Former British manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles, mopeds, and cycle components.
Last updated October 17, 2026
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Overview
Sun was the brand of an English cycle and motorcycle manufacturer based in Aston, Birmingham. The business developed from James Parkes & Son, a brass foundry that initially produced lamp fittings and other metal goods. In 1885, the company entered the bicycle trade by manufacturing frames and fittings, building capabilities that later supported its own bicycle production. Around 1897, the business was reorganized as The Sun Cycle & Fittings Company Limited and began producing bicycles under the Sun name. Sun entered motorcycling in 1911. Before the First World War, its motorcycles used engines supplied by F. E. Baker Ltd under the Precision brand, reflecting the common practice among smaller British manufacturers of combining in-house frames and cycle components with purchased engines. The company subsequently participated in the broader British market for powered two-wheelers, producing motorcycles and later mopeds alongside bicycles and related fittings. The company remained an independent Birmingham manufacturer for much of its operating life, but the postwar British motorcycle and bicycle industries underwent significant consolidation. In 1958, Sun was acquired by Tube Investments, a large industrial group with interests in bicycle manufacturing and related businesses. Three years later, in 1961, Sun's Aston factory was closed and production was transferred to Raleigh's factory in Nottingham. This relocation marked the end of Sun's independent manufacturing presence in Birmingham. For a period after the factory closure, the Sun name continued to be used on Raleigh bicycles that had been returned to the factory for rectification work. In that later use, Sun functioned less as an autonomous manufacturer than as a badge associated with repaired or corrected Raleigh products. The brand is now defunct as a standalone vehicle manufacturer. Its historical significance rests on the transition from metalworking and bicycle components into bicycle production, its early adoption of motorcycle manufacturing, and its eventual absorption into the larger Tube Investments and Raleigh industrial structure.
History
Sun originated in Birmingham within the business known as James Parkes & Son. The enterprise began as a brass foundry making lamp fittings and other metal products, but diversified into the growing bicycle industry in 1885 by manufacturing bicycle frames and fittings. This early specialization in cycle-related metalwork gave the company a foundation for producing complete bicycles under its own name. Around 1897, the business became The Sun Cycle & Fittings Company Limited. The change formalized the company at a time when bicycles were becoming an established form of personal transport and when specialist manufacturers were developing recognizable brands. Sun produced its own bicycles and maintained a connection between component manufacture and finished-cycle assembly. The company made its first motorcycle in 1911. In the years before the First World War, Sun motorcycles used F. E. Baker Ltd's Precision engines. This arrangement placed Sun among the many British motorcycle makers that combined proprietary frames, fittings, and assembly with engines purchased from specialist suppliers. Sun's product scope later included motorcycles, mopeds, and bicycles, allowing it to participate in several segments of the British two-wheeler market. Sun was based in Aston, Birmingham, an area with substantial engineering and manufacturing activity. Its history reflects the industrial profile of the British Midlands, where firms often evolved from metalworking or cycle-component production into complete vehicle manufacturing. The company operated through periods of major change in the British motorcycle sector, including the increasing importance of larger corporate groups and the pressure to consolidate factories and production. In 1958, Tube Investments acquired Sun. The takeover brought the company into a broader industrial structure rather than leaving it to operate as an independent Birmingham manufacturer. In 1961, the Aston factory closed and production moved to Raleigh's factory in Nottingham. This transfer ended Sun's original manufacturing base and substantially changed the organizational context in which the brand operated. After the factory closure, the Sun name was reportedly used for a time on Raleigh bicycles that had been returned to the factory for rectification work. The name therefore survived temporarily as a product badge connected with repaired Raleigh bicycles, rather than representing a separate Sun production operation. Sun is now regarded as a defunct British motorcycle and bicycle marque. Its documented legacy includes the manufacture of bicycles and cycle fittings, the production of motorcycles beginning in 1911, later moped production, and its absorption into the Tube Investments and Raleigh manufacturing network.
- 1961
Aston factory closure and production transfer
[1]Sun's Birmingham factory closed and production was moved to the Raleigh factory in Nottingham.
- 1958
Acquisition by Tube Investments
[1]Tube Investments took over the Sun business.
- 1911
First Sun motorcycle
[1]Sun produced its first motorcycle. Early prewar motorcycles used Precision engines supplied by F. E. Baker Ltd.
- 1897
Formation of The Sun Cycle & Fittings Company Limited
[1]The business adopted the corporate name The Sun Cycle & Fittings Company Limited and began making bicycles under the Sun identity.
- 1885
Entry into the bicycle trade
[1]James Parkes & Son began manufacturing bicycle frames and fittings, extending its earlier brass-foundry activities into cycle production.
Products and positioning
A British industrial cycle brand that expanded from bicycle frames and fittings into complete bicycles, motorcycles, and mopeds. Its identity was rooted in Birmingham manufacturing and practical two-wheeled transport rather than premium lifestyle positioning.
Bicycles · 1897
Sun bicycles
Sun manufactured complete bicycles after developing from a business that initially supplied frames and fittings to the bicycle trade. Bicycle production became an important part of the company's identity and continued alongside its later motorcycle and moped activities. After the Birmingham factory closed, the Sun name was also used for a period on Raleigh bicycles returned to the factory for rectification work.
Motorcycles · 1911
Sun motorcycles
Sun entered motorcycle manufacturing in 1911. Its early pre-First World War motorcycles used Precision engines supplied by F. E. Baker Ltd, while Sun supplied or assembled the rest of the vehicle within its cycle-manufacturing operation. The motorcycle range formed part of the company's expansion from bicycles and components into powered two-wheelers.
Mopeds
Sun mopeds
Mopeds were among the powered two-wheeled products associated with Sun. Available documentation identifies moped production as part of the company's broader manufacturing activities, although the supplied historical material does not specify individual models or production dates.
Bicycle components · 1885
Sun cycle frames and fittings
Before producing complete bicycles, the business made frames and fittings for the bicycle trade. This component-manufacturing capability was the technical foundation for the later Sun bicycle and motorcycle businesses.
Controversies
2019
Prince Harry files phone-hacking claims against Sun and Daily Mirror owners
In a legal action reported in 2019, Prince Harry filed claims against the owners of the Sun and the Daily Mirror over the alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages. The claims concerned alleged phone hacking. The source quote states that Prince Harry filed legal claims against the owners of the Sun and the Daily Mirror over alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages. The event is recorded as a controversy note involving the Sun brand.
Brand decisions
1961
Production relocation to RaleighStrategyBackground
Following the Tube Investments takeover, the company reorganized its manufacturing footprint.
Action taken
The Aston factory was closed and Sun production was moved to Raleigh's factory in Nottingham.
Aftermath
Sun ceased to operate as an independent Birmingham manufacturing site. The name was later used temporarily on Raleigh bicycles returned for rectification work.
1958
Tube Investments acquisitionM&ABackground
Sun operated in a British two-wheeler industry increasingly shaped by larger companies and manufacturing consolidation.
Action taken
Tube Investments acquired the Sun Cycle & Fittings business.
Aftermath
Sun became part of a larger industrial group and subsequently lost its independent factory when production was transferred to Raleigh's Nottingham plant.
Recent events
Reported
PLDT Global and SyncShop partner to offer services to Filipinos in the UAE[3]
PLDT Global Corporation and UAE-based SyncShop LLC entered an agreement enabling Filipinos in the UAE to top up Smart, TNT, and Sun SIM cards and access other services, including bill and fee payments.
Reported
Prince Harry files phone-hacking claims against Sun and Daily Mirror owners[2]
Prince Harry filed legal claims against the owners of the Sun and the Daily Mirror over alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages.
Sources3 sources
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