Sunbeam S8 MotorCycle first start in 43 years
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2024
- This video covers some of the renovation of my 1948 Sunbeam S8 motorcycle.
I bought it in bits on 1975 or so and it stayed like that until 2016 when I started to put it back together.
The first part is a selection of stills followed by video of the motors first start in 43 years. This is work in progress with lots still to.
It was my first bike, bought pre owned in 1975. Very reliable for those times. The weak points were the rubber coupler on the shaft drive, and the clutch thrust bearing. The presence of brass particles whenever the final drive was drained was always scary, but apparently sunbeam said it was okay. It was gentle and civilised. I still miss it.
Such a great feeling to hear a newly rebuilt engine fire up for the first time. Also it is learning the starting procedure all over again, and when you have it figured out it will start first time, every time 👍
It`s so nice to rebuild english motorbikes (and others maybe, I think too 😉). I watch your video, old memories overcomes me. Thanks!
A marvellous achievement to get the S8 up to this point. Will look great when finished. Please also consider to fit the electronic Hall Effect Unit in the Distributor, and get rid of the Contact Breaker Points forever. Honestly, the engine will fire up much easier, will never go off-tune, and will not detract from the overall appearance of the Bike. I did this and was amazed at the results - and still am! Greetings from Australia.
This really brought back memories my self and my father had two S8s and an S7 many many happy hours working on them. My father spent a fortune with Stewart Engineering, they even got him an S7 saddle someone made them for them in very small amounts he waited ages for it to arrive.
These old from the past bikes are irreplaceable , they all have unique and amazing looking designs , good to see another one survive to be handed to the next generation to prove that not everything was made in China or Japan once which would be a common perception today .
Really nice to see this bike returning to life. I remember seeing them in the fifties. Pity electric starting
did not become the norm until much later. Good luck with the restoration.
You gays saving the bike life....🇮🇳 Like from India
I must get my S8 back on the road! It’s been sitting too long in the shed. This video has given me a bit of a nudge to rebuild it again. Last re spray was not the original Polychromatic Grey! I made do with Nissan Grey, ☹️
Oh Man, that's a PROPER Motorcycle, not one of those bloody awful soulless "bikes". It's not easy to start, not easy to ride and not easy to maintain ... but it's a thing of history and far more rewarding as a result.
Greetings from America ! I can hear your LOVELY machine all the way over here ! Well Done, friends ! Please post finished video(s) when your "Sunbeam Funbeam" is street ready.
Well done!! Satisfying job!
Thank you for the comment, yes it was very satisfying and great fun to do.
Sounds great.....love to see the bike rebuilt.
The engine was running presumably without a silencer. These bikes were undoubtedly, I well recall, the quietest and the smoothest running on the road. In fact they were superb and had an excellent reputation but they were very expensive to buy. So I was a little surprised at the difficulty in starting and the sound of the engine but am sure you will get there in the end!
Sublime video . . . thanks for sharing
My first bike, the S8. Recollecting the torque reaction when revved!
Hi , yes it does react a bit, I see that you posted 2 years ago, sorry foe not replying then. yes it is very smooth, I dont miss chain drive at all, suitable for more sedate gentlemanly travel, not a light bike though and as my legs are no longer 30 years old I find the A7 a bit easier to get out of the garage for a quick spin.
A very well captioned and sequenced presentation. Great job
Exactly the comment I was about to post, watched the first half at 1/2 speed to drink in all the detail properly..
cool video,very cool bike never saw a sunbeam before
lovly old bike well done to you sir
Wow, absolute "eye candy!" Well done, gents! Always thought the Sunbeams were cool, never saw any over here in the Dysfunctional States ... If anyone wants to throw away their dirty ol' Sunbeam, I'll take it! ;)
Nice job lads .sounds great..
Cool!! I have never seen these bikes before...
Nice sound..is fantastic
Glad to see you wet sprayed the frame and didn't cover it in that awful powder coat shit
Nice, but I don’t understand how you have a lathe, but you use screwdrivers instead of a bearing puller
Or a cutting torch if you can't get the puller to fit!
Or a 2x4 on the floor...
The Sunbeam S8 was not introduced until 1949.
The original model was the S7 (the "Tourer") (2,104 produced from 1946 to 1948), in 1949 the S7 was updated to become the S7 de luxe (5,554 produced) and the S8 (8,530 produced).
It was love at first sight..., one day...!
Did these things vibrate like a normal British twin?
The engine/gearbox is rubbee mounted so its quite good, it has a couple of rubber snubbers and a damping plate to control "gross" engine movement, does rock a bit at tickover though. I tend to ride at 50 or so and even the more conventional BSA , Triumph ect is ok at this speed, my A7 only gets "buzzey" above this. The shaft drive also makes this rubber mounting easier to implement.
@@9999niterider cheers my mate had a commando that was rubber mounted, and that engine jumped about like a gymnast at tick over, smooth a silk above that though
Can't always go by compression,I have acquired bikes cheap because the owners thought the motor was shot and it was just stuck rings !
Sounds like you may have a dirty points problem. I had an S8 in the 60's. I still have the toolbox!
robert stirling I had some play on the distributor shaft due to bearing wear. Similar symptoms.
Sounds sweet...
😍😍😍😍😍
My ex boss had a saying, anything that needs to be kicked or have a string to pull for starting is a fuck up...
Nice 👍👍👍
Nice old bike but bit of a plodder. This is probably why most were paired up with sidecars? I did an engine rebuild on an S7 engine and realised it was never meant to be a riders bike but more of a gentleman's touring machine. Still looked pretty good though, the two in line configuration being quite unusual?
Andrew Wilson Unusual for those times, they had an oversquare engine with 2 oil scraper rings. Used to leak oil from the breathers.
🇧🇷👏👏👏👏
Jolly Good Show
lol sounds just like a 2cv nice
Think I can get my 1972 British Suffolk lawn mower started? I've got spark, fuel and compression. But no, fuck all.
wonderful :-D
I didn't know those were ohc.
Decadant Dog very much so. And the distributor shaft connected to the camshaft.
I can't help thinking that if Sunbeam had made this bike as a flat twin (no vibration, and no cooling problems), and with a pinion and crown wheel instead of worm final drive (no overheating there either), the bike would have been more successful. But they were forced into some of it by the management . . . . . so ending British Motorcycle Manufacturing. Sad, really. The workmanship on this bike is brilliant, but maybe there are other bikes that he could apply his talents to. 1954 BMW R50 or R60 comes to mind . . . . .
Bruce Roger Morgan Veloce made one, a 200cc flat twin OHV, the Valiant. Pity so few survived
Sunbeam, I thought the made shit microwaves, ice boxes, I don’t remember motorscooters? Sounds like my riding lawn mower.
I think the s7 and s8s were made at BSA plant.