This is a 1954 Sunbeam S8. A good friend of mine had one of these many years ago. At the time I felt a little bit dismissive of it. It was not that fast, the rear drive had a reputation for being weak and it had plunger suspension. The only part of that that is really true is that it has plunger suspension.
Having spent a lifetime enjoying old bikes, this one is a revelation. No messy chains needing constant adjustment and lubrication, no leaky primary chain case and a bike with an exposed engine that is easy to clean. Having read extensively about the bike I am satisfied that the rear drive is in fact very reliable providing the recommended oil is used. The bike is not a sports bike but has decent performance for an early 1950s 500. With an 85mph top speed and a free revving over square OHC engine, the bike can cruise at 60 to 70 without feeling it is shaking itself to bits.
Picking the bike up from Cosmo Motorcycles in St. Leonards-on-sea I had a 30 mile trip home to Tunbridge Wells. First impressions are that the bike is really easy to start with a kickstart that requires very little effort. The seating position is one of the best I have ever experienced. One is gently tilted forward with weight evenly distributed between seat, feet and hands. For once my legs are in the right place and not positioned too far forward.
At tick over there is a slight amount of vibration. As the motorcycle gets underway and the revs pick up the engine becomes very smooth indeed all through the rev range with little or no vibration being felt by the rider. The smoothness is there because the engine is rubber mounted. The clutch is on the heavy side (this has subsequently been addressed by a modification from Stewart Engineering which delivers a very light clutch). There is a great feeling of solidity about the bike. The handling on good roads is excellent. On poor roads the plunger suspension at the back does struggle to cope. The gear change is a bit on the clunky side, a bit like a BMW's. The main weakness is the braking. The rear brake is OK but the 7in stopper on the front is weak. I am used to 1950s brakes but these are below par.
This bike is an older restoration that has not really been used for many years. Inevitably a few issues have surfaced. A new condenser was needed to fix hot starting difficulties. The oil pressure switch displayed a tendency to come adrift and it had to be loctited in. The bike is fitted with a concentric carburettor, it works well except that it is difficult to get a really good tick over. For some reason adjusting the pilot jet seems to do very little.
It is very quickly becoming my mount of choice. Very easy starting, comfortable smooth riding and enough performance and handling to have fun with.
For some reason these bikes are still relatively cheap. I paid just under £4k for this bike. Almost any other 1950s 500 in similar condition will fetch more than this. A Velocette Venom will cost you about £9k and a Triumph Speed Twin about £7k, its sportier brother a Tiger 100 is likely to be north of £10k. The Speed Twin will be slower, handle less well and vibrate more. A Tiger 100 will be faster but otherwise like a Speed Twin.The Venom will be faster but will not offer such a pleasant everyday riding experience. Up for sale in Cosmo Motorcycles was a BSA M20 for just over £6k! OK it was a nice unmolested example but what awful sluggish old nails these were! Such is the classic bike market.
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