The “Gentleman’s Motorcycle” – IOTW Report

The “Gentleman’s Motorcycle”

The “Gentleman’s Motorcycle” – A Restored 1950 Sunbeam S7 Deluxe

The S7 is powered by an innovative longitudinal inline-twin with a single overhead cam and a shaft drive system with power being transmitted to the rear wheel via a worm drive. The top speed of 70 mph was good for the era and the design of the bike has been winning it plaudits for generations.

26 Comments on The “Gentleman’s Motorcycle”

  1. Can’t tell you the hours I spent looking at the motorcycles in the Sears catalog in my youth. Neighborhood kid had a Cushman Eagle but I always suspected he smoked behind the gym! I rode a Triumph Bonneville until a couple of years ago.

    Give Richard Thompson’s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” a listen. The second link is Sean Rowe much more gutteral version of the song

    h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0kJdrfzjAg
    h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrGOs1a1lOk

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  2. Anonymous
    AT 12:48 PM
    “My 92 yo mom still uses her Sunbeam mixer. I don’t think it has an inline twin engine, but it has a sausage grinding attachment.”

    So do motorcycles, depending on if you catch anything going over the handlebars, and/or how you land.

    11
  3. Speed Zone
    Incoming ETA
    Sudaneese Imports
    Post Afghani 76K
    Dual Certificates, they say on ‘paper’
    Behind the scene Lists for transportation fees
    Another town near you and closing

    Heads Up FOV Overheads

  4. Makes one wonder if those 76K-85K Dual-Afghani-American Citizens visas papers are ripening for the voting machine setups being rigged now for later.

    Think how EZ-Pass that would be.

    1
  5. As a child, we had a Sunbeam toaster that was the best toaster I’ve ever used. Lasted at least 30 years. I moved out before its demise, so I don’t really know.

    Never used any other item with Sunbeam on it.

    I’ve only had about 5 motorcycles. Gave up riding them in my 20s and didn’t get another until my 50s. Couldn’t risk my life any more while raising a family.

    If I had stuck with it, I would have had a large garage full of them. I would have loved having some Indians, BMWs. and definitely some Harleys in the collection. Would’ve loved to have this one in the collection, too.

    I worked in a machine shop in my early 20s and lived far away from cycle parts stores. Sometimes you gotta make your own parts and do repairs no one around is able to do quickly. Probably not so much the case these days, but you can still save time and money that way. Besides, half the fun is working on them.

    2
  6. Nice Bike.

    Literally painted in Sewing Machine Green.

    I realize that Harley Isn’t what it used to be but the heritage soft tail classic is a hell of a modern retro classic. Beautiful, reasonably priced, Okay reliability, good resale value & a traceable lineage Esp. from a few years ago.

    I won’t ride a motorcycle ever again these days due to Drivers on cell phones, Weed, Booze & Stupid, But every Year I feel the Bike Bug Bite.

    Thus, I stick to Mountain biking & never touch the street. Trees are softer that Bling People driving Audi’s.

    1
  7. the Maxwell Smart red car was a Sunbeam Tiger. A Sunbeam Alpine body with a Ford 289 installed by Caroll Shelby. Chrysler bought Sunbeam and ended up with Ford engined vehicles in their showrooms.

    3
  8. that thing would be a terror to ride. that rear suspension is a plunger frame. the left and right side can move independently. when you lean over, the weight is on the low side of the rear tire. the axle twists, and the tire leans at an angle to the frame, with the top twisted lower to the ground. so, the handling changes while you are in a turn.

    2
  9. ^^^ Agreed ^^^

    But people are WORSE.

    Cheers.

    I had a Kawasaki 750-4, a V-4 Honda VFR, & used to borrow my brothers Honda FireBlade – CBR 900RR. I topped that one out at 273K/ph.

    I was also VERY STUPID.

    2
  10. The article didn’t say, but I figure the same people that made the Brit Sunbeam two seater sports cars made this also.

    1
  11. That’s not the ugliest bike I’ve ever seen, but it ranks in the top 3. And how the hell did they get a worm drive to work? More importantly, why? If I had to have a British motorcycle, it would have to be a Triumph.

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