1955 Sunbeam 497cc S8 Project

Motorcycles Online - The Winter Sale|15 December 2025, 12:55 GMT|Online, Milton Keynes

1955 Sunbeam 497cc S8 Project

Registration no. RGH 167
Frame no. S8-7402
Engine no. S8 12105
Designed in wartime, 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 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 dismantled S8 was originally dispatched to Douglas Maurice Crisp in Eltham in May 1955 where it passed through 3 different owners within the next 2 years. Purchased by the deceased owner from a local friend, the goal was to fully restore the S8 back to it's former glory. Work carried out straight away and within the history file are numerous invoices for the work done, however the vendor sadly passed away before he could carry on. Offered as a dismantled project, the Sunbeam comes with a substantial history file including the old style log book, old style V5, the aforementioned invoices, Sunbeam manual and other sundry papers.

Footnotes

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Additional information

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