Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128313
Machine: 1965 Greeves TFS Scottish Owner: Glenn Mueller, Tehachapi, California Glen n Mueller bought his first Gree ves , a Motocross Special, w he n he was 17 years old. Now 60, Mueller, an operations manager fo r a water district in Tehachapi, still owns t hat motorcycle and several more , including th is TFS Scottish tr ials bike , which won the Best Trials Bike award at Greeves Days 2004. "It has the Villiers lower e nd w ith the Greeves cylinder: ' Mueller says. "I re ally like those fende rs, because you really don 't see a lot of t he m like that. It was the last of the old-style trials bikes. Then they went to the Anglian, and afte r t hat, the Pathfinder." Another part of t he Greeves appeal, according to Mueller, is t hat unlike other British bikes of the era, yo u do n't have to break t he bank to own one . "Y can own a nice one, and they aren 't ou real expens ive: ' Mueller says. "O riginally, this model sold for about $800 . You can build a nice one fo r abo ut $3000. It's a hobby where you can build a co llectible bike and not have a whole lot of money tied up in it. And they' re simple like a tractor: ' Mueller says that he bought his TFS pretty much in the cond ition that you see it here. He has had it for a little more than a year. "I did take it apart and clean it up some, but the parts were all there," Mueller says. 'Abo ut the o nly thing that you can't get for t hem is the ignit io n co il, but they are winding replacements. The ignit io n coil was a weak link on these. Mueller en joys riding Greeves, though this one is strictly a show bike . He always brings along another TFS to plo nk aro und on, whether at Greeves Days o r on the streets of Tehachapi. Machine: 1972 Greeves Grifton 380 Owner: Ken Sykes, EI Dorado Hills, California Ken Sykes is w ell known amo ng vintage motorcycle circles. Among thos e at t he fo re fro nt of th e vintage motocross movement, Sykes used to be the go-to guy for restorers and race rs looking for hard-tofind bea rings and seals for od dball or obsol et e bikes . These days, Sykes, who celebrated his 47th birthday at Greeves Days, is con ten t to ow n so me 40 examples of the marqu e "counti ng rust buckets: ' including th is Griffon 380, which he has put together to race AHRMAin 2004. "This is the last year of the twin exhaust po rts and the first year of t he Moto plat ignition ," Sykes says. "They made them one year with this setup, and then at the e nd of the year they came out with the QUB 380, wh ich had a single exhaust po rt and a co mpute r-designed ex pansio n chamber on it. That one put ou t abo ut six more hors epower t han this model, but I always liked the tw in exhaust po rts o n this model: ' Sykes ' fondn ess for Greeves stems from the success they had in the hands of talented riders such as Gary Bailey [yes, that Gary Bailey] and Jim Wilson on the Southe rn Ca lifornia scene back in the late '60s and early '70s. "Plus, I also love t hat re d metalflake paint: ' he jokes. But for him, the ties run even deeper. "My uncle was involved with Gree ves he had a Gree ves desert bike - and then my dad came home w ith a Greeves for me when I was 13 years old," Sykes recalls. "When the motocross thing start ed kicking around, I got into that, and my favorite riders were the guys from England. Bryan Wade and Vic Allen, they rod e the Groo ves. I was just more into the Greeves than any of the other stuff, and I've just stuc k with them." Sykes says that he purchased this particular machine from CZ co llector Rick Nabors of Costa Mesa, California. It was in rough shape and required a complete restoration. "It was a rust bucket: ' Sykes says. "I had Frank Co nley do a new big end for it and fres hen it up. It's a good runner now." No doubt Sykes w ill always love t he Greeves marqu e, if for no other reason t han family loyalty that runs to the heart of the o riginal Greev es mo vem en t in America. Syke s is ma rried to Kathy Nicholson-Sykes, the daughte r of Gre eves U.S. importers Nick and Alice Nicholson . "Nick had the vision, but Alice was the bra ins and the business smarts behind Greev es in the U.S: ' Sykes says. "The Nicholsons are just a great motorcycle family w ho made Greeves happen in America ." And , for that re ason , Sykes adds : "You won't se e me racing a Suzuki anyCN time soon : ' Machine: 1966 Greeves 250 Sports Twin Owner: Dennis Burkman, Mission Viejo, California As if Greeves dirt bikes are n't rare enough, D ennis Burkman ow ns an even rarer Greeves stree t machine. This '66 Spo rts Twin is one of only eight to make their way to the United States. Surprisingly, three of the eight we re at Greeves Days this year, but Burkman's 100-percent o riginal example definitely has the neatest story behind it. "In the '60s , one of the top riders in District 37 desert racing was a guy named Gary Conrad:' Burkman says. "He rod e Greeves exclusively, and he domi nated t he dese rt . He was the high-point rider in 1966 and often finished first overall , bea ting the guys on the big Triumphs with his 250 Greeves. The Greeves dist ributor, Nick Nicholson, gave Gary Co nrad this very mac hine fo r being the high-point rider in 1966." Burkman says that Co nrad kept the machine for about se ven years before se lling it. Fo rtu nately, as it passed from own er to own er, it always went to so meone w ho was awa re of what it was and respectful of its significant history, including Burkman , w ho is a big Greeves fan. "I like them because they were a part of the era that Iwas arou nd in, in t he late '50s and thr ough the '60s:' 8 urkman, now 60, says. "I only owned one Greeves dirt bike du ring that peri od, but I have always appreciate d the m over the years." Burkman says that the Sports Twin is a blast to take o n the occasional road ho p. "It's a very smooth road machine, very res pons ive:' Burkman says. "Fo r its time in '66, yo u'd be surprised that it could kee p right up with some of the Yamahas and Ho ndas of t he time . And it has been pretty reliable, too. All British bikes have their quirks - that' s why they 're not around anymore - but if yo u keep o n top of it, it's a good runner, and it starts easy: ' But best of all for Burkman, this Spo rts Twin is Gary Co nrad's old bike, and Gary Co nrad is so me body wh o was so mebody to Greeves fans. The scarcity of Sports Twins is enough for him, but the fact t hat it used to belong to a former Greeves num- be r o ne is just icing on the cake. Editor's note: For more information on Greeves motorcycles and the Greeves Doys event . check out Conley's Gree ves website at http://hom e.earth/ink.netl-(rank'328/. www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NEW~ • M A l) r l-l 'l ')IVI A 'lO