Sunbeam 1928 Longstroke 500cc 1 cyl sv

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Description

Sunbeam  1928 492 cc cc side valve, frame #  B 2113   engine # J  2145

The Wolverhampton based firm of John Marston earned fame for their superb bicycles in the early years of the last century. 
In 1912 their first motorcycle was presented, a 350 cc  side valve model ( 75x 79 bore and stroke) with a 2-speed gearbox. 
Soon the capacity was increased to 500cc, and also models with proprietary V-twin engines were made.  
Sunbeam motorcycles gained fame for their very high standards of workmanship, their speed and their reliability:  races all over Europe were won in the early half of the twenties  with machines equipped with the very fast and reliable  “ Longstroke” side valve  engine with bore/stroke of 77x 105.5 mm.
This machine spent its running years in Austria; it was discovered by a collector in the late fifties and was greased and put away…for more than 50 years the machine remained untouched. A rare find these days, an unrestored specimen in good condition. 
This Longstroke is equipped with Bosch electrics, which were an extra and were often preferred by continental customers.