When the Sunbeam shone out as the gentleman’s bike of choice
THE 1929 choice of machine for the affluent ‘gentleman motor bicyclist’ was an absolute no brainer. It had to be a Sunbeam. Preferably a 500cc Model 9 Sunbeam and, even more preferably, the Model 9/90, which was the version with the sportiest engine.
The bike had won the 1928 Senior TT on the Isle of Man at a cracking average speed of 72.05 miles per hour, establishing a new lap record of 73.55mph in the process. Sunbeam also won the team prize at both the Italian and the Hungarian Senior TTs that year.
So the Model 9/90 was fast but, like all Sunbeams, it also had real class.
The company started as an upmarket bicycle maker in the Victorian period and it was only in 1912 that the owner John Marston was persuaded (at the age of 76) that they should start motorising cycles. Marston was a perfectionist with an obsession about quality. Sunbeams had a level of finish that few could match and nobody bettered. The Gentleman’s motor bicycle’ as it was advertised did naturally come at a price. In 1929 a Model 9/90 cost a hundred guineas. That was more that a 680 Brough Superior (96 guineas) and getting on for twice as much as a Norton (just 63 quid). The gentleman’s hundred guineas didn’t even get him any lighting. That was an extra.
At the time the 9/90 was described as ‘the most handsome machine on the road’ and 91 years later classic motorcycle experts are still raving about it. ‘The crème de la crème of pre-1931 motorcycles’ as one recently described it.
With all this in mind we were naturally delighted to be contacted by officials of the Marston Sunbeam Club & Register who were advising the widow of a former member about the disposal of her late husband’s collection of Sunbeams. They had been impressed by the results that have been achieved in recent classic motorcycle auctions at Sledmere House and invited us to take a look at the collection.
Long story short, I recently found myself inspecting no fewer than five beautiful Sunbeam motorcycles in a garage in Derbyshire. They date from 1926-31 and include Models 4,6/9, 6/90, 8 – and a 1929 Model 9/90.
They are all in ‘oily rag’ condition, which is to say they are not primped, polished and restored show machines that see the road once in a blue moon. They are as original as possible, mechanically sound, roadworthy and have been regularly ridden. Wonderful!
And the good news for fans is that the entire collection is to go under the hammer in the next Classic Car and Motorcycle Auction at Sledmere House on Saturday November 7. The Model 9/90 will go into the sale with an estimate of £12,000£15,000. The entire collection is expected to make close to £50,000. Incidentally there may be readers who think that five vintage Sunbeams seems a bit obsessive. It is a fine collection but, trust me, it’s quite modest by some standards. The jungle drums have already been beating about this auction and we have had enquiries from collectors who own as many as 20 Sunbeams. Now that’s what you call a bit obsessive!
The November auction is shaping up very nicely indeed. Even at this early stage the confirmed entry stands at over 30 classic motorcycles and some high value cars.
We are inviting further entries and we are confident that it’s a sale that is going to get a lot of attention.