This handsome Sunbeam S8 was a pleasure to look at and to ride - and when it broke down on a test, the owner could fix it at the roadside. That's practical.
Andrew Chapman is a tall, calm, good-humored man. At his workshop outside Farnham, Foxwood Motorcycle R & R, he fettles, repairs and restores postwar Sunbeam S7/S8s, as well as Ariel singles and twins. As a one-man-band, I imagine the calmness comes in handy. With an engineering background that began with his work as an aerodynamic designer with Hawker Aircraft, he's been running Foxwood for five-and-a-half years.
One of his clients is long-distance, high-mileage Ariel rider Steve Carter, whose FH 650 'Black Fly' featured in TCM, February 2019. And five years ago it was Steve who sold Andrew this black 1952 S8, which was in bits at the time. "I just said `I'll have it," Andrew recalled. "I knew nothing about Sunbeams, but I wanted another classic to go with my Ariel VH 500cc single."
His pal Steve laughed: "It was a heap of rubbish so I sold it to a friend!" The S8, for which Andrew retains the buff log book, had first been registered in Hampshire, where its ownership had gone back and forth between two brothers. "The engine was well-worn: said Andrew, "so I've stripped it often, to fix minor problems. The motor is due for a complete rebuild, but I don't want to restore the machine as a whole and make it too good to use, as I ride it quite a lot."
So with Steve in attendance, as we set off into the local lanes for our test, I thought about the postwar Sunbeams.
The Sunbeam also rises
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av The Classic MotorCycle.
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Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av The Classic MotorCycle.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Runs should be fun
The club run is an integral part of the old motorcycle scene. During 2020, a variation on the usual theme emerged, enabling people to ride in the company of like-minded souls.
Hybrid chicken
BSA Bantams come in many forms, and the ability to interchange parts between different models permits an almost endless number of variants.
Green WITH ENVY
Life aboard a 1950s 350cc British single is perhaps as good and as uncomplicated as it can get.
Worth the wait
Captivated by sight of one as a small boy, finally our man has the chance to try an NSU Max.And a ‘Spezial’ one at that…
The Motorcycle: DESIGN, ART AND DESIRE
The concluding part of a two-part feature, in which the history of motorcycle evolution is examined and a new book’s author interviewed.
Cream rises
There were several ‘star performers’ at Bonhams’ winter sale, as the choice machines achieved huge sums.
The Giant of Provence
With so few events to report from, it’s time to look back over a spectacular French event and look forward to its hopeful resumption.
Store cupboard special
A big box of presents? Must be Christmas! More deliveries keep the project on track.
By 1929, CJP Dodson was a bona fide top level road racer, pretty much unbeatable on the sand, too.
The diminutive Charlie Dodson was the last man to win a TT, the 1928 Senior, on a ‘flat-tank’ machine, then the next year became the first (and only) winner of a TT on a saddle tank Sunbeam, as well as recording the last ever success in the Island for the Marston maker.
Cassandra the Canadian Commando
After landing a new job and with time on his hands, a young man in Vancouver decided to restore a British motorcycle considerably older than him.
