A wartime design by Erling Poppe, the Sunbeam inline twin was introduced by BSA, owners of Sunbeam Cycles Limited, in 1947. A luxury tourer inspired by the pre-war BMW, it was of advanced specification with overhead-camshaft engine, shaft drive and plunger rear suspension. The clutch housing and four-speed gearbox bolted directly to the back of the engine, which was rubber mounted in the duplex loop frame, an innovation that required a flexible joint in the exhaust system ahead of the silencer. The first S7 version was equipped with balloon tyres, a feature not carried over to the deliberately more conventional, and also lighter and cheaper, S8 introduced in 1949. The front fork and 7” brake were now standard BSA components, and there were numerous other changes made in the interests of rationalisation. Never as popular as BSA’s more performance orientated models, the gentlemanly S7 and S8 remained in production until 1957. This Sunbeam S7 was purchased in February 2006 from Harry Ingham, of Todmorden, Lancashire (sales receipt on file) and carries a tax disc that expired in April 2007, almost certainly the last occasion it was licensed for the road. The machine is offered with (copy) spare parts list, sundry invoices and a selection of owner’s and workshop manuals. The Swansea V5C had not been found at time of cataloguing; however, the tax disc should enable a new one to be obtained.
A wartime design by Erling Poppe, the Sunbeam inline twin was introduced by BSA, owners of Sunbeam Cycles Limited, in 1947. A luxury tourer inspired by the pre-war BMW, it was of advanced specification with overhead-camshaft engine, shaft drive and plunger rear suspension. The clutch housing and four-speed gearbox bolted directly to the back of the engine, which was rubber mounted in the duplex loop frame, an innovation that required a flexible joint in the exhaust system ahead of the silencer. The first S7 version was equipped with balloon tyres, a feature not carried over to the deliberately more conventional, and also lighter and cheaper, S8 introduced in 1949. The front fork and 7” brake were now standard BSA components, and there were numerous other changes made in the interests of rationalisation. Never as popular as BSA’s more performance orientated models, the gentlemanly S7 and S8 remained in production until 1957. This Sunbeam S7 was purchased in February 2006 from Harry Ingham, of Todmorden, Lancashire (sales receipt on file) and carries a tax disc that expired in April 2007, almost certainly the last occasion it was licensed for the road. The machine is offered with (copy) spare parts list, sundry invoices and a selection of owner’s and workshop manuals. The Swansea V5C had not been found at time of cataloguing; however, the tax disc should enable a new one to be obtained.
Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!
Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.
Create an alert