Following on from Kenny's ('Bearingman') post yesterday on his latest excellent find (see here;http://www.greeves-riders.org.uk/for...ead.php?t=1374), it got me thinking about an interesting Greeves Challenger I once spotted for sale here in the UK.
It was a few years ago at one of the Malvern classic autojumbles ('swap meet' in the US?) At the time I was 'doing my research' prior to buying my first Greeves and was still very much learning the ropes (still am!) I was, as always, on the lookout for any Greeves and saw this tired 'old warhorse' for sale in the carpark. The vendor was asking £1,250 (GBP) for it, and although a trader, he admitted to knowing very little about Greeves and that he had recently imported the bike from the USA. Basically, he was looking to get his money back and wouldn't budge on the price. In any case, I'd really set my heart on a rubber forked 'Scottish', but I must admit I was sorely tempted at the time....if it had been fitted with bananna forks instead of the Cerianis it might well be in my garage now! I noted the large section 'trials' front tyre (I understand they work better than a standard knobbly in dealing with the sand and rocks found in desert racing conditions), the Greeves 'desert tank' and the aftermarket combined front numberboard/toolbox (a 'Preston Petty' part I wonder?) All this led me to think it might well have been a 'desert sled'. I'd have done an 'on the spot' analysis of the sand/dirt still very much in evidence around the bike to see if it was 'genuine 'Mojave', but I forgot to take my 'chemistry set'!
(remember those?!) Desert racers also often have an extra heavy-duty 'bash plate' fitted under the cases too, but maybe it had been removed from this bike?
Later on that year, my partner Wendy and I made the wise decision to attend the GRA AGM at Kidlington as it was relatively close to us. I wasn't a member then, but the whole day was very rewarding and inspiring, and I got a terrific amount of encouragement and heaps of fantastic advice from the members I spoke to. Wendy loved seeing all the wonderfully restored and presented bikes and proclaimed that she "wanted to take them all home with her"...! (Wonder if she'd say that now though...?!
) One of the people we spoke to was, I later discovered, Andrew King. What a stroke of luck that was! We waited patiently in line to speak with him (it was a long cue!), and he was so kind and patient with us, pointing me in the right direction regarding all things Greeves.
As I was trying to get an idea of the market, what to pay, etc, I'd taken along a few pics to show people, including the ones attached. When I showed them to AK, he was quite fascinated by the exhaust system fitted as he wasn't too sure what it was (aftermarket US 'special'?) and also warned me about 'those' gearboxes... With hindsight, the exhaust looks a bit like an 'original' TFS item (rare beasts those!), but of course Andrew would have spotted that in an instant if it was!
As a footnote, I saw the dealer a few months later and asked if he'd managed to sell the bike, and he informed me that a guy in Spain had bought it, so presumably that is where it now resides. I do hope it has been restored to it's former glory-it would have made a really nice bike I reckon!
So there it is, a 'desert sled' in the UK perhaps,or just an American spec Challenger used as an enduro bike maybe? I'd be really interested to see what our experts make of it, especially Kenny and Dean.
Thanks guys,
Brian.
It was a few years ago at one of the Malvern classic autojumbles ('swap meet' in the US?) At the time I was 'doing my research' prior to buying my first Greeves and was still very much learning the ropes (still am!) I was, as always, on the lookout for any Greeves and saw this tired 'old warhorse' for sale in the carpark. The vendor was asking £1,250 (GBP) for it, and although a trader, he admitted to knowing very little about Greeves and that he had recently imported the bike from the USA. Basically, he was looking to get his money back and wouldn't budge on the price. In any case, I'd really set my heart on a rubber forked 'Scottish', but I must admit I was sorely tempted at the time....if it had been fitted with bananna forks instead of the Cerianis it might well be in my garage now! I noted the large section 'trials' front tyre (I understand they work better than a standard knobbly in dealing with the sand and rocks found in desert racing conditions), the Greeves 'desert tank' and the aftermarket combined front numberboard/toolbox (a 'Preston Petty' part I wonder?) All this led me to think it might well have been a 'desert sled'. I'd have done an 'on the spot' analysis of the sand/dirt still very much in evidence around the bike to see if it was 'genuine 'Mojave', but I forgot to take my 'chemistry set'!
(remember those?!) Desert racers also often have an extra heavy-duty 'bash plate' fitted under the cases too, but maybe it had been removed from this bike? Later on that year, my partner Wendy and I made the wise decision to attend the GRA AGM at Kidlington as it was relatively close to us. I wasn't a member then, but the whole day was very rewarding and inspiring, and I got a terrific amount of encouragement and heaps of fantastic advice from the members I spoke to. Wendy loved seeing all the wonderfully restored and presented bikes and proclaimed that she "wanted to take them all home with her"...! (Wonder if she'd say that now though...?!
) One of the people we spoke to was, I later discovered, Andrew King. What a stroke of luck that was! We waited patiently in line to speak with him (it was a long cue!), and he was so kind and patient with us, pointing me in the right direction regarding all things Greeves. As I was trying to get an idea of the market, what to pay, etc, I'd taken along a few pics to show people, including the ones attached. When I showed them to AK, he was quite fascinated by the exhaust system fitted as he wasn't too sure what it was (aftermarket US 'special'?) and also warned me about 'those' gearboxes...
With hindsight, the exhaust looks a bit like an 'original' TFS item (rare beasts those!), but of course Andrew would have spotted that in an instant if it was!As a footnote, I saw the dealer a few months later and asked if he'd managed to sell the bike, and he informed me that a guy in Spain had bought it, so presumably that is where it now resides. I do hope it has been restored to it's former glory-it would have made a really nice bike I reckon!
So there it is, a 'desert sled' in the UK perhaps,or just an American spec Challenger used as an enduro bike maybe? I'd be really interested to see what our experts make of it, especially Kenny and Dean.
Thanks guys,
Brian.
Attached Files
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(heh heh!) 
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