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[IanCordes]

Offering sound advice shouldn't put anyone off, JohnR!

[johnrunnacles]

Couldn't agree more, Ian. Hope you are keeping well, my friend?

[IanCordes]

All good her in the soggy west country, thank you John! You too I hope?

[Max black]

Yes but its destroying a very rare DCX, there are only around ten 250s and three 325's left in restored original condition, it goes against the grain for most GRA members, sadly it seems to be the current trend to convert old bikes to bobbers,street scramblers etc. Pity you did not join the GRA first and ask around for advice on which type of Greeves to buy, could have resulted in getting a much better bike to convert to a green laner, or buy a TFS Trail or Ranger already restored. Sorry if this is not the reception you had hoped for, but my personal feeling and I am sure that of other members.

I agree with you john, but committed now after sinking 2k in it. I should asked first: if i could find someone who wanted it, i,d sell it & buy different type.
thing is tho, who,d want to buy a std dcx: theyre hidious. I,d never sell it. Their were no interest in it on ebay when i was bidding.

[Max black]

Best make it a priority to get that front fork loop welded back into place, Max, one to suit your 21" front wheel of course.
Hope we haven't put you off joining the GRA, by the way? Welcome aboard!

Yes, i will make a new one & weld in. & no i havnt been put of. Its all experience.
altho with great respect, i dont agree / accept with much of the comments.

[johnrunnacles]

That's great to hear, Max. And at my time of life, I find it best to agree to disagree for much of the time! Take care, and enjoy your Greeves experience.

[Max black]

That's great to hear, Max. And at my time of life, I find it best to agree to disagree for much of the time! Take care, and enjoy your Greeves experience.

Well. Constructive critisism is how we all learn, nowt wrong we that. & if id come on here first would av made diff choice. However,
Bike was cheap @1100 quid. I just wanted a cheap greeves. I,ll only be using fa half dozen times a year, & justyfiying cost is a concern. As i do have other hobbies. Couple of road bikes i go out scratching on. Fishing & am an avid football supporter of swfc. So Didnt want to spend 5k on a griffin or a dot much as id like one.
@ 72, i aint gunna be doing no hard riding lol.
& lets face it. Any,& i mean any bike can be modyfied to greenlaner wi the right mods.Perhaps is a shame as john says. But who wants a std dcx, theyre hidious, awfull things.
Greeves are synominous with off rd bikes & imo never made a decent road bike. Perhaps silverstone accepted. So reckon i,m doing folk a favour by changing a dcx into a proper bike.
so if anyone wants my dcx or swap fa scrambler, please get in touch.

[John Wakefield]

Max Your statement that Greeves never made a decent road bike is totally wrong as I am sure many other members will comment further on. Yes the DCX was a design and sales failure but the other models the DB and later DC machines both with single and twin cylinder engines were top of the class, both in quality and performance and sold well. I would suggest that you swot up on Greeves and buy one of the excellent books on the marque. Greeves by Carrick and Walker and/or Greeves the complete story by Colin Sparrow. both out of print but secondhand copies come up regularly on eBay.

[IanCordes]

The DCX was a styling disaster, that's all. Underneath the garishly painted f/g tank, handlebar fairing and fork spats is a very competent roadster, as JohnW says, like the 25 &32DC models; likewise the East Coaster. Contemporary road tests raved about them, couldn't speak highly enough about the handling, as well as the finish. The only criticism was the price, as that build quality didn't come cheap, compared with the likes of FB and James, for example, with their pressed tin frames and forks! The people who criticise them tend to be those who have never owned one.....

[Max black]

Max Your statement that Greeves never made a decent road bike is totally wrong as I am sure many other members will comment further on. Yes the DCX was a design and sales failure but the other models the DB and later DC machines both with single and twin cylinder engines were top of the class, both in quality and performance and sold well. I would suggest that you swot up on Greeves and buy one of the excellent books on the marque. Greeves by Carrick and Walker and/or Greeves the complete story by Colin Sparrow. both out of print but secondhand copies come up regularly on eBay.

Think youre right. I did say, just my opinion.
but at least we agree dcx was a failier.
I used to get same critisism int 60,s fa putting triumph engines in featherbeds.

[Stuart Baskill]

Well. Constructive critisism is how we all learn, nowt wrong we that. & if id come on here first would av made diff choice. However,
Bike was cheap @1100 quid. I just wanted a cheap greeves. I,ll only be using fa half dozen times a year, & justyfiying cost is a concern. As i do have other hobbies. Couple of road bikes i go out scratching on. Fishing & am an avid football supporter of swfc. So Didnt want to spend 5k on a griffin or a dot much as id like one.
@ 72, i aint gunna be doing no hard riding lol.
& lets face it. Any,& i mean any bike can be modyfied to greenlaner wi the right mods.Perhaps is a shame as john says. But who wants a std dcx, theyre hidious, awfull things.
Greeves are synominous with off rd bikes & imo never made a decent road bike. Perhaps silverstone accepted. So reckon i,m doing folk a favour by changing a dcx into a proper bike.
so if anyone wants my dcx or swap fa scrambler, please get in touch.

The road frames were good enough to win 2 Manx GP and many world famous racers rode them so they couldnt have been too bad.

[Max black]

The road frames were good enough to win 2 Manx GP and many world famous racers rode them so they couldnt have been too bad.

Yeh but they wernt rd bikes were they, far from it. They were highly modyfied hybrids. & not available fa road use. Pretty much like im doing.

[Stuart Baskill]

Yeh but they wernt rd bikes were they, far from it. They were highly modyfied hybrids. & not available fa road use. Pretty much like im doing.

The original pre Silverstone was created by a private racer Reg Everett from Greeves parts that Bert Greeves copied to create the Silverstone..It would be interesting to list all the famous racers who raced a Silverstone..I,ll start with Peter Williams. Reg did just the same as you.He started with a roadster frame and 2T engine.He thought the handling was good but not the engine so he fitted a scrambler motor and got some good results..This brought it to Berts attention who then refined it to become the entry level racer..

[Max black]

Good knowledge pal: i like to think im fairly knowledgeable, however not when it come to greeves. I,m learning a lot.
hopefully, you,lle all be impressed when i post pics on finished article.

[Brian Thompson]

Wow, what an interesting thread! As my old and much missed 'chuckle bro'/fellow 'GRA Naughty Step Occupier' Dave 'Higgo' Higgins used to say, there's nowt like a bit of 'controversy' to get people talking (and posting)....!! Anyone mind if I chip in...?....no?....good, because I'm going to anyway!

Firstly, Max, welcome aboard, and always good to have another experienced and knowledgeable enthusiast contributing on here. You may be 'new' to the Greeves fold, but clearly you've spent a lifetime behind bars (!) and have acquired many useful skills along the way. We are all here to learn and share so it is my sincere hope that you will consider starting a new thread in the 'Projects' section and detail your interesting build as it progresses. Pics are always appreciated although you will need to be a full GRA member to post them. GRA membership is highly recommended and will also allow you to access the 'members only' areas of the forum, wherein can be found a wealth of information that I'm positive will be very useful for you going forwards. The club magazine 'Leading Link' is excellent and has always been one of the best in my opinion.

Back to the main topic, in my opinion, for what it's worth, I think there have been some interesting and valid points made from both sides of the fence on this one. It's interesting to me because it encapsulates many of the arguments for preservation or restoration, originality verses modified and the 'owner or custodian' question, all issues that are part of the classic bike world, especially these days. I need to state that I have always had a soft spot for the DCX as to me, like the style of the early Fleetwing's, it embodies that 'quirkiness' and 'something a bit different' that has always made Greeves special. As I have said before (see this thread; https://www.greeves-riders.org.uk/fo...ting-fleetwing) these qualities are like marmite for some....you either love it or you don't, and that is as it should be...each to their own and all that I say. But nobody can argue that it 'isn't' a Greeves through and through though, and as such is part of the history and fabric of Greeves lore. I also fully endorse Ian C's and other members comments regarding Greeves Roadsters in general. Take away the fibreglass and 'garish' (to some) colours and it's still a cracking bike with all the qualities that make them so desirable. I've never seen how those aspects make THE ENTIRE BIKE a failure anyway, and it just goes to show that some people will always 'buy with their eyes', as working in the trade taught me. Some people have bikes to impress other people, while others have them to impress themselves, after all.....

I can think of many other manufacturers that had their 'sales failures' trying to do something different and original, most much bigger than Greeves as well. With the big Japanese firms how about the Suzuki RE5 Rotary with that 'tubular' instrument binnacle and Italian styling (and only built for two years), the Yamaha GTS1000 with it's hub centre steering or the ubiquitous Honda CX500 'plastic maggot' as just three examples. I was working for Honda when the CX500 came out, at the same time as the CBX 6 cylinder thou (which also brings to mind the short lived Kawasaki Z1300 6 of course) and although these bikes have little in common with a little DCX, for me they all tried to be something new but the market just wasn't there and their 'quirks' led to many seeking something else. The exception (arguably) was the CX500, which became the go to for just about every dispatch rider in London and for good reason. These days, they form the basis of many a 'retro chic' special along the lines of the custom builds that JW referred to earlier. The reason I'm rambling on about Jap bikes on a British bike forum is that as one of the 'younger element' on here (63, and still hoping to reach puberty sometime soon...! ) these were the bikes I came up with, along with Greeves, Ducati, Laverda, Norton, and a bunch of Honda's, Suzuki's, Yamaha's and Kawasaki's. The bikes mentioned earlier became 'legends' in their own way, for one reason or another, even if they weren't all that successful from a commercial standpoint, but in terms of trying stuff out and developing some pretty amazing engineering solutions along the way, not to mention their notoriety as 'talking points', I think they have endured well as (arguably, I concede) magnificent expressions of motorcycle engineering for many people, folies or not. To people that love them I don't think it matters a jot what others think, and long may that be the case I say. I think it's great that Greeves had a model that slots into that category, and as this thread shows, people are still divided about the 'looks', if not the overall quality of the machine 'underneath'. I think OBG (Mr Greeves) was only too well aware of this, hence his test outing at Shrubland Park and taking it through the 'bomb hole', as mentioned by JR earlier in this thread (see attached pic.) It's worth noting OBG's comments too, again mirroring JR's comments regarding it's off-road suitability, Max's too.

So.....yes, the DCX IS a rare bike, but as others have said, at least there are several really nicely restored examples in existence and Gary's fantastic efforts in making parts so that they CAN be restored to original spec (for ALL Greeves too, not just the DCX!) are highly admirable in my view. We were chatting about this recently and Gary was showing me the drawings and parts required for the bracketry that supports the fork spats as well as a stunning (and very reasonably priced for the workmanship and quality) replica alloy tank to get around the ethanol issues with original fibreglass ones. This ensures that for those DCX's still out there waiting to be discovered restoration to original spec becomes a more viable proposition, which is brilliant. However, the DCX is not 'for me' inasmuch as it's just not really my 'style' in terms of ownership (custodianship?) or to ride. As such I can fully appreciate where you're coming from Max and what you need the bike to be FOR YOU. I'm sure that whatever direction to take with the build your experience means that you will be sympathetic about not doing any unreversible mods to key components (if that really actually matters....!!) and that you will end up with a bike that you'll really enjoy using for it's intended purpose. It's YOUR bike Max, so I think you have every right to do what you want with it personally, and I very much look forward to seeing how it develops. If it's the bike (DCX) I'm thinking of then surely it would be better to see it become something really nice and useable, as opposed to the sad, tired old hack that you are starting with. But enough about me....(ho ho! ) Here's that pic that JR mentioned.....from the cover of 'LL No. 16. So, tapped in 2nd. it is then eh...!!

Good luck with your Greeves Max, and hope you have a lot of fun with it. Please do consider that thread idea though, as I would love to see it on here, as I'm sure would many others.

Brian.