Beschreibung:

Sunbeam had begun experimenting with overhead valves on their factory racers in the early 1920s, and these duly appeared on production models in 1924. The new 500 roadster was known as the Model 9 while its race bike counterpart, which could top 90mph, was accordingly designated the Model 90. The John Greenwood design was advanced for its day, with a specification that included a crankshaft supported by three ball-bearings, dry-sump lubrication and primary drive enclosed in a cast alloy chaincase. The overhead-valve Model 9’s frame and cycle parts, which had much in common with those of the larger side-valve models, evolved slowly. Sunbeam missed the industry’s virtually wholesale switch from flat-tank to saddle-tank frames for the 1928 season, and a saddle-tank Model 9 did not appear until September of that year. Changes to the engine were confined mainly to its top-end. The early flat-tankers featured a straight-ahead exhaust port, a peculiarity which necessitated the adoption of a bifurcated down-tube. Later on in the 1920s Sunbeam followed the then-fashionable trend to twin-port ’heads before reverting to a single-port design. Pushrod enclosure had arrived by 1930 to be followed a couple of years later by partial enclosure of the rocker gear. This Model 9 had been stored in a dismantled state for 15 years when it was purchased in 1998 by the current owner. The latter then restored the Sunbeam to its former glory, entrusting the repainting of the ‘tinware’ to Gatefield Classics. Used for Sunday rides since completion, the machine is presented in good condition throughout and offered with old-style logbook and Swansea V5 registration document.