Description
Sunbeam 1933 Lion Longstroke 492 cc side valve single combination, frame# 6 B 492.0.152 engine # 6 B 490.0.195
Sunbeam’s famous ‘longstroke’ 500cc sidevalve engine first appeared at the 1921, this remarkable engine remaining in production right up until WW2. A version of it powered the new-for-1931 Model 6 Lion.
Introduced in the summer of 1930, the revamped Lion replaced the old Model 6 and featured the innovations – for Sunbeam – of a chromium-plated fuel tank and Webb-pattern girder forks.
A 598cc Model 7 Lion joined the range the following year and the two sidevalve workhorses continued in production – surviving Sunbeam’s 1937 sale to AMC, relocation of production to Plumstead and the axing of the rest of the traditional models – until the outbreak of WW2.
This Sunbeam Lion motorcycle – equipped with stylish aluminium sidecar – is an older restoration and has been on display within a private collection for the past 24 years.