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Greeves Challenger

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aeronca65t

aeronca65t

Great Pumpkin
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I was musing around the web and discovered the old Greeves Motorcycle company has been resurrected.
I think this outfit used to build wheelchairs too, but they are really well-known for their trials bikes (although "trials" in Europe is more like "offroad enduro" in N. America).
Confusingly, there is another version of "trials" popular in N. America and Europe that involves amazing balance on a motorcycle.

Anyway, I used to see Greeves bikes on some of our enduros and hare scrambles...this is when Japanese bikes were just starting to come into off-road motorcycling.
Some Greeves bikes had an unusual leading-fork front end.

Looks like you can still get enough spares to build a new one.

https://www.greevesmotorcyclesltd.com/

Greeves Challenger
challenger_3.JPG


Early Greeves racer
book.jpg
 
I remember those! Greeves, Husqvana and AJS were dominant in the scrambles (called motocross over here) shown......in black and white.......on "Grandstand" every Saturday. Jeff Smith and Dave Bickers would always be in contention for the win.

I actually met Jeff Smith at a promo that AHRMA held at the motorcycle dealership where I worked. Nice guy.
 
Nial,

That's cool!I saw a Montesa trials bike being
towed down the highway a couple of days ago - looked
like a new one.
Steve,was that the same Jeff Smith that rode for
CanAm a few years back?

- Doug
 
always did want a challenger only to be told "wait until you are 17 and you can get a car" so I did and ended up with an A40 farina for a year and when the engine went I got a austin 1100.Still wish I had got the Greaves.
 
Greeves in the late 50s and early 60s were the bikes to beat! I think the European 250 championship went to a Greeves (Silverstone?) in 1958 or so. The suspension was by large rubber bands IIRC. As the 60s progressed the bikes became less and less competitive (with poor dealer support, at least in the US) and Husky and Maico took their place until Jap performance/price swamped the field in the mid/late 70s.

Cheers!
Dave G.
 
The Earles (leading link) fork was ugly but apparently worked ok.
A friend of mine and I had a home made gokart with a 250 Greeves 2 stroke in it in about 1964, built by his Dad mostly.
 
I remember those too, and the TV scrambles. Wasn't Jeff Smith a works BSA rider? Or is my memory rusty? Ah, nostalgia!
 
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