Help To Identify This Bike Please

[bendy]

Hi, I am hoping that somebody can help.

This is a photo of my Grandad (at the front of the bike), probably in the 1930s. I am struggling to work out what the bike is, as there is so little of it visible.

If anybody has any pointers or suggestions I would be extremely grateful.

Thank you in advance.

[R]

Thats easy - its a motorcycle built for 3  !
That must narrow it down, considerably ...

What a great photo.
It does obscure a great deal of the bike though, like you say.

May we ask what country this is likely to be ?
That helps eliminating bikes its unlikely to be.
That front number plate looks somewhere continental, by the lettering ?
The inverted handlebar levers suggests 1920s, although did linger into the 1930s maybe.
The headlamp is acetylene, and looks european ?
So 1920s there too.
The exhaust pipe is quite tall the way its shown there, so not a run-of-the-mill small 2 stroke ?

Be interesting to see what future submissions make of this ...

[bendy]

Hi R,

Thank you for the speedy reply.

The photo would have been taken in Manchester, Uk. As my Grandad was born in 1912, it would almost certainly have dated the photo to the 30s.

I have been trying to match the shape of the exhaust, along with the fitting on the pipe, the thickness of the front mud guard and bracket on the headlight to photos of bikes online. I have hit a brick wall I am afraid. Hopefully somebody here will recognise the bike from the small clues in the photo.

[cardan]

Hi Bendy,

The bike is a saddle tank, overhead valve Sunbeam from 1929 or 1930. It's likely a Model 8 (350) or Model 9 (500), but of course it could be one of the sportier models (80 or 90) as these were available with heavy guards etc. to order. If only those blokes would move their legs out of the way!

Leon

[bendy]

Hi Leon,

That is absolutely fantastic, thank you so much!

Bendy.

[cardan]

My pleasure. It's a great photo - all the better for the bike being covered with happy young men. Do you know who they are?

Leon

[R]

And from the other side.
Obviously need to know yer vintage Sunbeams to nail it here !
Quite a bike in its day.

[cardan]

I like a vintage Sunbeam, and although I don't own one I read each issue of "Beaming" (magazine of the Marston Sunbeam Club) after my Sunbeam-owing friend finishes with it.

My reasoning here is:

Sunbeam gave up on the Druid-style side-spring fork on most models in 1931, so the bike is 1930 or earlier.
The carrier is a type that came in (I think) in 1929, which leaves us with 1929-1930, when almost all models had a saddle tank.
High exhaust pipe says OHV, so we're down to 1929-30 Model 8/80 or 9/90.
Side valances on the front guard, standard on Model 8 (350) and Model 9 (500). The sporty Models 80/90 could be ordered to any spec, but almost all would have had sporty blade mudguards.
So we're left with 1929-30 Model 8/9.

Looking again more closely, I can see the front fork damper is on the lower fork spindle. It moved to the top spindle for 1930 models, so I reckon we can say (with some confidence) 1929 Sunbeam Model 8 or Model 9. You'd need a fab photo with no legs to tell those two apart!

I can't quite see from the photo that the tank is a saddle tank, but the carrier is a strong pointer to saddle tank (1929-on). Of course it could be a 1928 flat tanker with an updated carrier!!

Cheers

Leon

[Mark M]

Registration is apparently from Liverpool so not far from Manchester.
REgards, Mark

[bendy]

My pleasure. It's a great photo - all the better for the bike being covered with happy young men. Do you know who they are?

Leon

Unfortunately I don't know who they are. I suspect the person in the middle is my Grandad's brother, but I only remember him as a man in his 90s, so can't be sure. It is a shame we don't ask more questions when the people who can answer them are still around.