chainstays. Wondering whether these items could replace those on my own 1930 Ulster I duly contacted Wayne at Classic Components. The stays on my bike are actually from a later model and being necessarily fitted upside down have caused certain problems with chain adjustment and wheel alignment. I have been looking for a replacement set for quite some time with no success and was delighted when Wayne said he could produce some for me. The originals should look something like items 6007 and 6010 in this picture from the Rudge spares book…

Frame group 1930

Frame group 1930

With the help of Alistair from the Rudge club, a set of drawings for the correct stays was obtained and Wayne manufactured a set in record time. Fitting the new stays will be a job for the winter as it means re-engineering the rear wheel spacers and adjusters but the end result should mean a much improved rear-end on the bike. Have a look at the photo below to see the high quality of the work.

Ulster Chainstays

Ulster Chainstays

1954 Triton T110

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Julian Richardson, data logging guru and head of Flextion Technology, proved that it is still possible to grab a bargain from the online auctions by taking home this rather tasty 1954 Triton. The 1955 pre-unit T110 motor appears to be freshly rebuilt and nicely slotted into the wideline Norton frame.

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Roadholder forks with external springs, twin leading shoe front brake with scoop and swept back pipes prove corners have not been cut with the build of this bike. Unlike some other Tritons out there, this bike manages to looks neat, tidy and somehow “integrated” – as if the disparate parts were always meant to be together.

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More usually found recording the heroics of Fast Bikes journos on exotic superbikes, it will certainly be interesting to see what lean angle Julian’s Axis data logger reports when he takes it for a burn-up to the local biker’s caff on a Sunday morning.

1930 saddle-tank Model 90 comes out of retirement

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I can’t describe how excited I was to make contact with John Rooney from north of the border who has acquired this stunning and impossibly original Sunbeam Model 90.

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The bike was originally registered to the Marston factory before being sold on two years later. It has webb-type forks fitted rather than druids which would suggest late 1930 to 1931 but it was common practice to fit the later, improved forks to earlier models.

The bike has been in the same ownership for the last 50 years before John rescued it from a shed and I am delighted to say that he plans to get it going with only the minimal necessary work. New tyres might just be required but the bike has many of the original fittings and fasteners that are so difficult to find or replicate.

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There is currently little paperwork but of course being a UK registered Marston bike we all want to know what racing history the bike has. The engine number of the bike is only 2 digits different from my own saddle tank 90 (shown below) which has TT and MGP history, so is it possible that this bike is from the same 1930 team?

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Although the frame numbers of the two bikes are further apart, the two bikes share left hand filler oil tanks, foot-change box, tulip shaped frame lugs, lack of sidecar lugs and the unusually absent gearbox drawbolt adjuster.

If anyone can shed any light on the history of John’s bike, please get in touch and let us know.

 

ex-Graham Walker 1927 Sunbeam Model 90

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Carsten was kind enough to send me some photos and information about the history of his fascinating Model 90. The eagle-eyed may spot that it is the same bullnose 90 featured in Robert Corden Champ’s book “The Sunbeam Motorcycle”.

This fine looking machine is reputed to be the one ridden by Graham Walker at the German Grand Prix. I presume this would have been the Grand Prix d’Europe at the Nurburgring in 1927 as Walker left for Rudge at the end of the year. As it happens, amongst other successes Sunbeam did go on to win the German GP in 1928. Bought from the UK in the early 60’s by race bike collector Dr. Helmut Krackowizer, the bike then did time in Austrian Walter Brandstetter’s Race Bike Museum before moving to the Hockenheimring Race Museum in the mid-1980s.

It seems Carsten has had a few issues along the way and, although outstanding a few parts, the bike is now running with a spare 1927 gearbox. I really hope we get to see Carsten’s bike over here in the UK one day soon.

 

 

Pumping oil

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Original Sunbeam pistons are thin on the ground and it seems that the rings to go with them are scarce too. The 1930 Model 90 was fitted with a 7.5 : 1 piston of Australian manufacture. This works well enough but is around 80g heavier than an original. We suspect that this accounts for the increased vibration that is apparent when compared with the Dodson bike or any of Archie’s for that matter. It’s really not a big deal but as we had a spare 7:1 Sunbeam piston and cylinder left over from the 1928 rebuild we thought we’d try it out for the summer – should we have one this year.

The bore of our spare cylinder although worn was deemed serviceable and after a light hone we sourced a set of three plain NOS compression rings. A stepped oil scraper would often have been used in the lower position but none were available. The top ring height was 2.35mm whilst the other pair were 2mm but the ring gaps were huge running from 0.015″ to over 0.020″.

Ever helpful FW Thornton located a brand new set of 80mm rings which were supplied un-gapped and with a stepped scraper to boot! Happy days, until I tried to slip the piston into the bore. Just as I reached for the mallet to help things along I realised that the radial depth of the new rings was too large for the piston. Sure we could increase the ring depth of the piston but there’s not a lot to play with and we really don’t want the top to come off.

Peter Woodward came to the rescue with a stepped scraper of the correct radial depth and height which I duly collected along with a handy selection of other rings with which to experiment. This ring also gapped massively and, ever the perfectionist, I ploughed on and fitted it together with the best of the compression rings that could be mustered.

Hey, what do you know, we made a super-efficient oil pump! And although the smoke was horrendous at least it was dense enough to cover my shame when stopped at traffic lights. After 20 or so miles the situation hadn’t improved, the plug quickly oiled up and after a £10 taxi home I collected the bike in the van.

The bike felt good with the lighter piston and the loss of 0.5 : 1 compression from the Australian item was not immediately noticeable. In an ideal world we would use a 7.5 : 1 as per the one in the photo at the top of this post. If anyone has a good ‘un available, please let me know. These are a little heavier than the 7 : 1 but should work well on today’s fuel. Interestingly, the Sunbeam pistons are stamped with a “7” or “7 5” on the inside of the crown to identify the type.

Failing that, we may have to get some new pistons manufactured if we can find a cost-effective supplier. So, watch this space or contact me to place your order….

1930 Rudge Ulster to the back of the queue

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After being picked up at auction a few years back, this pretty 1930 Rudge Ulster has probably been neglected for too long now in favour of other projects. A brief outing yesterday confirms that it does go as well as it looks being fast, light, comfortable and with excellent handling. It’s easy to see how these bikes could be purchased from the factory with a 100mph guarantee.

Over the winter, oil leaks have been fixed with a new timing cover and the slipping clutch relined by Saftek. But more work is needed.

The chainstays are from a later model which don’t really work well and the front brake drum is oval. Although a common problem the braking does make riding the bike a problem and will need to be addressed before the bike can be used regularly. The most practical fix is to shrink a strengthening “muff” onto the drum before rebuilding the wheel and skimming to suit. And, if anyone has a pair of the correct chainstays for sale, I would be extremely grateful if they would get in touch.

I had thought about selling the bike to someone with more time as, with the Sunbeam 90, this makes for two 1930 saddle tank sports bikes. But yesterday’s ride showed what a lovely bike this could be with some work. So, after a clean and polish for now it is under cover at the back of the garage until the time comes for its place in the sun once more.

RS250 ready at last

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Departing from the vintage theme a little, the 1999 Honda RS250 rebuild is now complete and the bike is ready for careful running-in. It has basically had a much needed “proper” clean and full chassis and engine refresh including new crank and cylinders. Many thanks to Rob at Racing Lines for his patience and much-needed support. A new paint-job will be in place soon but for now we are running the old bodywork.

After a quick visit to Maxton, I’m trying a heavier spring as the one fitted seems more suited to a typical jockey-sized 250 pilot but in truth I’m too slow to really notice. Japanese Battle factory pegs and lever add a touch of bling as do the Samco hoses.

Charlie Dodson’s Model 90

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Some time ago I was lucky enough to take a few snaps of the bike I understand was used by Charlie Dodson to win the ’28 Senior TT. Archie Beggs later rode the bike at the club Centenary rally and also at the 2012 festival of Jurby. More pictures are stored in the gallery.