This I-beam frame was both lighter and stronger than conventional tubular constructions. A tubular steel backbone, made of Reynolds 531, went back to a tubular subframe. Instead of tubes, the frame, built in his own foundry, was essentially an aluminum-alloy I-beam that went down from the steering head and bolted on to I-beam cradles for the engine/transmission unit. What made the Greeves stand out was the design of the frame and suspension. Owner: Glenn Mueller, Tehachapi, California. If one wonders where the Villiers name came from, the factory was on Villiers Street in Wolverhampton, and sold engines to a dozen small British motorcycle manufacturers. At the Earls Court Show in London in late 1953, the initial Greeves line had several roadsters and a scrambler powered by two-stroke engines from the Villiers Engineering Co., Ltd. And to help construct these three-wheelers he added a light-alloy foundry to his factory, which was located in the appropriately named (for a motorcyclist) town of Thundersley, in Essex County northeast of London.Īs an avid motorcyclist, he then got the notion of building a motorcycle, using someone else’s engine but his own chassis. Bert Greeves was an English fellow who got his start following World War II by bolting motorcycle engines into wheelchairs, and started a company called Invacar (Invalid’s Car). Owner: Glenn Mueller, Tehachapi, California.įew motorcyclists today are familiar with the Greeves name, but it was an interesting company, and had quite a bit of clout in this country back in the late 1950s and ’60s.
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