Greeves? JKD engine

[John Pattinson]

Well excuse my ignorance but what is a JKD engine? Great pictures from the AGM Brian. I don't know how I missed them earlier but the JKD engine is something I have never seen, did Greeves make it, how many cc is it, what happened to it, is it something to do with the Gaunlet??? John P.

[Brian Thompson]

Greeves 500/JKD Engine.

Great pictures from the AGM Brian. I don't know how I missed them earlier.....

Hello John,

Alas, it happens to me all time on here....at least that may explain the lack of response to so much of the stuff I've posted over the years....

There are others that can reply with more authority than I can (don't forget that I'm just a humble Twanger/typist after all..) so I will leave it to them in regards to this interesting topic.

However, I can offer you this thread (another old one...) with a bit more info for you to look at;

http://www.greeves-riders.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=3187

Brian.

[Brian Catt]

To answer the first part of the question for John, JKD stands (stood) for Jack Knight Developments. This gent and his small team were renown in the enormous world of Hillman Imp gearboxes.....and other things! If you used an Imp in competition, it was this company that supplied your gears and final drive.
I don't know how they got involved with the Greeves side of things, but obviously the primary drive being helical gears might provide the clue.

[Brian Thompson]

JKD Engine.

[QUOTE=Brian Catt;22814]To answer the first part of the question for John, JKD stands (stood) for Jack Knight Developments....QUOTE]

....as I explained in my write-up for the album I posted.....(ok, maybe not the 'D' bit, but hardly a stretch....)

I was thinking more about Gary (who actually has one) and Druid (hopefully...) who was actually there....

I don't half miss Chris Goodfellow.....reading his words on here (see GP500 thread) just reminds me so much of his loss....Goodfellow by name, and then some....

Brian.

[Colin Sparrow]

I think what happened was that JKD acquired the rights, and perhaps the tooling for the 500 scrambler prototype and/or the Gauntlet military prototype.

As you say, the clue is the geared primary drive, however the Gauntlet was a 380 with a left-side kick start, the scrambler was a 500 with a right-side kick start.

And I'm certain of that because the 500 is in my garage at the moment...

I don't really know what JKD managed to do with it. Whichever it was.

The 500, which Dave Harper has kindly lent to me, will be on the GRA stand at both Bristol and Telford shows.

[druid]

JKD engine

The link between Greeves and JKD was Tony O'Neil (chief draughtsman) who was into racing cars at the time and Jack Knight, as Brian says was a manufacturer of transmission parts for all sorts of competition cars.
When Greeves decided to off load the 500 project (it did appear in the ads in the press at one time) I believe Tony persuaded Jack Knight that it was a worthwhile proposition.
JKD had a new head, barrel and primary case cast as shown in the photos and also in a contemporary copy of MCI.
When JKD realized it wasn't going to make their fortune they off loaded it to a local motorcycle dealer in Southend.
Andrew King can take the story from there.

Druid

[Brian Thompson]

JKD Engine.

Thank you John.

Brian.

[dave higgins]

He`s quite good for his age you know!

Brian....memory like a sieve you!..... remember!....myself, you & the youngster andy z... were sat about 6ft from andrew king when he explained the whole story to us, at the excellent talk he gave at the agm.

[Brian Thompson]

Memory Man....(with an e Dave, not an A....)....what was that engine again???

Ha!

Oh yeah......that's right.....how on earth could I have forgotten....!! Holding up Dave Pink in the carpark to get a 'special' deal on some bits, with nothing more than a bent spoon.....eating 'us pack-up with Don M.....

I was just trying to get someone else to say summat about it mate.....After all, I'm just a Twanger and all I know is a gearbox is where I put me fuzz pedals when I ain't usin' em.....

It'd be amazing to hear from AK (the source!) about the JKD engine on here....

Peter...no, Arnold.....no, Susan (Susan?).....oh yeah, Brian (I think...)

[dave higgins]

I`ll secound that....be great to hear andrew run through it again....but if you want info like this, then the agm is the place to be.....
By the way brian, that might have only been a bent spoon!....but the way the you held it in that woolly mitten looked very threatening........

[Brian Thompson]

JKD Engine...ish....

Dave, I always wear me woolly mittens at autojumbles....don't want to get me delicate Twanger pinkies all oily and grubby now do I....

The JKD engine on display was all clean and shiney though, so that was ok....phew!

See...still on topic....just about, but sorry everyone for not being all serious and stern and solemn like....I just can't do it today, what with all the news and that...

Brian.

[Phil Hyde]

Jkd

Interesting to note that JKD are still in business albeit firmly in the car transmission related world.