Have you ever wondered what it may be like to ride a 110+ year old motorcycle? Well wonder no more, as Reg Ayre takes us through his rare 1913 Sunbeam.
— words by Reg Eyre —
It is 2014, and I have just managed to acquire a veteran Sunbeam motorcycle after a wait of ten years. This is a long time to lust after a machine advertised as a Gentleman’s machine, especially since I am not a gentleman, just an ordinary rider who really enjoys riding early machinery.
The 1913 machine was the first motorcycle Sunbeam made apart from an early attempt to evaluate a Motosacoche engined Sunbeam bicycle in about 1903 on which an employee had a fatal accident. John Marston, the owner of Sunbeam, then forbade further development of dangerous vehicles such as motorised bicycles, even though the Sunbeam company were experimenting with four wheelers – anyone recall the Sunbeam-Mabley?
By the late 1910s, it became obvious that motorcycles were more than just a passing fad and Marston employed John Greenwood to develop an engine designed by Harry Stevens of AJS to become a Sunbeam. This machine has many characteristics of the 1911 AJS such as gears, clutch, kick-start, all chain drive and enclosed chain cases. These latter items were a Sunbeam speciality and can be found on their bicycles, and they provided them as both primary and secondary chain cases. Sunbeam bicycles were renowned for their deep black enamelled finish, and the motorcycles benefitted from this finish, with real gold lining as well! This was to be a machine that would be elegant, silent, reliable and as well finished as the Sunbeam bicycles.
As can be seen from the images, the machine had two speeds, a clutch and a kick start. Compared to other machines from the period, this was a fairly advanced motorcycle, which only had the 350cc AJS in the same class, and would last for the next ten years while other companies caught up.
The finish was originally all black enamel, with the same standard of finish as the bicycles, and was comparatively expensive in its day at £60, which allegedly equates to about £45,000 in today’s money. The very earliest machines in 1912 had green tank panels whereas most of the 1913 models now sport an all black finish with gold lining, the name “The Sunbeam” on the fuel tank and nickel plate only on fittings that might have a spanner laid on them.
Sitting astride the machine for the first time, the rider is made aware of the footboards, the hand controls, which are all routed through the handlebars, the gear lever and hand oil pump on the fuel tank and the fact that the handlebars come right back to the rider so that the rider can ride sitting with a straight back posture.
The machine starts easily, after turning on the fuel tap and priming the carburettor, the throttle is set to one third open and the ignition lever is also set to about half way. I use the valve lifter to set the piston just after compression, whereon a single kick brings the engine to life. Clutch in, set the gear lever forward and gently pull away. After a short while, the rider can move into top gear, which serves a wide range of speed.
If the machine is gently pootled along the lanes at about 30mph, the rider can sit bolt upright and believe he really is a gentleman on the road. However, simply opening the throttle causes the machine to accelerate briskly, without having to bend forward. The phrase, ‘gathering its skirts’ seems very apt. Hills can be approached in top and a gentle retarding of the ignition will see the Sunbeam climb most. Steeper hills are straightforward because the gear change to first can be made swiftly and silently and the machine appears to tackle my local Cotswold Hills in some style.
Braking is a different matter! The front brake is a wheel rim-scraping device and the rear brake is a foot operated, inside the dummy belt rim, piece of rubber. Sadly, the exhaust pipe finishes before the rear wheel spindle and if the rider has been over-oiling the engine, the oil spots gather on the dummy belt rim thus lubricating the rear brake. I am hoping that I have cleaned off all the old oil and will therefore swap the soles of my shoes for better performance from this brake.
I have ridden many machines of the veteran period but this is the first time I have ridden one where all the controls are within easy reach, the engine has such flexibility, the weight of the whole machine is light and the performance can be switched from docile to ‘sporting’. My ten-year wait has not been in vain!
an article by Reg Eyre for the Girder Club
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