Greeves (motorcycles)
After many wins in motorcycle trials competitions and developing a successful US export market, the original company ceased trading following a fire in 1977.
The new business continues to develop motorcycles and launched the first new Greeves trials bike for 20 years in January 2009, with an all-new British two-stroke 280 cc engine.
Greeves was mowing the lawns of his home in Worcestershire when he had the idea of fitting the lawnmower engine to his disabled cousin's wheelchair and invented the Invacar.
Invacar Ltd was set up and won a major contract to provide motorised three-wheeled invalid carriage vehicles to the UK Government Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance.
The motorcycles were really a sideline for the main business of producing the three-wheeled invalid cars, so development of the prototypes had to be fitted in when the production schedule allowed.
Made from LM6 silicon-aluminium alloy, it was claimed to be stronger than tubular steel and proved capable of standing up to the rough treatment of international off-road trials competition.
[3] Derry Preston-Cobb was made Sales Manager for the motorcycle business and they started with three models, a scrambler, a three speed road bike and a four-speed version.
At the 1954 Earls Court Show, they also launched the 'Fleetwing', a two-cylinder two-stroke with a 242 cc British Anzani engine developed from those used for motor boats and featuring a crankshaft with a hollow midsection that acted as a rotary inlet valve.
[4] The next Greeves model was called the 'Hawkstone'; to capitalise on this success and the company began to specialise in motocross motorcycles, ridden by champions including Peter Hammond, Jack Simpson and Norman Sloper.
[1] Stonebridge led a three-man Greeves team to the West German International Six Days Trial event in 1958 and had a faultless ride, winning another gold medal.
In a head-on collision Bert was only slightly injured but in the days before seat belts it proved fatal for Brian, who died at the scene of the accident.
[4] In 1963 the Greeves range still included the 25DC Sports Twin and two new models with the latest glass fibre tanks and handlebar fairings, as well as plastic mudguards.
This led to a lot of interest in the Greeves road bikes, including from a number of British Police forces for a version of the bigger twin equipped with a radio.
Continuing a tradition started by Bert Greeves, the heads, barrels, crankcases, and aluminium frame beams were manufactured from new castings produced in a specialist alloy foundry.
[16] GPD Developments, a foundry in Nuneaton, Warwickshire manufactured castings using a new method of printing sand moulds directly from computer-aided design (CAD) data.
[16] After six thousand hours of design, further development and testing, Greeves launched the 280 cc Trials bike at the Classic Off-Road show at Telford in 2009.
[15][17] The 280 specification included Marzocchi aluminium forks, Dellorto carburettor, the fuel tank located close to the rear wheel to reduce the centre of gravity, and a single shock absorber mounted centrally on the swinging arm.
