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SUN Cycles

J

john 2000

Guest
Talking of Sun motorbikes, there are two big bike I remember, one was a sunbeam only saw one, then theres the big old Matchless, I saw one back in 1988 in Ramadi ( Irag) I dont think it was an army bike, because it was still black and had very large shocks, they must have been powerfull machines, .....................John 2000 :cheers:
 
I used to have a Sunbeam S8 motorcycle, it was a 500 cc prop shaft driven beast of a thing. O0
 
Me and my Sun bike about 1960.....? 20 inch wheel......I went everywhere on this.....Sutton Park....Birmingham Airport....and a all day fishing trip to the Pretty Pigs at Amington.....took about 5 hours to get there....fished for about 10 minutes...then another 5 plus hour trip home...never again that was in 1966
 
Well said, Alf.......great bike John. Mum worked at Sun Cycle & Fittings in the early l950's and I received a specially built bike for my 12th birthday. Did the long ride from Erdington to Tamworth...lined up for a swim for an hour at the open air pool and a swig or three of Mason's lemonade and a jam sandwich and off back home again? The Rag & Bone man finally snaffled my bike after spying it leaning against the house in our back garden which had a right of way next to it. How do I know? Someone saw him looking over the fence and then the bike was gone. I had owned the bike for five years at that point. Lovely memories though. I went everywhere on that bike and loved it.
 
I was always intrigued by the inline 500 twin with shaft drive. I don't think that there was another make that had that confguration at that time. Not a favourite of the boys though, possibly not sporty or powerfull enough. It seemed to be a quality product though and a very smooth runner. They must be collectors items now and demand a fair price. Did the later ones have swinging arm.
 
I'll never forget my first mtor bike in the 50's, I look back in amazement now at the trojan way it worked for me, 98cc Villiers engine, 2 speed gearchange leaver on the Handlebars and front Girder Forks suspension, it's age I don't know but I do know it carried me with all my tools on the back and sometimes an Apptentice as well around the Streets of brum and never let me down once - respect, then I bought a swanky looking James Captain 197cc - Oh dear - say no more.
 
Sun were one of Birmingham's greatest cycle and motorcycle manufactures with a factory twice the size of the adjacent Norton works. (which was one of Birmingham's' smallest) They were probably the only large cycle manufacturers that remained in the same family while in Birmingham from start to finish.
 
Hello everyone, it's my first time on the forum. I'm looking for any information, photos or even spares for a Birmingham made Sun Cyclone motorcycle. It was described at the time as 'The pride of the Sun range' or the 'Rolls Royce of Lightweights', although very few people seem to have heard of the model today. It was fitted with the 225cc Villiers 1H engine and I think it was made from 1954 to 1957. Thanks very much, Bill :p
 
Rupert said:
I was always intrigued by the inline 500 twin with shaft drive. I don't think that there was another make that had that confguration at that time. Not a favourite of the boys though, possibly not sporty or powerfull enough. It seemed to be a quality product though and a very smooth runner. They must be collectors items now and demand a fair price. Did the later ones have swinging arm.
Click to expand...


Hi Rupert.

Only just come across this thread. Both the S7 and the S8 were 'springers' not swinging arm, but the S8 lost the balloon tyres and adopted standard
BSA front suspension. A mechanic once told me that the engine had been
designed as a marine engine for Navy cutters, but I don't know if there is any truth in this. Built at BSA Redditch.

Kind regards

Dave
 
Thanks for that Jennyann. Any information is better than nothing at all and there seems to be so little mention of the Sun Cyclone anywhere that every bit helps. I will post any interesting info I get here in case anyone else is interested. :D
 
The tackle company I am researching (Reuben Heaton) had some dealings with the cycle industry. I think its only a coincidence but the founder of Heaton's was a brass caster just like the founder of the Sun cycle company and the two were in close proximity. In 1885 Heatons took out a patent and applied it to their new "Sun" reel, and the Sun cycle company as I understand it was founded in 1885, to much coincidence??
 
I remember getting a new bike in about 1956,for a Christmas present.It was a Sun 'Vitesse',a sporty looking bike with drop handlebars,finished in a light metallic blue colour.It was bought from a shop in Summer Lane opposite what is now Jacksons Garage.It was a garage then,but I don't recall the name of it.I remember having to take the £1 a week to pay for it,it cost,I think,around £14/10/00.It was later replaced with a black & red Philips bike........Mal.
 
That's very interesting Eton Sun. I've never come across this possible link before, but as you say, it seems a bit of a coincidence? I know a good deal of these Victorian industrialists had lots of fingers in lots of different pies. If I find anything out, I'll let you know. :)
 
My Sun 'Vitesse' bike was bought for me in July 1955 for my birthday in November, it was bought from a cycle shop in Selly Oak where Sainsburys is now, it cost £19-19-6 old money with a free bell. It is still going strong although I don't ride it very much now there is too much traffic on the roads for my liking. It has a maroon coloured frame and is about 90% original parts. It is a much travelled bike going from B'ham to Lincolnshire and Yorkshire while I was in the WRAF, back to Brum and finally to Scoland .
 
hi guys
if my memory serves me correctly and i am casting my mind back some years now and the name of the sun cycles comes back to me
and its because of the name sun cycles which i thought was an unusal name and not knowing it as a kid
the only established bike being m,ade when i was a kid and that was the police bikes and well known and seeing being made on the aston cross in those days
which we all know later become tubes ltd manmy years ago in my man hood i got to meet an old lady whom was a reglar customer to me as i done regular maintence
for her at her home in castle bromwich along the chester rd before you reach kingshurst just passing the old timmberly pub
it wasd a big posh house and this lady was well into her eighyys then and she was wheel bound and she had her facilitys about her she was a bussiness lady
her husnband was a chairman of some orgonisaion but to get to the point what we are on about the sun bikes this lady one day started to tell me abit about her life
and she told me that her family her brother and parents whom manufact this sun bkes and she was now at the time being a share holder of the bussiness as she could no longer carry on with her involvent with in the companyshe also told me where about this bussiness startedmany years ago prior to our meeting
which was around the 1950s and the place she told me of the birth of it was up lozells and prior to george baines bakery taking over thebuilding was there
which as i tap in to this key board some of it is coming back to me which was finch rd lozells
at the time of her telling me this storyi thought to myself sun cycles never head of it but now reading these threads it was really a bkie
so this lady was in fact teling me history so it would have been 1800 to early 1900s these must have been staryted
i will try and recall the ladys name and the rd name and fill in more gen onit
have a nice day best wishes astonion
 
hi mojm
yes they did have a place in aston brook st i cannot remember they had the old baines first then moved to aston brook st aston
its been at least fifties years since she told me the history i can picture the old lady now i could even go to the named road and the house and the colourof there house
but she definately told me it was where george baines was on the corner of finch rd way back in time before they bought it and created the bakery
late 1800s to early 1900s they was there
astonion
 
Hi Astonian: Re: Sun Cycles... My mother worked for a few years at Sun Cycles in Aston Brook Street. I went to her office a several times and the Parkes family who ran Sun Cycles for many years were very kind to me. My Mother worked for Peter Parkes mostly as his secretary. There was also a Mr. Armfield whom she also did work for. Our first caravan holiday in 1953 at Cromer was in Mr. Armfield's caravan. The Parkes family were very good business people and had quite a modern outlook for their company in the l950's.
They used bright yellow stationery all embossed headings on good quality stock for their letterhead and green typewriter ribbons. No one that I know of in Brum was using anything but the standard type stationery used all over the place and in some cases a left over from the Edwardian era.
Astonian, I wonder if that lady that you mention was a relative of the Parkes family?
Just before I started my first secretarial job at British Rail my typing speed was in need of some work. Peter Parkes loaned me one of the typewriters
from Sun Cycles to practice on before I started my job at New Street Station in 1957. He brought it to the house personally. Mom and I also attended Peter Parkes' daughters wedding in Edgbaston.
 
hi jenny
that was very intresting to hear that what you had to say about them that was him he was a genuine kind person even when i met them for the very first person
they was most sincere people and highly proffessionial in every think they said and even done
yes every think was done in yellow the post hoarding they left behind above the bakery after theymoved out and went to aston brook st
even there big house was yellow and white it must have been a lucky colour for them but i surpose it represented the sun and there trade mark for there bussiness
i had known them for years jenny we all think its abig world but its amazing just how small the world is isnt it
many thanks for your input on this thread and remembering them sad to say there isnt that many decent people of that kind left in theworld today
jenny many thanks aghain take care alan astonion
 
Hi all!

Very interesting to read all the memories of Sun Cycles.
I'm currently restoring a Sun Wasp solo from the mid 50s and happen to have several Sun catalogues from the late 30s to 1967ish and if anybody wants to see any particular model I can upload some pics of them.
Sun bicycles were high quality machines in their day and deserve to be remembered and preserved.

If anybody wants to check out my Wasp solo on Flickr here's the link:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikesruz/page4/
Scroll down the page a little.

Also had a lovely 1937 Sun Wasp ladyback tandem, pics here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikesruz/sets/72157624172942122/

If you check my Flickr photostream there are several Birmingham made bicycles on there: )
Several great Dawes machines for example, and, if you think Redditch is of interest, also a smashing Royal Enfield or two!

John.
 
Pamela Y said:
My Sun 'Vitesse' bike was bought for me in July 1955 for my birthday in November, it was bought from a cycle shop in Selly Oak where Sainsburys is now, it cost £19-19-6 old money with a free bell. It is still going strong although I don't ride it very much now there is too much traffic on the roads for my liking. It has a maroon coloured frame and is about 90% original parts. It is a much travelled bike going from B'ham to Lincolnshire and Yorkshire while I was in the WRAF, back to Brum and finally to Scoland .
Click to expand...

Hi Pamela Y.
I looked through my Sun catalogues and can only find one Super Vitesse from 1951. But I bet it is very similar to yours.
Here is a link to it on Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikesruz/5351834588/
It's listed as available in Plum which might very well be your maroon!
How nice that you still have yours!

John.
 
Viscount, your site is fantastic and you have a deep passion for bikes that is obvious. I was hoping to see the 54ish Rudge Special that I had. Anyway a great site, thanks.
 
Rupert said:
Viscount, your site is fantastic and you have a deep passion for bikes that is obvious. I was hoping to see the 54ish Rudge Special that I had. Anyway a great site, thanks.
Click to expand...

Well, thank you kind Sir!
Had a couple of Rudges, the sweetest being this 1947 one:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikesruz/4284780845/

For 1954 try this one: )
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikesruz/4404182104/
Not sure I should be promoting Coventry/Nottingham bicycles here but Rudge were lovely bicycles.

(I need to check how to upload the pics here directly: )

John.
 
Hi John
Thank you for the info,yes that is my bike except mine has straight handlebars,I wasn't allowed to have the dropped ones. It must be officially plum coloured. I hope to ride up the road to TESCO's in the better weather.
Regards Pam
 
Sun motorcycles

Are there any people out there that used to work at the Sun motorcycle factory, Aston Brook St (i think).If so have you any history you can share with me ie photos of the factory or even the motorcycles. There are lots of photos on the internet but none from the original source.
We have two 1951 Sun Challengers under restoration and would be nice to be in touch with people that actually put these together.
 
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