Sales Records

[tonyed27]

Are the Greeves factory sales records available?
I am trying to trace the history of 24RES 122.
I know who was the last owner (1978 ish) but as that person is no longer with us I want to find out who had it from the factory

[IanCordes]

The despatch records are not available to all and sundry, but if you check the inside back page of Leading Link, you will see 'Club Officers', DVLA authentication Stuart Wigmore and frame numbers Pete Smith. Between them, they should be able to give you the info you are after.

[John Wakefield]

The dispatch record (if it exists) will only give the dealer & date to whom it was dispatched, it wont give first owner.

[tonyed27]

It is a start.
My 1974 TZ 250A is quite easy. I bought it from its' second owner and he being still with us new who he bought it off.
I will email Stuart and Pete
Thanks

[tonyed27]

Stuart informs me that my RES122 was dispatched from the factory on 07/04/1967 to Monty Banks London E1
From a 2010 post on this web site I see that Monty banks was located at was in Vallance Road, in the Cambridge Heath area of Bethnal Green.
The post says:
J M Banks is most likely Monty Banks Senior who was a well known rider in Scrambles and the ISDT. His shop was in Vallance Road, in the Cambridge Heath area of Bethnal Green. I believe his son Monty Banks Junior carried on with the business.
So I have a starting point.
1967 was the first year I was 'on the road' turning 16 at the end of 1966, actually 27/12/1966.
A friend with a 197cc James and me on my 199cc Tiger Cub attended many club and national road races in 1967, mainly Mallory Park and Snetterton.
Along with all the race programs from my racing 'career' which spanned from 1969 to 1982 I still have those programs. So my next task will be to go through the 1967/68 programs to see if any riders were sponsored by Monty Banks.

[John Wakefield]

After Monty Senior died the business of J M Banks was carried on for some years by his son Monty Banks Junior. Monty Senior had another son David who was a good South Midland Centre trials rider, he also worked in the shop. Monty Junior was a GRA member but died some years ago, not sure where David is or if he is still alive.

[tonyed27]

Some more dispatch info shows that after it went to Monty Banks in April 67 in May 67 it went onto Comerfords with the dispatch details annotated 'show model'.
As far as I am aware there was only one show which was at Earls Court in Nov 1966 (I have the copy of the 'Motor Cycle' which covers the show and has a photo of the latest Silverstone offering, the RES, for 1967. So there is the possibility I have the show model.
I did attend that show and it means I might have already met this bike only 56 years ago.
I'll keep digging.
Thanks to the GRA members who have helped so far.

[John Wakefield]

Bikes were often swapped between dealers particularly if another dealer had a customer for a bike that was sitting in anothers showroom.

[tonyed27]

According to Rob Carrick and Mick Walkers book 'Greeves' actual production of the 1967 RES did not commence until 31st march 1967 and ceased after 58 machines were produced on 19th April 1967. My machine therefore could not have been the Earls Court show model so presumably the 'show' the sales records have appended to RES122 when it went to Comerfords was another unrelated show.
The Earls Court show model must have been, I assume a RDS from 1966 in red and silver guise.
Shame.
As the book notes by 1967 the 'foreign' machines, to wit the TD1 series of Yamahas were gaining reliability and with the speed differential the days of the air cooled British two stroke single were over. Perhaps if the factory had taken up the option of the Alpha Centuri twin engine and developed that things may have been different, but also it was probably wise for a small concern like Greeves to concentrate on its' core business which was off road machines.
Again the old British failure to move on bit hard and the result was that the likes of me and many others became destined to find 'lack of fame' and 'misfortune' in the hands of the Rising Sun.