Have you ever experienced that sinking feeling that your new bike ain’t quite what it was cracked up to be? That all is not well in the Garden of Eden? That you may have been blessed with a bit of a pup? David Charrington could have been forgiven for thinking terrible things back in 2005, after he’d paid £2400 for what appeared to be a restored Sunbeam S8.
‘It looked in good condition,’ says David. ‘The frame, tinware and paintwork was good’ …but… ‘just about everything else was wrong! On my initial outings it constantly broke down. It broke down on the way back from a show and it took a year to sort it out and get it running again.’ Oh dear. Not quite up to the proud boast of BSA that ‘students of engineering will appreciate the brilliance of this mechanical masterpiece’.
David’s Sunbeam was first registered in 1952, roughly half way through the S8’s production span. If you want to read the full background to the Sunbeam’s history and more details of its S7 counterpart then scuttle off and order a back copy of RC49. Briefly, the Sunbeam was BSA’s attempt to build a gentleman’s motorcycle under the banner of an upmarket brand. Cyril Ayton described the unit construction S7 as ‘a big stride towards an ideal frequently advocated but, when realised or even approached, seldom bought by motorcyclists who were extremely conservative in their two-wheeled tastes.’ The S7 was ‘quiet and sedate’, neither of which helped sales, although it did offer ‘outstanding’ rider comfort. So from 1949 the outlandish S7 was joined by the more conventional, lighter and less costly to produce S8. The S8’s output of 25bhp at 5800rpm was good enough to propel its 405lb to nigh-on 85mph. These days, its frugal fuel economy of 70mpg is probably more relevant to the classic rider
The S7’s funny front end was replaced with a standard BSA fork assembly and a 19-inch front wheel. Sleek fold-back levers disappeared and normal ones arrived. The cantilevered saddle vanished to be replaced by a spring-mounted seat. A new cast aluminium silencer gave the S8 rather more aural impact than the S7 and contributed towards the push for performance. The engine mounting system was revised to dampen down the S7’s entertaining oscillation. Ground clearance increased considerably yet the saddle height was reduced by half an inch. The tyres, rear light, integral tax disc holder, main stand and so on were all swapped for conventional items while the sweeping bodywork was adapted to reduce wind resistance. The S7 boasted inverted levers and cable-free clean lines along the handlebars. The reality of an S8 is altogether a little more cluttered.
The result was a machine which looked a lot more like a normal motorcycle even though it retained its oversquare 70mm by 63.5mm inline twin OHC engine (with a slight rise in compression to 7.2:1), and smooth shaft final drive (‘now accepted as the ideal form of power transmission’, according to the brochure’).
BSA promised that the S8 would appeal to the ‘motorcyclist who desires an appreciable gain in performance but in return is ready to sacrifice a fractional degree of comfort.’ The S8 was indeed faster than its predecessor; maybe 5mph at the top end, which was enough to push it over the important 80mph barrier (just don’t tell anyone that Douglas were building 350 twins which would comfortably outpace the Sunbeam 500!). The S8 was also noticeably quicker from a standstill and was some four seconds faster over a standing quarter mile than the S7 – and that was probably a more important measure of performance to the 1950s man in the street. It also weighed some 25lb less than the S7, giving it ‘greater appeal to the sporting rider because of its quicker, more eager response.’
Indeed, the revisions had the right effect. Although the Sunbeam did not carve out a permanent place for itself in the BSA model range – hardly likely as motorcycling’s emphasis turned away from touring and leisurely progress and towards outright performance – it lasted until 1956 and some 8300 were built in total. Marque expert Robert Cordon Champ suggested that ‘the S8 was the bike that should have been made in the first place. The lighter weight allied to thinner wheels and tyres transformed the handling and made the S8 into a pleasant motorcycle.’ The S8 cost £240 new; a pleasingly coincidental 10% of the price David Charrington paid for his.
Today, of course, the Sunbeam twins have a dedicated following among classic riders who admire their compelling combination of eccentricity and practicality. RealClassic magazine’s editor, Frank Westworth, reckons that ‘if you do not need to own a classic that is fast or flashy or brash in any way, but instead is quiet, very comfortable and reliable within its limits, then I recommend trying a Sunbeam twin.’ Above all else they are charming motorcycles to ride. Well. They are when they work right…
David’s machine had been restored before he bought it, but the work was done some 20 years earlier. The S8 had been stored since then without even being MoT’d, so its appealing exterior was somewhat misleading. It took David an entire year to get the S8 back into rideable condition, and he’s been fettling it ever since, chasing down those irritating inconveniences which impair the riding experience. The front brake needed skimming and new shoes (‘it’s a BSA-sourced and uprated item which is much more efficient than the original’) while the rear wheel had to be rebuilt to the correct offset with new tyres all round. The fuel system had to be replaced with new fuel lines and a re-corked tap followed by a carb overhaul. David lined the petrol tank with epoxy resin, refurbished the exhaust system and dismantled the sump to clean out the sludge. The electrics needed a complete overhaul including new condenser, rotor, HT leads, coil, points, plugs and a battery. Finally, David could turn his attention to travelling matters and found a contemporary Craven rack with panniers and top box; ‘the panniers are older than the bike at 60 years old!’
We met David and the S8 at the Ardingly South of England Show where we were delighted to award him the ‘Best RealClassic’ prize. David freely admits that the S8 is a work in progress, ‘it’s ridden regularly to rallies all over the south in the summer months, restoration work in the winter months. It goes better than you would think with a relaxed, easy ride and can cruise quite comfortably at 50 to 60mph all day. It now runs very well and is a pleasure to ride’; so much so that David intends to travel to the Classic Le Mans meet aboard the S8, after further fettling during the winter. Seeking to improve its stopping, David upgraded the front brake by adapting a BSA item to suit. He intends to continue its general refurbishment and colour-match the panniers to the black livery ready for next season.
More than anything else, David appreciates the S8’s mild eccentricity. ‘These bikes are different and good fun. It always puts a smile on my face.’
Classic and British bikes like this one appear every month in the pages of RealClassic magazine. Our in-depth articles by expert and enthusiast authors reflect the old bikes we buy and ride in the real world: frequently fabulous; occasionally awful, but always interesting…
