RealClassic GREEVES SPORTS TWIN
Sometimes, as you pass by a group of motorcycles, one just jumps out at you and shouts ‘look at me!'. This Greeves did just that. It immediately attracted my attention as it waited its turn at a local workshop for a repair to one of its pair of ignition switches. The bike demanding my attention was a lovely 1961 Greeves Sports Twin 32DC, fitted with a 324cc Villiers 3T two-stroke engine. It looked wonderful with its polished alloy mudguards and silver and blue petrol tank.
When I was a somewhat foolish youth, I never appreciated what superb machines Greeves built. The bikes looked strange, quirky even, with their leading link forks, the massive, cast aluminium downtube and‘traditional' – to me, uninspiring – Moorland Blue paintwork. Oh how wrong can you be?
Greeves motorcycles were certainly unconventional to look at, but there was some very innovative engineering built into their design, like the ‘paddle' hubs and thattheir road bikes built up an enviable reputation for high quality and superb roadholding. They were even used by some police forces. Yet despite their outstanding competition successes – including wins in the Scottish SDT and the Manx GP – the road bikes were never big sellers. Perhaps other people, like me, were put off by their unconventional looks. The off-road competition bikes were very popular indeed in the USA.
