SOMETHING Borrowed
The Autumn Stafo rd S ale
The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show
Stafford I 11 - 12 October 2025
of selling - even just considering it - get in touch
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• FOR WILL AND ESTATE PLANNING nd BSA , a bi ear from you! en y, with ove r ou’re thinking
• FOR DETAILS OF YOUR SPECIALIST
• TO DISCUSS SELLING BUYING AT AUCTION
• TO DISCUSS YOUR PROBATE VALUATION REQUIREMENTS
WHATLIES WITHIN
SU NBEAMMODEL 90 .................................... 6
A1927 Sunbeam racer forthe road? Alan Cathcart has far too much fun…
TR IUMPHTRO PHYTR5 ............................... 28
What to do when you fnally buythe bikeofyour dreams anditwon’t actually work?MikePowell trackeddown his Trophy, and Paul Henshaw got it going again…
NO RTON COMMAN DO ROADSTE R............. 38
The Plan had been to borrowa T140 Bonneville with an electricstarter,but there happened to be aself-starting Norton nearby. Frank Westworth chose the latter,inevitably…
BSAC11 ....................................................... 46
You can over-egg apudding, hold acandleto the sun or butter those parsnips past perfection. Or you can spoodle aC11 beyond reasonable expectation,as Neil Cairns discovers…
GO LDWI NG OVER CANADA.........................
52
When you need along-distance mile-muncherthat absolutelywon’t let you down –evenonCanada’s gravel tracks –a six-cylinder1500cc Aspencade might not be your frst choice.Itwasn’t quite what Nick Adams had planned, either…
COVE NTRYE AG LE ....................................... 66
Recommissioning and riding amotorcyclewhich is morethan century old brings with it aunique setof challenges. John Lay was more than ready to take on the task…
MOTO GUZZ IOUTFIT.................................. 72
THE CONTENTSPAGE.................................... 3
What you see is what you get –and what you get is Real Variety! As always, really…
WE’VE GOTMAIL! ........................................ 16
Plenty of letters again, and some decently long ones, too!
LETTER FROM AMERICA............................. 24
Kevin Lemire’s schoolboy dream of Italian exotica becomes an adult encounter witha potentially cataclysmic cyclone…
READERS’FREE ADS .................................... 60
And speaking of variety, here’safair selection of rare machinery
PUBTALK .....................................................
82
After almost ayear of inactivity the Léon Bollée rides again –for the 2025 VMCC Banbury Run–and the Flying Flea has another outing
OLLIE’SODDJOB .......................................... 88
Spotted on the Sunbeam club’s always excellent stand at Staford,our Ollie encountered aslightly marvellous Sunbeam with aMoto Guzzi heart transplant…
TALES FROM THE SHED ...............................
92
Last month, Ace Tester Miles experienced a less-than-inspiring ride on aMoto Guzzi V7 combination. This time,David Brindley faresrather better…
Frank’s seemingly endless wrestling with the BSA’s simple wiring harness replacement continues. One day we’re sure it will be complete. Ornot…
AYAMAHAPROJECT ................................... 76
Odgie had enough bikes. Odgie didn’t have any room for any more bikes. Odgie alreadyhad three bikes too many. The last thing Odgie neededwas another bike. Odgie bought anotherbike…
WHO’SDONE WHAT
IT’S AUGUST ALREADY! Andhere’sissue 256 of RealClassic magazine just to proveit. As usual, RealClassic is hammered together by Rowena Hoseason and Frank Westworthofthe Cosmic Bike Co Ltd. Sanjayand Arun at Druck Media ar tistically arrange images and text to create per fect pages,while Kelsey MediaLtd (01507 529529) managepublishing, trade advertising, your subscriptions,special ofers,merchandise andbackissues.Isthe heatwaveoveryet?
READ HEAPS MORE about old bikes at www. Real-Classic.co.uk
That ’s whereyou’ll fnd outfull eventslist forthe rest of the year,plus showreports, news,and sneaky small-adpreviewstoo…
TRADE ADVERTISERS forthe magazine or websiteshould call Leon Currieon01507 529465 or email lcurrie@mor tons.co.uk
EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES should be senttoFrank@ RealClassic.netortoPOBox 66,Bude EX239ZX
Please include an SAE if youwantsomething returned or apersonal reply
SUBSCRIPTION INFO is on pg98. Call 01507 529529 to subscribe or renew or buyback issues
SUBS QUERIES,latedeliveries or changes of address should be directedto01507 529529, or email subscriptions@realclassic net
ALL MATERIAL in RealClassic is copyrightits authors,soplease contactusbeforereproducing anything.RealClassic is printedbyAcorn Web Ofset LtdofNormanton. OurISSN is 1742-2345
THIS MONTH we’vebeen reading ICE TOWN by Will Dean (the only waytocool down in July wasbyreading Nordicnoir arctic adventures); THE WAITING by Michael Connelly (a Harry Bosch cold- case investigation); THE SENTINEL by (in theor y) LeeChild (like Jack Reacher only not), THE SIGNAL and EARTH SONGby Nick Cook (enter tainingly daftscif), and FAREWELL, AMETHYSTINE by Walter Mosley (truly bleak but brilliantnoir detective tale)…
MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES we sawthe new SUPERMAN on the big screen and it wasactually aspify giggle; boggled at THE CAGE which is the frst Venezuelan sci-f movie; thoughtECHO fell fat, even with the wonder ful Wilson Fisk;endured CAPRICAand can see whyitwas cancelledafter half aseason, andthoroughly enjoyedINHUMANS which seemstostar aspeechless version of Captain Pike…
RealClassic is published monthlybyKelsey Media Ltd, Horncastle,LN9 6JR, UK
FROM THE FRONT
Aminor –and probably very silly –preoccupation of mine is to obser ve how manytimes my motorcycling friends discuss the weather.This is especially entertaining on Facebook,which is the only form of social media Ican tolerate. Lots of riders from all over the world–the glor yofa trulyinternational and border-hopping community– endlessly discuss their weather. Not as much as they discuss their cats and motorcycles,obviously enough, butit’sstill a global topic,plainly
Some of the exchanges aretruly entertaining,too,ranging from insanely inappropriately captioned photos of bikes in extreme weather,via riders dressed insanely inappropriately,all the waytoriders who under take insanely inappropriate journeys on oftenunsuitable machines.Actually,most motorcycles aremorecapable than their riders of enduring unexpectedly challenging weather,but Istill gazeinamazement at riders of small capacity commuting lightweights traversing impossibly muddy terrain high in faraway mountain ranges.I would love to claim thatI’m jealous… but thatwouldbealie.
Icer tainlyadmireand even envy their determination, and indeed oftenoferdistant digital encouragement, but while chatting with my friend Ian about his epicmost-ofEurope by RoyalEnfeld Himalayanitdawned on me thatIdidn’t fanc ydoing it one little bit.Iwas initially surprisedbythis,not to sayalittle disappointedinmyself,asIhave alwaysenjoyeddecently lengthytrundles –but only around the UK ,tobehonest.I’d long promised myself thatassoon as Ireached thatcer tain age (if indeed Imanaged it!) Iwould take along timeof, away from computer screens and deadlines,and plan –and subsequently ride,ofcourse –all over mainland UK .
Ipassed many, manycomfor tablehours pondering which machine I’dtake.Would it beanold one? We have acouplewhich would be morethan up to the journey,and several RC readers already putinheroic mileages aboardold –and small –models Or –morelikely in my ownfeeble case –would Isurrender and take the moremodern machine,with its electric boot,ABS and decentwaterproof luggage? Hmmm.
Thepointofthis cheer yramble is that as my touring aspirations somehow assumed less impor tance, so our shared preoccupation with all things two-wheeled immediately expanded in adiferent direction. Same fascination, diferent goals.Tobestraightfor ward about it,I’m increasingly attractedtoachievable targets and am steadily abandoning ventures which aremost likely to result in unhappiness, failureand disappointment. Motorc ycling in all its manyforms isa per fect preoccupation –atleast,itisfor me.Imay not head east to the far ther fringes of Europe aboardan overloaded 24bhp single,nor to the very furthest nor thernlimits of mainland Nor way on a1970s three -pot sidecar outft,but instead I’maiming to work my wayaround a stack of culturallandmarks (castles,fsh’n’chip outlets,Travelodges) all around the UK –avoiding motor ways ever ywhereit’ssensibly possible
Given my usual speed and efcienc y, this could see outthe decade.I wonderwhat the weather ’s like in the nor th of Scotland in Februar y? Hmmm…
Andride safely
Frank Westworth
Frank@realclassic.net
Bullnose Bulldog!
A1927 Sunbeamracer for the road?
Alan Cathcar thas fartoo much fun…
Photos by Kyoichi Nakamura
Likemanyearly British motorcycle marques,Sunbeam’s antecedents date back to its origins as abic ycle manufacturer–though thatinfactonly came about because cycling wasthe companyowner ’s hobby!
TwiceMayor of Wolverhampton, John Marston wasa pillar of civic societyinVictorian England,asowner ofthe largest japanning factory in the Black Countr y. This wasa local specialitycomprising aformof Oriental-inspired metal fnishing then popular forvarious household tablewareand other metalwork, which wasdulyreplaced by enamelling and,later,electroplating.Marston wasakeen cyclist,soalmost inevitably he beganbuilding his ownbic ycles using his frm’sjapanning treatmenttoimpar tafnished lustretothem. Apparently his wifeEllen sawone of his early bikes leaning against awallwith its polished frame glinting in the sunshine,leading her to suggest he called his bic ycle –eSunbeam…
Thename stuck,soMarston’s Wolverhampton factory wasrenamed Sunbeamland,and in 1877 he began mak ing bic ycles commercially, with an emphasis on high build quality, reliabilityand cleanliness, impar tedbythe chain being fully enclosed and running in oil
As it did with Sunbeam’s greatrival Humber,the adventofthe internal combustion engine mighthavequick ly led to Sunbeam branching into motorcycles,but in factJohnMarston disliked them, and frst diversifed into cars in 1899. But he then became uneasy at howmuch capital wasneeded to pursue the market for motorised four-wheel conveyances,and duly foatedSunbeam carsofasa separate company.
Then, bowing to the inevitableatthe age of 76, in 1912 his core business JohnMarston Ltd. produced its frst Sunbeam motorcycle, a350ccside-valvesinglemade almost entirely in-house,followedby ange of 500ccsingles and afew V-twins. Theseall used chain fnal efromthe very frst –Marston’slatestartmeanthis bikes missed out belt-drive era-and like Sunbeam bicycles were built to ahigh level of quality, invariably fnished in asober black liverywith gold-leaf pinstriping. To provehis products’ worthunder the most arduous of conditions, Marston sanctioned an intensivecampaignofracing,including
in the Isle of Manwherelocal rivalA JS, from the same Midlands town that wasahotbed of early British motorcycle manufacturing, made its markbywinningthe 1914 Junior TT Butlocalrider Howard R. Davies dead-heated for2nd placeinthatyear ’s Senior TT on a Sunbeam in the marque’s IoM debut,before founding his ownT T-winning HRDconcern alsoinWolverhampton, which in 1928 duly became HRD-Vincent.
In 1920 TommydelaHay went onebetter to record Sunbeam’s debut Island victory –the frst of six winsonthe Mountain Course during thatdecade.Inthe 1920s Sunbeams were racedsuccessfully alloverEurope, establishing themarque on theinternational racing map,much as the frm’sfour-wheeled equivalenttoBentley wasdoing in cars,while following asimilar conser vativeengineering philosophymatchedbyhigh build quality and fast yetrobust,reliable per formance.
John Marston passed away in 1918, aged 82, just as the First WorldWar ended (during which Sunbeam motorcycles were used by the victorious Russian and French Armies), andhis business wasultimatelyacquired in 1919 by Nobel Industries,aBritish company founded by Swedish chemistAlfredNobel, the inventor of dynamite, andlater founder of the Nobel Prizeawards.
Nobel did well by Sunbeam, pouring substantial investmentintoSunbeamland, including new machiner yand extended foor spacewhich allowedannual production to grow to apeak of 2500 bikes by 1930, built by atotalworkforce of 600 people,all of the motorcycles being high qualitymachines in keeping with the Marston mantra. Such were the attributes of Sunbeam’s roadster models thatthey were dubbed the ‘Gentleman’s Motorc ycle’, although Sunbeams repeatedly wonGrand Prix racesall over Europe,aswell as those six Isle of Manvictories,including four Senior TT wins.Comparing thatto the up to 35,000 bikes per year produced just across town by the 3000-strong AJS workforce, givesa sense of Sunbeamland’s morefocused operation.
De la Hay’s1920 Senior TT win was obtained with along-stroke side -valve model,aswas his teammate butbitter rival Alec Bennett ’s victory in the 1922 eventwith asimilar bike –the last win forany side -valve machine inthe IoM TT races. Similar bikes equipped various riders from all over Europe, and especially Italy, who rode Sunbeams to successiveGrand Prix victories in the early Twenties.But then in 1923 Sunbeam designer John Greenwood –himself an able rider who scored many successes in Road
Trials and the like –producedOHV 350 / 500ccengines fora worksteamnow headed by newly-appointedCompetition Manager, Graham Walker.
These weren’timmediately successful, leading him to develop an overhead- cam version in 1925, incorporating aver tical shaftand bevel gears like its laterrival the CS1 Nor ton. Walker nick namedthis cammy Sunbeam the ‘Crocodile’, afterthe reptile named Tick-Tock in PeterPan which bit of Captain Hook ’s hand and also swallowedhis alarmclock,hencethe tick-tock sound which Walker said the OHC Sunbeam’s valvegear reminded him of! But despitecopious testing by ateam headed by factory tester and sprintracing titan George Dance, this failed to make an immediatemark, and the design wasswiftly dropped in favour of the more potentand by nowreliable OHV design.
So from 1926 onwardsSunbeam focused entirely on its OHV dr ysump motor, measuring 80 x98mm fora capacityof 493cc, with the oil tank mountedonthe rear upper frame tube to provide force-fed lubrication to the conrod’s small end, the cams,the enclosed rocker armpins,and the valvestems.The cast-iron cylinderand twin-por thead were tightly attachedto the aluminiumcrankcases via four robust
The ‘Gentleman’s Motorcycle’. Really?
SUNBEAM TT MODEL
IN THEENGINEROOM
Twosides of asingularengine.OHV,with exposedvalve springsand pushrods,aswell assome remarkableplumbing
studs,with the twin parallel hollowpushrods open to the elements on the rightofthe cylinder housing,achain driven ML magneto supplying the sparks, adual oil pump driven of the rightend of the crank,and ahandchange 3-speed gearboxwith oil-bathclutch and chain primar ydrive
Theestablished open- cradle tubular steel Sunbeam frame it wasmountedinhad twin upper tubes sandwiching the long,fat-sided fuel tank,which originally had its twofront corners chamfered away to make spacefor the Sunbeam-made Druid-typeforkwith check springs /side dampers,toturn. But the 1927 customer version of the worksracer, named the TT Model 90 in referencetothe topspeed it wasguaranteedtoattain, had its fuel capacity extended to 2½ gallons by dint of flling out the frontcornersofthe tank into arounded shape.This immediately ledtoit being christened the ‘Bullnose’Sunbeam –a popular nick name forthe well-likedMorris Oxford car,with its distinctiveround-topped bullet-nosed radiator.
TheSunbeam factory riders essentially racedspecially-prepared versions of the customer Model 90’s350ccequivalent,the Model 80, and during 1927-30 theybecame almost unbeatable at the highest levelof GP racing.Success fowedreadily to them in the 500ccclass (the 350cc counterpar t wasnever as successful, perhaps because all the resourcesofa relatively small racing depar tmentwerelavished on the Senior machine), and in the hands of frst Graham Walker and then Charlie Dodson, several Grand Prix victories,aswell as twomore Senior TT wins,came their way.
In the frst of these,in1928, Dodson predatedMikeHailwood by nearly forty years in winning the Senior TT aftercrashing at Kepple Gate while leading the race,then remounting to continue,only to be brought down asecond timebythe looserear stand. Back in the saddleonceagain, he passedhis former teammate Graham Walker’sbrokendown Rudge tenmiles from the fnish fora sterling victory.After atruesaga like that, George Formby ’s No Limit movie doesn’t seem so unlikely afterall –and the ‘Rainbow ’ machines the LancashireLad rode in the flm had an uncommonly similar tongue -in- cheek name to ‘Sunbeam’…
ThediminutiveDodson repeated his Senior TT win in 1929, also doubling up both years in the Belgian GP at Spa, having also taken victory in the ’28 German GP at the new Nürburgring,and the ’29 French GP at Le Mans.I talian ’Beam riders scored
multiple wins in threesuccessiveyears192729 in the gruelling Circuitodel Lario,aka the ‘I talian TT ’, and four years in arow from 1926-29 in the Italian GP at Monza. Especially notable wasfutureAlfa Romeo andAuto Union GP car racerAchille Varzi, four times aSunbeam team member in theIsle of Man with abest fnish of 7th in the 1926 Senior TT Varziwon thatyear ’s Italian GP at Monza on his returnhome,and then afterwinningthe Lario eventin1929smashed the lap record in winning theMonzaGPagain, allonaModel 90. But the efects of theDepressionwereas keenly felt at Sunbeam as elsewhereinthe British motorcycle industr y, and 1930 wasthe last year in which aworks team wasrun.
Sunbeam’s refned, discreet,gentlemanly image,coupledwith the proven racewinning per formanceofits models, made it the machineofchoicefor Britain’s professional classes,and thatincluded Scottish solicitor Ralston Dunlop from Ayr, whose interest in Sunbeams began with Sprintmodels,which he racedwith some success in the mid-20s
As 1927 began, he arranged with the Sunbeamdistributors in Glasgowtoobtain aM odel 90 forthatseason, with the proviso thatitmust be ‘a good one’. Graham Walker
took matters in hand,and arranged forthis bike to be ftted with at wo -inch inletvalve, while retaining the stock 111/16 in exhaust, the twoset at an included angle of 90° in the hemispheric combustion chamber Sunbeam wasalso the frst manufac turer to race machines fttedwith hairpin valve springs,duly ftted to this motor.After receiving afnal workover by George Dance, the bike carrying Frame no.D2023 and Engine no.N1014 wasfrst registered on 29.3.1927 with reg.no.GD6247, and was widely believed to be the fastest Model90 in the countr yatthe time
Af te ra succe ssf ul ser ies of Spr in to utin gs with his new bike,i nJ ul y1 927 Du nlop ra ce dt he Sunbeam in the Scottish Speed Championship on St .A nd re ws Be ach, whereh ewon the 10-l ap /2 0-mile 500cc ra ce,b ro adsiding to vic to ry against su ch ri va ls as futu re GP st ar Jimmie Guthr ie on a wo rk sN ew Hudson. In 1928 Du nlop ra is ed the co mpression from 9:1 to 10:1 and fitted the nowcompul sor yB ro ok land se xha us t cans,b ut as he ex plained in a1 941 le tter to al ater ow ner of the ’B eam, ‘W hile poss ibl y faster,t he bike nowh ad ah abit of shak in g to pieces! Th ev al ve over lap wa ss uch th at therew as ve ry littl ep ower bel ow 3000r pm.
I wa sr un ni ng other machines in tr ials at this time,a nd Iu sed the ‘90’ on the ro ad hardly at all.Ia ma shamed to sayi td id a spel lo na dir tt ra ck beforeI par te dw ith it .’ Shame,i ndeed!
Stepping back from racing,Dunlop removedthe AMAC twin foat1 -inch carbit had been supplied with and ftted asmaller one forroad use in Scotland.Hefollowedthe whole 1928 Scottish SixDaysTrial with the Sunbeam, despiteitnot being ftted with a kickstar t, so he had to bump star titintolife ever ytime he rode it!
TheModel 90 then migratedsouth to Rawland Smith, aLondon dealer in Hampstead NW3, whenceitwas bought in Februar y1929 for100 guineas by Leslie Stiles,who had read about the Sunbeam in TheMotor Cycle week ly,and how‘it had wonthe speed eventatStAndrews, and wasreckoned to be the best bike of the day.’ Stiles returned it to race trim, and metwith a reasonable amountofsuccess at local events, running with shor tcopper straight-through exhaust pipes,beforeselling it at the endof thatyear to adealer in Bushey, Her ts
It wassoon purchased by aFrederick Hofmann, who used it hard but unlovingly for the next twoyears,beforeitwas acquired in
HISTORYINPICTURE S
Mario Colomboenroutetovictory in the 1928 CircuitodiLuino( VA)inItaly on his Model 90
Februar y1932 by ArthurBourne,editorof The Motor Cycle magazine for25yearsuntil 1951, then adirectorofthe publishers,Ilife,until
1967. In short, he wasasubstantial fgurein the golden age of British motorcycling,who wroteunder the ‘Torrens’pseudonym.
Bourne boughtthe Sunbeam privately in February 1932, andappears to have ridden it regularly,featuring it in aseries of
Howard Davies with the Sunbeam on which he tiedwith Oliver Godfrey andhis Indianfor second placeinthe SeniorT T
Achille VarziatIsle of Manwith SOHC Sunbeam500 ‘Crocodile’ in 1925
Charlie Dodson on Model 90 in 1928
thirty weekly articles during 1934-35on ‘Overhauling aSeven-year-old-Thoroughbred’ He intended to restoreitwhen he retired, and in factdismantled it ready to do so,but
IN CONTROL
by 1973 concluded thatarthritis had got the better of him,sodecided to dispose of it
Fulflling apromise made in 1941 to Ralston Dunlop of ofering him frst refusal if
ever it waseversold,hewrote to his Ayrlaw frm, but wasadvised Dunlop had passed away in 1959. So instead,the Model90was acquired in November 1975 by aMr. Thomas in Carmar then, Wales.Hethensold it in 1979 to Bill Page in Yorkshire, who described it as ‘one of the most unmolested examplesof the Model 90’ he’d yetseen. Page restored it sympathetically,and sold it to the Anthony BlightCollection in Cornwall,beforeitwas eventually boughtin2002 by its current owner,investmentbanker John M.H. Summers,then 39 years of age.Hehad the engine overhauled in 2006 by RobKucinsk as at Alec JayMotorcycles in Addlestone,since when it ’s been ridden regularly as well as appearing at manyBrook lands events, and also in the Jersey Motoring Festival’s MoonlightSprintin2009.
Having thirsted to sample aModel90 Sunbeam ever sinceIrodemychum Dennis Wright’sonly slightly less potentModel9 factory prototype at Brands Hatchoverfor ty years ago,itwas apleasure to take up John
Summers’oferofaspin on hisbeautifully fettled and regularly ridden ’Beam –though not this time on aracetrack,but around the leafy lanes of rural Warwickshire.
First,though, Itook along,lingering look of appreciation at whatissurely the most elegant, understatedbut supremely potentlooking package on twowheels from the Vintage era–atrue visual symphonyof speed. Then followed careful mentalnotes while John explained the clutter of controls on the low, fat, slightly pulled back handlebar that youcan’t help but adopta stylish, sporting stanceingrasping,though the riding position is quiteclose -coupled,and thefootrests are higher and set further back than usual on a Vintage -era bike.With a55-inch/1400mm wheelbase, the Sunbeam isn’t as rangy as others of its contemporaries I’ve ridden, and despitethe excellentgripfromthe modern ribbed front3.00 x21AvonSpeedmaster Mk.II and rear 3.00 x19Heidenau rubber, the Sunbeam displayednoground clearance problems in enthusiastic cornering,evenfrom the low-set twin big-boreexhausts.
Theleftbar is the busier of thetwo,with the valvelifterlever at its end,the clutch inboardofit, then thesupplementar yoil lever youmust remember to work ever y so oftenwith your forefngertoadd alittle extralube to the crankshaftassembly.
The piecederesistance is the magnifcent klaxon bulbhornmounted on the leftof the steering head,for both visual efectand practical warning of the Sunbeam’s imminent presence, just in case someone didn’t hear the healthycrack from the twin exhausts
On the right, the longer lever is the choke, the shor terone the ignition control, and the frontbrake lever worksthe surprisingly efective7-inch single leading-shoe drum.
Combined with the slightly larger8-inch SLS rear,this Sunbeam-built duoactually stopped the Model 90 much better than Iwas expecting,evenifyou must still make useofthe valvelifterina panic stop. Still,Iwonder whyittook manyother manufacturers so much longertodevelop brakes thatworked as well as these –though it ’s worthpointing outthatusing the front brake overly hardback then apparently
Suspension andbraking areof their time,wemight say
caused the somewhatfrail Druid fork some strife, with Dodson par ticularlysufering acollapsed frontend on morethan one occasion, despitehis lightweight.
No kickstar teronthis racer-for-the -publichighway, so fring it up dictatesamodicum of retard, selectbottom gear,pull back on compression and engage the valvelifter, then runalongside,start the engine turning over, drop the liftertoarouse asudden crack of the neo-Brooklands fshtail bafe -less exhausts –then leap aboard, and you’re away.Sofar so good, but nowthe problemsbegin.
First of,bottom gear is really low, so it ’s quickly time to change into second –sotime tootorelearn thetechniqueofchanging gear, which becomes second naturewith afootchange. TheSunbeam’s hand-change lever is mountedonthe rightside of the tank –down fordown, up forup: nothing could be simpler, except thatyour righthand is also supposed to be working the throttle! Intrepid aces of the Vintage period doubtless worked hard to per fect theirleft-hand,across the tank, clutchless gearchanges,but to my modern mind,accustomed to having to cope with nothing moredemanding than remembering which foot to use,suchunfamiliar technique is out of the question,especially on someone else’s so valuable machine
Apainfully slowchange into secondthus ensued,with consequentfallingofofrevs, butherethe Sunbeamitself decided to help out thedilettante it wasobliged to car t along Warwickshirelanes foranafternoon There’sa superbspreadofusablepower and torque from as lowas–I’d guess –2000rpm (there’s no ‘revmeter ’) up to aprobablepeak of around 6000 revs,which enables youto get away with very fewgearchanges,and not much slipping of the clutch. Just get it into top(third) gear,and youcan drivecleanly out of most corners with only afractional loss of acceleration to markusing toohigh aratio This is somewhat surprising considering the race spec motor, stillcompete with thesoupspoon sized inlet valveftted whennew,and therac ycams thathelped makethe bike a race -winner in its debut seasononthe sand
Aftera fewmiles Ibegan to get the hang of things,though acleanchange down from thirdtosecondwhile brak ing fora tighterturnstill eluded me fromtime to time.However,asIgained in confdence, theother limitations of what wasstate of the ar tstuf in 1927 grew in impor tance.As youacceleratehardout of asecond gear, of- camber corner,the squarer section of the rear tyre,abetted by the highpressureused,
allowsnowarning of asudden break away, and ahefty slide soon tempered my enthusiasm. Phew!
Also,the rather frail-look ing Druid girder fork tried to tie itself in knots when faced with afast sweeping bend with abump in the middle. Fortunately,Iwasn’tgoing too fast,sothatthe resultanttank-slapper was remedied by simply easing of.Riders of the time must have needed astrong will and plenty of muscle to ride these machines at racing speeds back then.
But in other respects this 98 year-old bike felt unexpectedly moderntoride,breezing comfor tably along at up to 70mph as shown on the digital speedo John has strapped to the handlebar,with whatvibration thereis well contained,and quitesuppor table.The tank pads allowedmetogripthe slim fuel tank with my knees foradded confdence in bends,and the leather-topped Brooks Supple Seat ’s taut but sufcientspringing delivered amodicum of riding comfor talong the way. Therigid frame inevitably meant
thatthe Sunbeam’s rear end skipped slightly in the air over the worst of the Warwickshire roads’bumps,but this wasa capable and exhilarating ride which I’mver ygrateful to John Summers forallowing me to experience. Despitebeing the last fat-tank modelto win aSenior TT,the gruelling 250-mile -plus Grand Prix racesofthe daywould have been easier to tack le with amachine as capable as this one,within the contextofits era. Andwith 31.3bhp on tapatthe rear wheel at 5400rpm according to the dyno run John Summers put the bike through in 2010, there’smorethan sufcientpoketothrill, especially coupled with the ’Beam’s light weight. What alovely motorc ycle.
It ’s believed thatatotal of just ffty Sunbeam Model 90s survivetodayaround the world–26built in 1927 (including this one), and 24 from 1928. Their owners are very fortunate persons –especially if,like John Summers,they also have avintage Bentley spor ts car to keep their Sunbeam companyintheir motor shed!
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5thOctober 2025
Str ictlyfor certifcatedveteran mac hinesmadeupto1915
TheSunbeam MotorCycleClub’sannual Pioneer Run® forveteran motorcycles welcomes owners from anyclub...all youneed is aproperlydated pre-1915 machine. Depart from Epsom andenjoy a wonderful rundownthrough thebeautiful Surrey and Sussexcountryside finishingatthe Historic Ar tDeco Shorehamairport.The Pioneer Run® is aver ypopular eventsopleasesendfor an entr yformnow
2
5th h Octobber 2025
Forvintage mac hines madebetween1915 and 1930
Forthe first time this year andintandemwithThe Pioneer Run® we areinvitingridersofvintage machines dated1915-1930 to enterPioneer Plus.You willstart a littleafter thePioneersbut willfollowthe same routeto thesamedestination.A compulsory (and enjoyable) coffee stop willbemadeatLeonardslee Gardens. We expect this to be aver ypopular addition to thePioneer Run® so please send foranentry form now.
RC readers write, rant and rattle on…
Summattosay?Sendyour comments,hints,tips,tales of woeand derring- don’t to RCHQ@RealClassic.net
RI CK MA NR EV ISI TE D
Back in RC33-35, youpublished the tale of me building my 1987 MkIV MRD Métisse. I’ve alwayshad asoftspot forMétisse specials, havingbeen borninRick man Crescentin Addlestone,and being broughtupona regular diet of Murray Walker’scommentar y of scrambling on BBCGrandstand in the 1960s.SoIwas delightedto see Kenny seatedonhis Métisse on the frontcover of RC254.
Reading Frank ’s ar ticle broughtback happymemories of my nowsadly depar ted bike’s build and subsequentriding.The MRD Métisse wasa greatframe to build –you can stillbuy frames built on the MRD jigs,as they arenow owned by Gerr yLisi’s Métisse Motorc ycles –and therewas certainly no sacrilegiousdrilling of the framerequired My bike slightly diferedfromKenny’s, in thatIopted forRickman Betorforks and
brakes at the front, alonger, braced swinging armatthe rear,and Ikept the zorsts down the left-hand side.FromKenny’sphotos,I reckon I’mprobably aboutthe same height as him. Isee he has adopted the traditional Rick man Sack O’Spuds™ riding position that Iused to employ! In the photohere, you’ll noticemycunning use of afueltank from a Victalawnmower,togivemea reservetank to supplementthe meagre contents of the alloytank!
I’ve still got acoupleofBSAs, in various stages of dismemberment,and my star-ofa-brother recently boughtmea newEnfeld 450 Guerrilla, which is abelter of abike and well worthyou running your rule over fora future feature.
Thank youver ymuch forall your hard work putting together RC.I ts arrivalis eagerly anticipatedand muchappreciated Down Under ever ymonth.
Nigel Green, member
Thanks,Nigel.Good to hear from you! Ipassed your comments about theriding position to Kenny, who chuckled alot. He thought your bikewas truly cool,too! FrankW
Following the ‘Memor yLane’ letter from Mark Butler last month, andyour request fora pictureofGlobe Motorc ycles, here is one with my 750 Bonnie chop fromabout 1984.
Jon Hurst,member
MI NOR MI SH AP S
It waswith amixtureofamusement and an involuntar ynodding of the head thatIread ofPaul Miles’three wheeled adventureinRC255. Hisrather feeble attempt at binning the outftthough left me totallyunimpressed.Ifyou’regoing to do it,doitproperly!
Ithink it ’s fair to saythatmyown efor t wasimmeasurably moresuccessful
John Young,member
Itotally know thefeeling.This picture wastaken beforeCelia and Ilanded upside down at Blue Hills on theLand’sEnd Trial.I missed the photoop, due to an unexpected appointment withA&E,and havebeen distinctly wary of sidecars ever since!
Rowena
WI NG DI NG?
As afanatical Honda owner since1970, the thing thatannoysmethe most is seeing Honda tank badges fxed to the wrong side of the fuel tank.The Honda Wing should always facefor ward when viewed,thatis whythey areleft- andright-handed
In RC 255, ther e’sm or et han one instanc eo ft he wings bei ng the wr ong wa ya ro und .T he Honda CZ1 00 monke y bike is ap er fe ct ex ample of wha tI am on about ,b ut if yo ul ook at page 8 0t he re is a
phot oo ft he tank badges co rr ec tl yf itt ed In th eS mall Ad s, ther e’sab lu eH onda C 72 Dr ea mf or sale ,a lso with the tan kb adge wr ongly fit te d.
They can be ftted to either side of the tank,and the fxing screws areidentical, but thereisonly one correctway.So–Honda owners –please ensure thatthey areftted to the correctside!
BobLivesey, member
RAYG
UN S RE QU IR ED
Just reading the Triumph T150 writeupin RC255. Sorr yFrank,but atriple without rayguns is like aVelocettewithout its fshtail,oraGoldie with asilencer.It’s an abomination beforethe gods of motorcycling andaninsult to the sweat grimed browsofthe metalsmithsof Birmingham thatcreated them!
PeterWebbe,member
Frank,the T150 stor y! When Iwas at BSA Westernwegot the frst Rocket 3 test bike #113, whereisitnow?First impressions,whatabig clunkylooking lump.This waslate1968, then Iwas ‘promoted’toser viceinstructor, and the factory sentovera ftter to SoCaltoshow methe procedurewhen workingon triples.First thing,get an extraworktable to spreadout allthe bits.Thankfully NV called and IbecameaPooreboy.
Ithink the nicest looking triples were the T160 and the BSA counterpart. Idid all the riding forthe photosinthe US sales brochures; like the Mountain Cub, they fnally get the bikeright and then can it
Many years laterIcame across alarge wooden crate, when openeditwas the T150 styling kit, packed with wool –wool thatwas in ever ywhereincluding the gas tank!
Stop printing these memoriesorIwill be having nightmares!
Brian Slark,member
ST IC KY GR IP PE RS
RC253 has an interesting letter about rear wheel grip.The knowledgeableRoger Slaterwrote about days of yore and his ser vicein the REME andthe wonder ful spor toftrials riding.Heobser vedthe obvious lack of grip the Triumph TRW twins had compared to theMatchless G3Ls.All per fectly true back then when twin cylinder four-strokes couldnot fnd the necessar ygripfor slippery conditions.
As Roger points out,this wasdue to gaps in the fringstrokes of singlec ylinder engines that alwayswon theday.Rowena also made mentionofBig Bang engines changing thefring intervals to gain more grip,and this worked well on theracing four-cylinder Grand Prix two-strokes
Thefriendly and helpful AA andRAC men alwayssuggested usinga higher gear in slipper yconditions likesnowfall, to obtain moregripatthe driving wheels of your car.I tworks –but why?AsRoger pointsout,it’sthe gaps between the fring points thathelp eliminatewheel spin.
When the piston is at TDCand thespark plug fres themixture, an enormously powerful pulse travels from the piston down through the connecting rodto the
TO PT IP
crankshaft. This is just ashock wave in name and continuesonits aggressivejourney to the primar ytransmission, then through the gearboxand out again. But it ’s not fnished yetasthis shock wave hits the rear chain and then the rear wheel hub.
Allthis aggression fnally gets transferred into your rear tyre and manifests itself as a snatchatthe tyre contactpatch,tryingits utmosttobreak much needed traction. So... ahigher gear will have less powerpulses (or fring intervals) going to the tyre contact patchper revolution of the rear wheel Simples
These days,Triumph unit twin- cylinder motorbikes aresomeofthe most competitivetrials irons available in pre-65 events,beating the single cylinder bikes on manyoccasions.But howdothey do it? Well it ’s all down to modernfexible and very stickytrials tyresgiving fantastic grip in any conditions.This hasreducedany advantage the heavy fywheeled single -cylinder fourstrokes had.The most moderntrials bikes arenearly all two-strokes except fortwo manufacturers; Montesa /Honda and Beta. Another question nowarises.How do the moderntwo -strokes all grip so well? Delicate engineers should nownot read any fur ther to avoidhur tfeelings.Tosmooth the modernlightfywheel engine,itis necessar ytobealmost constantly slipping your clutch, especially during sk ittish going
Ihad an unfortunate experience on my newbike. Ayoung lad knocked it over and caused quitea bitofdamage. Luckily,heowned up and took responsibilityfor the damage.The problem wasthatparts have to be ordered and the lead time to get the repair done is long!
In an efor ttokeep mobileIdid afew temporar y repairs usingAbroSteel Putty, as seen here.Reallyeasy to use,just cut of apiece, knead to mix,mould and shape.Easy to carry in atool roll!
Phil Archer,member
This has the efectofcushioning those power pulses somewhatlike afuid fywheel or torque conver ter. This techniqueI had to learnquickly! Abusing aclutchinthis way hur ts an engineer ’s feelings,but if youdon’t comply then youwill lose rear grip in slipper y conditions.
If youattend apre -65 trial these days, you’ll noticethatthe sidevalveTriumph twins do have moregripthan most.The reason Isurmise is the softerpower of a sidevalveTRW combined with modern sticky tyres. That eliminatesmost of their bygone disadvantages from the ‘real’GoodOld Days
Dave Blanchard,member
This sounds sensible enough, Dave.Thankyoufor explaining it to us non- engineers! FrankW
WH AT ’S CO MING UP IN THE AU TO JU MB LE CA LE ND AR ?
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FI ERY FLYI NG
Iw as q u i te tick led by the wr ite- up of th e Vi ncen tFirefly by Al an Ca thcar ti nR C254. Back i nt he ear ly 1960s,Iw as as we et yo ung th in g (or maybe ju st ayoung thing!) and purch as ed ap ro jec tb ic yc le from af ri end fo rt he va st su m of te ns hillings.A fu rt her purchase incl uded a tin of silver aluminium pain ttocover th er at he r s c ra tc hed fr ame and twos ets of br ake blocks Af te ral ittle spa nner ing Ih ad ab ike th at wo rk ed!
Iwas then ofereda clip -onengine from another friend forthe sum of £1 andten shillings.My pocket money in those days wasfve shillings per week so it took alittle saving to get the necessar y wherewithal.
Ilater discovered,written on the sides of motor, the words‘ Vincent’ and ‘Firefy ’. Aftera lot of puzzling,and some morespannering,the engine wasdulyftted and amixture of two-stroke of some unk nown nature wasadded to the tank Nothing happened. Icleaned the plug,cleaned the carband then had abit of inspiration…
Ihad acan ofmodel aeroplane fuel of dubious age and qualit y, and thiswas dulyaddedtothe mix. Ipushed themachine to the topofour drive, about 75 yardslong,threw my leg over the saddle and pedalled furiously. Suddenly,power!
Within secondsI had reached thedizz yheights of 15mph. Therewas afenceatthe bottom: I needed to stop.Ipulled the brakes on hard. Cling! Cling! Thebrake blocks popped out –Ihad ftted them the wrong wayround! Thefenceprovided adequate if rather sudden brak ing and thefront wheel and forkstook the strain.
TheFirefy waslater scrapped and the engine sold forwhatIpaid forit. My time as aVincent owner wasall toobrief,but it ’s agood atale to earnmedrinks from my not-so -impressedfriends in the future!
Chris Taylor,member
It is plain that we need moremicro-Vincents in RC They ’rerare, though… FrankW
SE RV IC ESTA RS
Could Inominate Paul Henshawfor aser vice star? Itook the wheels frommyNor tonModel 7 across to him fora rebuild on aFriday. He rang me the following Wednesday, all completed and spot on. Andthatwas afterhetolditmightbea while! Greatser vice.
Glyn Philips,member
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An unplanned coming together resulted in my bike’s bar-end mirrorbeing clouted and losing the glass.IpurchasedareplacementfromHalcyon’s website, but found when it arrivedthatthe mirror spring wasnot included.Irang Andy at Halcyon on Fridayand he sent one which Ireceived afew dayslater
They don’t carry the spring as aspareonthe website, so makesureyou ask forone if you need it.Ik nowwhich mirrors aregoing on my Triton!
Alan Smith, member
Iwould like to nominate RayWilliams Motorc ycles of Pembrokeshirefor agold ser vicestar.Ienquiredabout awindscreen on Wednesdaynightat10.08pm and received a positiveresponse less than tenminuteslater.On Thursdaymorning Iordered the windscreen with the bonusofa discount voucher which appeared in my inboxovernight… and it wasdelivered to me in Scotland on Friday! Outstanding ser vice. Also amention forFootman James Insurance. I called to have amachine removedfrommymultivehicle policyand another one added on.The entiretransaction wascompleted in 11 minutes Excellentser vicewhich is alwaysappreciated.
George Gunn, member
MO RE TH AN ON EWAY TO SK IM AM ON OB LO C…
In RC255, Neil Cairns relays aproblem with his Monobloc carb, and the foodingthatoccurs when the bikehas been standingawhileand the fuel evaporates allowingthe foattodrop. Then later, when turning on the fuel tap,‘extreme fooding’occurs. Neil explained that thefoatcan stick on thebottomscrew casting which retains the foat chamber cover. Yesitcertainlydoes –I wroteabout this manyyears ago.
In the photo, the lowerpar tofthe foat canbeseenver yclose to the casting and it would appear the casting is toothick –but this isn’t the real problem.This issue happened regularly on my wifeSue’s 5TA Speed Twin which wasftted with the correct 375 Amal Monobloccarburettor.The Speed Twin wasseen in RC47 back in 2008 and had the exactfault Neil describes At frstthe stick ing foat curewas elusive, but Idid discover the cause eventually Those black plastic Amal foats do not like anyethanolpetrol. When immersed in this type of petrol,the foat expands across its diameter –just enough to cause this exact problem. Iconfrmed my diagnosis by submerging abrand new,old stock black
plastic foat in ajam-jar half-flled with E5 for aweek.After seven days it had increased in various dimensions too. Then Ileftthe foat to dr yfor another week and it reducedin size. Aver yelusiveproblem indeed!
My quick fx wastoreplacethe plastic foat with an old brass one Ihad.Problem cured However, ethanol will attack brass over time, so buy one of the stay-up ethanol-proof foats thatare available
Don’tforget thatthe little pimple -shaped dot on the foat chamber coverindicates the correctfuel level forthe Monobloc.If youhavea sparenut thatcovers the main jet at the bottom of the carbbody,then you can solder acopper pipe into it and attach aplastic fuel pipe to make an ‘easily visible’ gauge thatshows the petrol level.Alwaysrun this pipe up the side of the carbbody in line with the centre of the slide chamber when check ing the petrol level.
When youthink youhavegot the fuel level correct, still with the level check ing pipe in place, runthe engine to check again. Sometimes the momentumofthe reciprocating engine’s piston will vibratethe
TA KI NG TH EAYR
TheScottish Classic Motorc ycle Showwas held on Saturday 14th June.The day dawned and wasdisappointingly wet. Theshowisheldin themainfunctionroom of AyrRacecourse so thatweatherwas notasbig aproblem as it could have been.
Theexhibits arearranged in rosettes in the centre of the room, with fur ther bikes arranged aroundthe edges.These displays rantomorethan 100 machines covering all decades up to 2010, includingroadgoing and competition machines
Alex George wasthe guest ofhonour and wasinter viewed several times duringthe day, whilemingling with visitors in between those sessions.
When breaks in the weather permitted, three arena rides were heldwhichallowedthe showgoers achancetosee,hear andsmellvarious bikes.These ranged from a‘pack-away’moped to the three-cylinder racer, ‘Son of Sam’.Everyone wastaken careofwith plenty of food and beverages –includingice cream!
foatneedle alittle,raising the levelslightly Ioncemade aPerspexfoatchamber cover butthe visibilitywasn’tasgood as expected. One last recommendation is to make surethe bike is vertical whencheck ing, because the main jet and needle jetare not concentric to the foat chamber.The AMAL Concentric carburettor came later, of course!
Dave Blanchard,member
Facilities were second to none and there were plenty of trophies forvarious classes to be vied for. My own1974 Honda CB175 was awarded the class winner forthe 1970-75 best foreignmotorcycle.All prizes were presented by Alex George.
TheAyr Classic Motorcycle Club hoststhis event every year,and it runs like awell-oiledmachine.I am already looking forwardtonextyear
Robert Finan, member
It wasa brilliantshow, shame aboutthe horrendous weather on the waythereand back with torrential rain and fooding.Nothing the organisers coulddoabout that, but the AyrClassic shownever disappoints.Afantastic range of interesting machines.
Not fun cleaning bikes beforetaking them, then again at theshowastheyweretotally coveredin road spray grime,thenagain oncewegot home.
MarionThirsk,member
