Greeves motorcycles for sale

Opportunity Knocks...

John Newman

• JohnNewman

For someone who has £350,000 to invest, the opportunity has come up to purchase this historic British motorcycle brand, plus a bunch of complete bikes and manufacturing equipment.
Richard Deal the current owner who bought Greeves back in 1999 has turned seventy, and the hours required to design, make, market and distribute the bikes would be taxing to a person half that age. Hence the sale.
The company was founded in 1951 by Bert Greeves, and it was the production of the Invacar for disabled drivers with a contract from the government that established the company as a going concern. From there they expanded into producing two stroke trials and moto cross machines - scrambling as it was then – plus the Greeves Silverstone road racer. Success in the sport with the bikes being ridden by a succession of well known British riders, established it as a clubman favourite – I even took my bike test on one of their trials bikes, and failed. They also manufactured a number of road bikes; but two stroke technology wasn't conducive to long term non-competition development when emission restrictions were introduced.

Included in the sale are ten bikes, including the current trials development model, the 280TI. A two stroke boasting top equipment such as Marzocchi forks, Ohlins monoshock and Grimeca brakes. There's also the intellectual property i.e. the Greeves brand name, and a considerable amount of the production equipment necessary to keep the whole show on the road.
The sale price, not a great deal of money these days, might appeal to a business person who has a sense of how a small motorcycle company with a very famous name can be exploited in an atmosphere where leisure/niche and 'nostalgia' markets - with Ariel and Matchless returning to the game – form a high profile part of the UK motorcycle scene.
Greeves Motorcycle Ltd are located in Chelmsford in Essex, and can be contacted at:
01245 227667.