Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

'Why Greeves?'

Collapse
This is a sticky topic.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Yes, and I know where you live.....don't I Mr Grytpype...

    Comment


    • #17
      Come on, all you Greeves addicts, it's not every day you are handed an opportunity such as this to confess. Let's hear your story, please, and give our Brian the encouragement he deserves for introducing such an excellent thread in the first place.............You know you want to (???)

      Comment


      • #18
        Why GREEVES

        I had my first bike and that was a scottish 20 TA or TD reg 422 ABP that I purchased second hand after joining the Bognor Regis and District MCC in I961 and used it for work, social and trials until my Dad took me in the Ford Angle box and trailer. all the club riders were on these or Tiger cubs and a few C15s which I remember had a lot of starting and big end probs.

        Also like John Wakefield I bought a Sprite that had forks a bit like the Anglian, but it was akiller in handling and was more like a buck and bronco! the engine it had was the standard bottom half and Ginger Budd the sidecar Trial rider put a square barrel top on it, the problem was, I not knowing a lot about engines (and still dont ask Rob) this was a scrambler head and barrel, coupled with the Sprite frame etc this was a disater waiting to happen and that went.

        So after Bultacos , Montessa, Ossa etc it was 4o years untill Greeves returned with a vengance, and have now had several enjoyable years and many more I hope Thank you Bert Greeves

        Comment


        • #19
          I have been messing with Greeves for 3 years and so I am a relative newbie but I enjoy wrenching spanners and learning the history of the marque. I choose Greeves so I could ride British Iron and not bankrupt myself in the process Now I get to ride them

          Comment


          • #20
            I hear that jonah! suits you that!.., come on lads, a few of us have succumbed to doctor thompsons couch to tell all, but i have a feeling, that there are a few greebies out there, that would feel better getting this bit of history off there chest?.
            you know it makes sense & after all, he really is a qualified doctor........

            Comment


            • #21
              Apologies that I went off a bit in my first submission.
              Quite apart from "being there" to see at first hand how the Hawkstone developed and how it could go in the right hands, I, too, was taken by the simplicity of design, and the knowledge, mentioned by Tammy, that you had a virtually-hand-built bike, and for not-too-much money, and a reasonably reliable one at that (if you kept up the maintenance regime!).
              I was so sold on the design of my Hawkstone that I never trusted a bike with tele forks! I have ridden tele-forked bikes since, Metisses and Tribsas in particular, of course, but in those early days it just didn't seem right to ride a scramble bike with anything other than leading link forks, such was my commitment to the early Greeves design. Even when I was looking to "upgrade" to a Challenger, I had to have one with "proper" Greeves forks, despite the fact that tele-forked variants were well available.
              Was this a factor in anyone else's choice of the Greeves, or should I have sought "Doctor's advice" at that point, I wonder?

              Comment


              • #22
                There is something in that john, my bsa engined h/stone is probably the best handling bike i have ever ridden!, the steering is so precise, whether i have inadvertaintly improved it by using a bit of extra weight or by displacing the weight, i don`t know.
                But it is certainly very accurate, only trouble is, what you gain on handling, you lose on travel, when riding the griffon, with tele`s after the h/stone, the front feels like its sliding out in corners, but you adapt back to it quickly. dave.

                Comment


                • #23
                  why greeves?

                  Its all my Dads fault as he used to tell me tales of picking up his brand new 59 Scottish from anerleys in blackburn , then his scrambles exploits on his hawkstone and how he collected it off the train brand new after it was sent up north, it got me in to bikes from an early age . Bought a basket case 59 250 scottish VFK 761 when i was about 13 and with dads help rebuilt it, trialed it when everyone else was on ty yams and fantics ,(no wonder i ended up under it more than on it) Then put it on the road and went to work everyday on it, of course it was "sleeved down "to a 125 to comply with the law(proof that the pen is mightier than the sword ) It had a fair turn of speed for a 125! Then picked a 24mx5 and hill climbed that , i could kick myself for selling it . Fast forward 20 odd years and Dads gone but the greeves bug is still with me with 4 in the shed , for me i think its the forks and beam ,makes them look so purposeful

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Leading links

                    Agree about the alloy beam and forks bit, I do think that I am quicker on the Hawkstones than my short stroke 250 mx4, on the Hawkstones I am much more confident in the bends, also they jump so well. Well with Adrian d on board they fly

                    It amazes me how you can go over a jump at 45 degrees and leap diagonally then land on the back wheel and then just carry on??, well Adrian does anyways

                    Also most of these bikes are still going strong over half a century of use?? The things are legendary and deservingly so.

                    Well done Mr Greeves

                    Scotty

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Jumping at 45 degrees scott,& landing upright! sounds like his front wheels buckeld.....

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Why Greeves?

                        Originally posted by dave higgins View Post
                        Jumping at 45 degrees.....
                        Yes, a bit like this thread will if we're not careful....!

                        But seriously, it's been great to see everyone's contributions and I for one have thoroughly enjoyed reading them all (even Mr Grytpype's...!)

                        Thanks very much indeed to everyone who has supported this thread so far.

                        It'd be great to see some more views on this topic from other members!

                        Brian.
                        Last edited by Brian Thompson; 23/06/2012, 08:05 PM. Reason: Problems spelling Grytpype....!

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          We have not heard your reason yet .

                          Chris

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Why Greeves?

                            For me, I think that Greeves as a brand is just enough "off-center" from the rest of the world to make ownership fun and interesting. As a vintage motocross enthusiast I know there are faster and more sophisticated machines, but beating these fancy Japanese and European bikes is worth the price of ownership. Greeves are fairly simple machines (maybe even crude) and easy to maintain. And the beam frame and leading links are a constant source of comments in the paddock. They have a great racing history and they're from the U.K.

                            Dean Newton
                            Seattle, U.S.A.
                            www.spitfire-racing.com

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Why Greeves ?

                              Great Thread Brian.....

                              Like several others in this thread I have my Dad to thank!!

                              My earliest and some of my happiest memories are as a small child going to Scrambles to watch my Dad race his 250 MDS..............I first rode my Dads bike in the fields and woods behind my house age about 8 years old....I remember my first ride - Dad asked me to keep it in 2nd and be careful....

                              I thrashed it across a big field into first, second , third then fourth..WOW .... I hit the brakes when I realised the woods were approaching at an alarming rate - and of course crashed . I was hooked on motocross
                              ...and of course my riding style hasn't changed much over the years

                              Thanks to Dave H and the Greeves - I can still race my dad's bike
                              Cheers Kim

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Like many had my first Greeves (1959 Scottish) as kid, never forgot that bike.
                                Many, many years later had some money & decided I wanted to recall my years of enjoyment on that old Scottish.
                                So located a TFS restored that, tucked it away in my shed,then someone gave me a Brittains toy of a Greeves Challenger, again, remembering my youth and all of the scrambles I used to go with my Mum & Dad, I decided to find one. Found a basket case and bought that and I am halfway through a nut & bolt restoration.
                                I love all off road sports and I tend to collect bikes that impressed me as a kid, I have a 500 Jap speedway bike and also 500 Jawa to go with that. according to my better half "I am sad"!! and I ought to "see someone"!!
                                Well all I can say is I caught the Greeves bug as an impressionable 14 year old and I still have it 40 odd years later woud not have it any other way.
                                I used to think (still do) that the Greeves factory was typically British, a brilliant and radical design with a modicum of success with what appeared to be, limited resources, it's what we do best.
                                A brilliant thread by the way.

                                Colin
                                aka a Greeves saddo!! (according to the memsahib)

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X