Beschreibung:

John Marston Ltd. had been cycle-makers since 1887 and car-makers since 1899. Their decision not to undertake production of motor cycles until 1912 was due to John Marston’s personal dislike of the antics required to start and ride machines of the veteran period. In 1912 the company’s first production machine, a 2¾hp. largely designed by the Stevens brothers, had convinced ‘Mr. John’ of the worth of the market and the ‘3½’ was the result. Designed by John Greenwood, poached by Marston from The Rover Co., the ‘3½’ unsurprisingly bore a strong external resemblance to Greenwood’s Rover singles. With the same internal dimensions as BSA’s Gold Star of a later age at 85 x 88mm, the sidevalve produced plenty of power for the period. Equipped - for this year only - with a geared drive to the Bosch magneto the engine proved immensely reliable, staying in the Sunbeam range until the mid-‘20s despite the introduction of two other designs of ‘500’. The rest of what Sunbeam called ‘The Gentleman’s Motor Cycle’ was as one might expect of the company. The three-speed gearbox and beautifully made frame, tank and mudguards were all of Sunbeam manufacture sice the firm disliked ‘buying-in’ components. As with the firm’s pedal-cycles, the 3½ was japanned in black with 22 carat gold-leaf lining, attracting at the time the press accolade ‘The Rolls-Royce of Motor Cycles’, a title later borrowed by George Brough. AF 1280 is in excellent condition, retaining all of the important Sunbeam-made components and is believed to be sound mechanically, though needing re-commissioning after long storage. The registration history remains to be researched. With a brown continuation log-book from 1965, a V5C and a Pioneer Certificate No 1731 0f 2006, a 1929 tax disc and other historical papers, this is a Sunbeam from the finest period of the company’s history, one of the few motor cycles made under the supervision of John Marston who retired in 1916.