1950 Sunbeam S7 Deluxe
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Year of manufacture1950
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Motorcycle typeStreet
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Engine numberS8 13272
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Lot number266
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ConditionUsed
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ColourOther
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Location
Description
1956 Sunbeam 487cc S7 De Luxe
Registration no. not registered
Frame no. S7 7473
Engine no. S8 13272
A wartime design by Erling Poppe, 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 clutch housing and four-speed gearbox bolted directly to the back of the engine, which was rubber mounted in the duplex loop frame, an innovation that required a flexible joint in the exhaust system ahead of the silencer. 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 S8's front fork and 7" brake were now standard BSA components, and there were numerous other changes made in the interests of rationalisation, while the S7 - now renamed 'de luxe' - got the standard fork legs in special yokes. Never as popular as BSA's more performance orientated models, the gentlemanly S7 and S8 remained in production until 1957. This late S7 is offered for re-commissioning or light restoration. A total of only 7 miles is displayed on the odometer, which may be the distance travelled since an earlier restoration. The machine is offered with 1986 Customs clearance documents.