1966-73 Greeves scrambler collection – $14,900 for 11 bikes

Griffon/QUB/Challenger

SELLER SAYS: I have for sale, possibly one of the biggest collections of Greeves scramblers in Australia. After at least 15 years in storage, I have come to the realisation that I will never ride the bikes again. Therefore, the whole collection needs to go to someone who will appreciate them for what they are: the world’s finest scrambler of its day. In this collection, there are 3 x 380 QUB’s, 2 x 380 Griffons, 1 x Greeves Special, 4 x 250 Griffons, and 1 x 360 Challenger. Four of the bikes were actively raced, and the rest are complete or dismantled, waiting to be rebuilt. There are also boxes and boxes of spares. The whole collection needs to go in one lot. I am not interested in selling parts or single bikes. Some of the bikes are in storage, but I can send anyone who is genuinely interested photos of the other bikes and spares. I can also assist in transporting. Contact Peter on 0418 915 523 (O’Connor – Perth, Western Australia)

EDITOR TERLICK SAYS: Well, here’s a rare opportunity! Bert Greeves of Essex, England, started out his business in the late 1940s, building distinctive little three-wheelers for disabled people. His ‘Invacar‘ was manufactured after Bert won a Government contract after initially building a wheelchair powered by a lawnmower engine for his cousin, as you do. But he had more interesting plans, and quickly switched to building dirt bikes for observed trials and scrambles. A total of more than 15,000 Greeves motorcycles were made between 1953 and 1977, all of them lightweight two strokes during an era when big heavy four strokes were all the rage. And they were very good. Englishman Dave Bickers won the European 250cc motocross title in 1960 and 1961 (Bickers later became a stunt rider for Roger Moore in James Bond films, but that’s another story), while Don Smith is said to have won ten consecutive major British national trials and international events aboard Greeves machines. This collection of 11 bikes (plus a substantial collection of spare parts) would take many years to accumulate from scratch. For an existing collector of British bikes or someone just starting out, it’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase at such a scale.