1931 Sunbeam 493cc Model 90

• Usable 'rally' machine
• Reputedly raced on both road circuits and 'the sand'
• Iconic machine of its era

The Sunbeam Model 90 is one of the iconic motorcycles of the late vintage and early post-vintage period. Launched for the 1927 season as the famous 'Bullnose' – owing to the rounded front of its petrol tank – there was a new frame, with saddle tank, for 1929; that year, one of the new Model 90s won the Senior TT, courtesy of Charlie Dodson, who was repeating his success of 1928 on a Bullnose. The 1931 Model 90 saw a switch to Webb-type forks and the addition of a chrome petrol tank, which lasted just one season. The Model 90 was last listed in 1933.

This Model 90 was registered in Edinburgh in 1931; it still bears its original registration number. Early ownership details are unknown, but it was reputedly raced on both road circuits and 'the sand,' though this hasn't been substantiated. It's believed that after the Second World War, it was used in competition again, resulting in an engine blow up and a substitution of the original 90 crankcases with those from a 1935 Model 9. In the 1950s, it was supposedly being rebuilt for vintage racing, but this work doesn't seem to have progressed too far, when it was purchased by the previous owner from the father of a work colleague in 1967.

The new, then recently married young owner had started racing on a BSA Bantam and he thought the Model 90 would make a racer. Alas, work and family commitments took over and it never progressed beyond a rolling chassis, and as work took him to various outposts, at home and abroad, so the Sunbeam came too, or was stored away. In the late 1990s, he decided to commission a restoration of sorts, which was undertaken, before the Model 90 passed into current ownership in 2016. Since then, various further work has been completed, including an engine and dynamo rebuild by Dave Lindsley (admittedly, later than would've originally been fitted) and the procurement of new rear brake shoes and correct toolbox, among other items.

The machine was to be built as a usable 'rally' machine, intended for long-distant events, though it retains a number of nice, original touches, including the correct, 'M90' stamped Amal carburettor and 90 embossed magneto chain cover. The pandemic forced FG 6865 into storage, from where it has been ever since, while changed circumstances means it will likely not be given the attention warranted. It does require some time lavishing on it, though, really, only of the fettling nature, while it hasn't been run since pre-pandemic times. What it does offer is an affordable opportunity of acquiring a genuine Model 90, one of the truly iconic machines of its era, with probable racing history, which could be investigated further.
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