Like so many of Britain’s great motorcycle manufacturers, Sunbeam is now but a distant memory, having breathed its last in 1956. The tragedy of it, in this particular instance, is that when the marque was dropped by its owners, B.S.A., Sunbeam’s products weren’t poor-quality or unreliable, they just misread the market. In fact, there are many who would regard Sunbeam’s final offerings, the S7 and S8, as two of the best British motorcycles of their time.

The S7 came about through the combined ideas of B.M.W. and prolific engineer Erling Poppe. B.S.A. had acquired designs for the B.M.W. R75 as part of war reparations, and Poppe adapted them into something suited to the British market. The Sunbeam’s longitudinally-mounted, overhead-cam, inline twin was a highly unusual engine and unlike anything being built in Britain or by B.M.W. at the time, the reason being that a horizontally-opposed twin à la B.M.W. would look too Germanic and fail in the political climate of the time. However, the shaft-drive was something of a B.M.W. trademark. Its complexity made it expensive to manufacture, but it was far more refined than the traditional and widely-used chain-drive.

The S7 was highly advanced for 1946. It featured coil ignition, a single-plate car-type clutch and telescopic forks. Considering the Sunbeam’s sophistication relative to other British bikes, it was naturally quite expensive when it went on sale, and some problems with the early S7s meant it did poorly at first. Unfortunately, power had to be kept down to 24 bhp to avoid overstressing the fragile worm-gear final drive.

As these problems were addressed, the S7’s capabilities as a sturdy touring bike, somewhat reminiscent of Harley-Davidsons and Indians, were realised. However, sales remained low and in 1949 the S8 appeared, designed along lighter, sportier lines and marketed for £30 less. The shaft-drive was ideal, and anyone who rode one realised how exceptionally smooth it was, an unusually quiet and pleasant machine for long-distance rides. Although it was praised by owners and the technical press, its cost and perhaps, to some degree, its unconventionality meant it never sold in large numbers. Only 16,000 S7s and S8s had been built by the end of production in 1956.

This Northampton-registered Sunbeam’s history can be traced back to 1999, when it was purchased by Mr. Glenn Hughes of Warwick. The vendor, a long-standing motorcycle enthusiast and collector, acquired it in 2015. Since its acquisition it has seen light use, and when not being ridden has occupied garage space alongside some of the finest names in British motorcycling from the 1920s to the present.

As a true enthusiast with the fullest appreciation of the motorcycles he owns, the owner enjoys riding all his machines. To that end, he does not keep them over-polished or trailer them around to shows, preferring instead to use them, with all that that entails. The vendor has taken sufficient care of his machines to ensure that they run like clockwork, start willingly and run smoothly and reliably. It is in that spirit that the Sunbeam has been maintained, and while it may not be concours, a better-running example will be hard to find.

The vendor retains an attachment to all his bikes, but the decision to start a new life in Sweden means the collection has to be sold.

Besides its current V5, the only other paperwork with the Sunbeam is an invoice from Sunbeam specialists Stewart Engineering from 2021 for the sale of an exhaust gasket.

The Sunbeam is in beautiful condition all round, with its Polychromatic Grey paint presenting very nicely. It does have a few blemishes, with some small instances of paint damage visible on the petrol tank, forks and oil tank/toolbox, but nothing terrible.

The seats are both in very nice condition, with a few small marks but an overall appearance which is clean and still looks fairly new. Unfortunately, there are just a couple of small splits in the rear of the front seat.

All the chromed parts have weathered nicely, accumulating an attractive light patina which suits the bike very handsomely. All the other details, such as the lights and gauges, look to be in excellent condition.

Considering the bike’s condition, we strongly suspect it has been the recipient of a restoration in the not-too-distant past, which is now showing a few signs of use but is generally holding up very well. What cosmetic faults exist are only very minor, and we think the S8 would be very well received at any show or rally.

Having seen this bike run, we believe it to be in good mechanical condition. The exterior of the engine has a pleasing patina of its own, but it looks to us to be oil-tight.

The vendor gives his bikes all necessary attention and does not overlook or neglect them with the vendor indicating that the bike is completely roadworthy. 

Sunbeam S8s aren’t necessarily the first things which spring to mind when discussing the golden years of the post-war British motorcycle industry, and their prices tend to reflect that. They’re a much overlooked motorcycle, perhaps because they weren’t built with aspirations of speed or competition, which influenced so much of motorcycling culture at the time.

Instead, they were designed to be quietly purposeful and unassumingly smart, and they succeeded admirably in that capacity. Unfortunately, that did mean they went slightly unnoticed or unappreciated by legions of of motorcyclists obsessed with speed, which probably accounts for their status today. They can’t really be compared to many of their contemporaries, so it’s best to summarise them as sophisticated and civilised, and heed the words of the vendor. Despite owning a stable comprising such names as Brough Superior, Vincent and Venom Clubman, the Sunbeam, he says, is by far the best to ride, “a highly underrated gentleman’s touring bike”.



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