1926 SUNBEAM SPORT SPECIAL

John Marston started his first company in 1905, specialising in Japanning, and this craft became associated with all their later bicycles and motorcycles.

He started naming the bicycles "Sunbeam" at the behest of his wife and the factory was also renamed Sunbeam Land. Early experiments with engines proved difficult and it was 1912 before they released their first machine, a 2.75 HP, designed by a member of the AJS motorcycle family - Harold Stevens.

By 1914 this technically innovative company was winning the IOM TT with their 500cc side valve engines. These engines powered Sunbeams to many records from Road Racing to Speed Trials, Hill Climbs, and of course Brooklands, recording many world records for a side valve single cylinder machine. Enter George Dance, excellent engineer and race competitor. He was to develop their first OHV engine and so successful was it, that George went on to produce for 1925 a " Dance Special Sprint Version" or Model 10 although no authentic Dance machine is known to exist. Discontinued during 1926, when the public road events for which it was designed were outlawed, the Production 'Sprint' was made in tiny numbers and authentic survivors are very rare. Many privateers were forced to build their own Sprint specials. Pre-war Sunbeams have an illustrious history and represent the best in what was British designed and built, scoring victory after victory in a wide range of events.

The model in today's auction was part of the collection of the late Rick Webb and among his favourite machines.

There are no surviving pre-war records for Sunbeams, however, we are confident this machine started life as a 1925/1926 Model 9. At some point, the frame was modified very professionally to a Model 10 Sprint. The Druid forks were the latest type incorporating suspension and damping and are from a similar period. The small sprint tank incorporates both petrol and a separate compartment for oil. All other cycle parts were common to both road and sprint machines. One of the most interesting parts which may give a clue to its intriguing history, is that it has a Sprint-only works rear wheel. All road going Sunbeams had the brake hub on the off side apart from the works "sprint " machines that were on the near side.

The machine has not run for a couple of years and so a careful recommissioning will be required.

Beautifully finished in black with Gold leaf pin-striping and a nice historic patina.