1932 Sunbeam 493cc 'Model 6/9' (see text)
Registration no. MN 490
Frame no. B13033
Engine no. LL1155
First registered on 26th July 1932, the machine offered here started life as a sidevalve Model 6/6A or 'Lion Longstroke', which subsequently has been fitted with a Model 9 engine dating from circa 1932/33 and a Norton 'doll's head' gearbox complete with positive-stop foot change. An affixed plate records Cope's of Hagley Road, Birmingham as supplier. The machine is offered with two old-style logbooks, the first of which (1948 to 1955) records the owner as one Brian Crawford of Belfast; the registration as 'KJ 8262' (a Kent mark); the original engine number as 'J6206'; and the fact that a sidecar was fitted. The second old logbook was issued in 1958 when the Sunbeam was still in ownership of Brian Crawford, though by this time the sidecar had been removed and the current engine installed. In 2002 the motorcycle was registered in the Isle of Man where it was first owned by William Hayes of Port St Mary, who was still listed as the owner in 2009. It is not known when Mick Ruocco acquired it. Last taxed on the Isle of Man in May 2008, this tidy machine will require re-commissioning and the customary safety checks before returning to the road. Accompanying documentation consists of the aforementioned old-style logbooks and Isle of Man registration documents (2002 and 2009).
