Beschreibung
Peugeot SX8 T - Classic 1978 Trail Motorcycle as developed for the French military!
Please read the whole description and look at all the pictures as these do form part of the items description.
Type: SX8T Trail
Year of first registration / use : 20/ 12/ 1978
Motor type:2 Stroke
Capacity: 79. 6 cc
Recorded kms: 2, 732 ( Unknown accuracy! )
The SX8 was supplied and developed for the French military by Peugeot as the SX8 AR (version militaire), it was a general purpose reconnaissance & liaison all terrain motorcycle, and as such was deployed with the French Foreign legion and other forces in North Africa and around the world during late 1970's and early 80's.
The motorcycle in this listing is the civilian version SX8 T (version trail). This is directly related to the military model with the only differences being the paint colour scheme is changed to Red from military camouflage, and on this civilian version it does not have the rear equipment carrying frame or bolt on front crash bars that are fitted to the military SX8 AR version.
The SX8 was manufactured by Peugeot between 1978 to 1985, and the bike in this listing is therefore from the first year of production, the SX8 AR was only replaced by for the French military with the Cagiva A8 (125 cm3) in 1995.
History of this Bike.
The motorbike in this listing was purchased by me on the 21st February 2009 while I lived in France. The bike appears complete and I have now NOVA registered it in UK (Notification Of Vehicle Arrival), which enables you to register the bike with the DVLA. This machine was purchased from a private collector by me as a “barn find”, it has all the original French registration documents in my name, and also includes conformity paperwork, plus a copy of the original fully illustrated manufacturers workshop manual and some other literature.
While I have owned the bike it has never been used or run but has been dry stored at my house in France until I brought it back to the UK. Therefore it still has the original French registration & documentation, and despite the of age of the vehicle at 40 + years, a change from the French registration to UK should be quite simple as the bike is now on the NOVA system in the UK, plus all frame and engine numbers are clear and easy to read, and the French paperwork is in order so I understand the process with DVLA is quite straightforward with no duties or taxes to pay should the new owner wish to re-register it for UK roads. Also due to the age of the machine the bike will be both UK MOT & Road Tax free in just a few months.
Condition of the Bike
Although I have owned this bike for more than nine years I have never tried to run the engine, and my work on the bike has been very limited, the engine kicks over and there is good compression, and the only obvious issues that I am aware of that should be addressed is a repair to the exhaust outlet pipe, as the current “comedy” weld repair carried out by a previous owner really does let the bike down, I have uncovered the faulty weld repair that had been covered by some sort of filler, and I have prepared it for re-welding and this should be quite straightforward as the exhaust has no rust or rot, just a badly done weld. There is also a small crack in the removable heat guard that the new owner may wish to deal with at the same time, but this is also not very difficult to rectify and these repairs would improve the bike dramatically. The other known issue is the speedo needle has a crack in it so will not indicate the correct speed, but this again is simple to repair or replace. There is also a small area of paint loss on the petrol tank, but this could easily be touched up as it only has easily removable, very light surface rust, although internally the tank appears to be in excellent rust free condition.
There is in fact very little if any rust or corrosion on any part of the bike suggesting it has had very little use, perhaps indicating that the kilometre reading on the speedo may well be correct? There is a small area of damage to the seat covering material on one side/ bottom edge. I point out these “faults” by way of an honest description, not because any of them represent a serious issue on what is a 40year old, and quite rare and collectable machine. The only reason I have not done any of this repair work myself is just because I have far too many projects on the go!
Reason for sale.
I originally bought the bike with the idea of exploring the many green lanes in the rural part of France where I then lived, and as I never carried out the small amount of work that the bike seems to need so it was never used by me, and now with my return to the UK I no longer have the same sort of countryside available for me to explore.
So now it seems like a good idea to offer this to a new owner. The bike is quite collectable and appears complete and in generally good condition,& with no serious damage, rust, or corrosion, and with apparently only minimal work required. Should the new owner be a military vehicle enthusiast that wished to change this to the military spec SX8 AR this would be very easily accomplished, or alternatively to simply use it as a very capable classic trail motorcycle.
As these are now quite a rare motorbike especially in the UK they are also quite collectable and often command high prices when restored, however because of the use by the French armed forces, these are generally quite simple, robust, and reliable machines, further aided by the availability of spares. The bike will be supplied with a fully illustrated copy of the original manufacturers workshop manual making service and maintenance very easy.
I shall be very sad to see the bike go, but I would be delighted if someone was able use it, as I believe that it could be quite quickly & inexpensively got into a usable “oily rag”or as the French say “Dans son jus” (literal: in its own juice), style running condition, or with a little more work could be back to showroom or full military spec condition, the choice is yours.
Obviously the bike is sold untested and currently as a non runner.
Please contact me if you would like additional photographs, or if you have any questions please e-mail me.
For collection by a courier I will require payment by bank transfer, no PayPal, & cleared funds before collection or cash on collection only.
Thank you.
Price £895. 00
