1969 380cc Greeves Griffon Classic Motorcycle

Could have done with a commentary thereby getting rid of that awful music.

Greeves made some great bikes. Sadly, the demise of Villiers was the cause of their demise.

I've always been amazed how much of a forerunner this motorcycle was. Conical hubs, square swing arm, generally excellent ergos and overall layout. There was a local guy named John rice (I think it was John but it might have been Jim, but he was not the flat track dude on "On Any Sunday") that rode one well into the mid-seventies in open expert motocross in Southern California and was always incredibly competitive. I watched him get the hole shot at many a race. Admittedly, this guy was unbelievably good, and a lot of the credit goes to him but he would really make that torquey, low revving motor work. It seemed like 100% of the power was getting to the ground. If you've ever been behind one of these tractors, the roost on a loose track was at least as bad as any Maico 400 I've been sprayed by. The best footage that I know of of one in action can be found in the footage of Mert Lawill "cow trailing" in the movie "On Any Sunday". You can see just how easy it was for him to loft the front wheel. He must of been forbidden to ride anything other than a Harley since an effort was made to hide the fact that it was indeed a Greeves. I will always have a soft spot for these awesome torque monsters.

that's my dream bike.....