Sunbeams at the National Motorcycle Museum

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Dodson

Many thanks to Rob from Racing Lines Derby for a grand day out at the TT riders Association luncheon yesterday. This annual celebration of TT riders past and present was held at the National Motorcycle Museum. Whilst Nick Jeffries acted as MC, we shared a table with the legendary and apposite John Cooper. Others present included 5-times in a week TT winner Ian Hutchinson and Triumph factory rider Percy Tait. Publisher and TT rider Malcolm Wheeler rode into dinner on a Ducati to take over presidency of the association.

Beforehand, we squeaked a couple of hours to check-out one or two of the many wonderful exhibits.

It is of course impossible to do justice to such a collection so I didn’t bother. Instead, I took a lot of photos of the Sunbeams on display which included a number that were restored by our good friend Peter Woodward. These included a Model 80, Model 9 and two Model 90s and they can be seen in the gallery together with many other detail shots.

Debates about provenance may continue in certain circles but the 1925 Sunbeam Sprint must be one of the most beautiful bikes in the museum.

Ex-Dance racer, unbeatable in its day

Art-deco masterpiece

Pistons now available from Sunbeamland shop

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Dodson

I’m pleased to say that we now have the recently manufactured high-quality, lightweight forged 7.5:1 pistons available on the Sunbeamland Shop in +0.020″ and +0.040″ oversizes. Modern materials and CNC machining mean that all-up weight is within a few grammes of the original Marston’s item and I’m enjoying the experience of running one in on my own 1930 Model 90. They should fit any of the late 20’s early 30’s 500cc OHV bikes and we hope to be following up with production of a small batch of 6.5:1 pistons aimed more at the Model 9.

Forged piston for Sunbeam Model 9 and Model 90 7.5:1 compression ratio

Revill’s of Hathersage

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Dodson

I just had to post this lovely old photo that Richard Jones showed me at the autumn Stafford Show. Anyone here remember Revill’s of Main Road, Hathersage?

I wonder how much business was brought in by “wringing machine” repairs? Later wandering around the show I spotted this 1935 Sunbeam 350 twin-port was up for grabs amongst the auto-jumblers paradise.

It’s the same kind of ingenuity and inspiration that put men on the moon that gave rise to these next two creations.

And of course John Phizacklea made sure of a couple of stunning Sunbeams on the Wilts club stand. The recently finished Model 3 sits well alongside John’s own trials spec. Model 9.

One of the best machines at the show to my eye was this beautiful Rudge TT replica, tucked away in the corner of the VMCC stand. As far as I could tell it looks to be in a fantastic “as raced” condition complete with twin-floats, twin-fillers and cable operated damper. Just awesome.

And finally, there were of course some two-smokes too…. One of my favourites was this beautifully prepared, late model RS250 Honda. Nice touches include the radial front brakes fitted to the custom-made fork bottoms. The equally gorgeous Joey Dunlop that features the single-sided swinger of the earlier model bikes can just be seen.

1930 Rudge Ulster or Special chainstays

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Dodson

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

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

New forged Sunbeam pistons arrive at Sunbeamland

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Dodson

This little beauty arrived today and I couldn’t wait to put a post up on the blog here at Sunbeamland. It is the first from the box of a batch of forged Sunbeam Model 90 pistons. It is modelled on an original Sunbeam 7.5 : 1 piston and, unlike some alternatives that are available, weight has been controlled so that the combined weight of piston, pin and rings closely matches the original.

Next job is to bore a spare cylinder to suit either of the +0.020 or +0.040 sizes we have produced and get some testing done before winter sets in.

Vintage BSA motorcycle for sale in Sunbeamland shop

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Dodson

A new development here at Sunbeamland is that we now have a vintage motorcycles for sale section added to the shop. To get the ball rolling we have this rather interesting 1929 BSA sloper. Being 1929 vintage, it is of course eligible for VMCC events such as the Banbury Run. If you’d like to know more, drop us a line and we’ll put you in touch.

1954 Triton T110

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Dodson

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.

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.

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

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Dodson

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.

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.

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?

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.

VMCC Festival of 1000 Bikes

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Dodson

Brough Superior SS100

A fine sight indeed. And the Brough looks good too. Kenny had a fine time on the SS100, taking no prisoners on track and making the most of the fabulous weather. The Brooklands cans were made especially for the day and gave the bike a magnificent bark to match its bite. Of course Archie couldn’t be kept off track completing all the sessions on his 1928 Sunbeam Model 90.

One or two other ‘beams were spotted around the paddock, for example this tidy Model 8 saddle tank looked purposeful and is presumably an easy starter without its decompressor. Not sure of the year but druid forks and saddle tank would could mean 1930 or so.

I also spotted this gentleman seemed once or twice having fun on his twin-port Model 9 but didn’t manage to get any on-track photos.

With lots to see both on and off track, this really is an event for all the family.

But for me, the day really belonged to Nottingham’s finest. The Brough just never fails to impress and it is a credit to Archie and Kenny who use it in the way that they do.

Bump starting Richard’s Model 9/90 at Cuckooland

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Dodson

Having discovered that the video camera survived the fall from the instructor’s bike at Blyton Circuit and that WordPress now supports video, I though I’d share this with you…