pro sport

A couple of my mates TFS

There are not many Photo's of Greeves trials bikes in the Gallery apart from a Scottish, so I dug out a few of my own A TES from Sammy Millers Museum.

Unless anyone knows for sure, I would think its on the alloy beam near the headstock. The last Greeves I owned was in the early 70's and all I remember is that it's ser no started with TGS which signified it was a 1966 Anglian with the 37A Villiers 246cc engine. I believe that the Anglian model was the first to have a fibre glass / plastic tank. Mark if you can post some photos of the frame it might help us identifying . Cheers Dave

Love the aerial view from the helicam , what a fantastic area to ride in.

Hi Mark If you have a Frame / Serial number then have a look on this Webb site www.greeves-riders.org.uk/identify This could give you an idea of the original British name / code for the Cheyenne Regards Dave

I know the area well from rallies around Spa, Verviers, Eupen and the back roads that go underneath the E 40 motorway. Looked a bit chilly there in March with snow on the ground in the hills. We normally stay at Slenaken in the Limbourg region, great walking area and often thought it looked a great area for Trials.

Glad you got it sorted Andrew, its quite likely to be the easiest part to change , as I've found out in the past. But normally the Cota is a really reliable bike.

Will have to save up my Tesco vouchers for the Tunnel and bring my Cota over to have some fun with you! We have done a few Night rallies with Club Triumph Holland in my Classic Spitfire,400km following the old routes taken by the 60's / 70's rally's , so we know that it's do-able in a weekend . Looks like my kind of Trial.

Sorry I forgot the foot down stop as I did not see anybody do that in the above video. I consider that a cheating manoeuvre which should receive a 5 every time.

From guys video my opinion would be :- Very harsh (strict scoring) both c15's would have only been given a single dab from me, in fact not one of the riders (failing taking the wrong course) would have received a 5 from me! As a pre65 /twin shocker trial goes there should be sections like that that allow mostly cleans to encourage the entry, then also a few sections that you know will defeat all but the best... Are we driving away entries to trials by making riders despondent by receiving too many fives ? Are we taking NO STOP too literally ? Surely a 5 should be given when all further forwards motion is not possible, you have either stalled or fallen off OR you move backwards ! If you have the skill to hop / balance momentarily on one of our heavy old lumps of machinery then why should you be penalised. To encourage new blood and halt the decline in numbers competeing surely this must be the way to go! That's my view from riding trials in the early 1970's to today's veteran trials.......

Hi guys Really like the video's you post, could be that this one reminds me of when I first started competing and the likes of Rathmell and Lampkin and Andrews were the riders you aspired to equal in technique. Regards Dave.

Sorry to hear about your hassle with the Police not responding. I would have thought that you would have been well within your rights ( providing you had a logged crime number with the police ) to have actually bid and won your own bike on the action. You could have then informed the police to then intervene whilst awaiting collection & payment arrangements, the bike would then have been returned to you once your ownership was confirmed.

My Montesa Cota 247 Mk4b My Mates Greeves TFS

Looks like a Plasma cutter to me ? Really like the look of your new ride Dave!

In my early days I wore leather boots but still suffered a twisted ankle on a cross-country link between sections, in the mid seventies the reinforced steel toe capped wellies came out which were amazing - dry protected feet. But then fashion dictated a change back to leather boots, which are now light and soft and offer less protection. Therefore as Lineaway and Guys have commented, I went for a pair of Alpinestars motocross boots and definitely like the extra protection given by the inner boot.

As you have said its a right hand change then its a Cota 247 could be anything from 1968 mk1 with large brake drums to a late 1972 mk3 with small drums and slimmer tank. As Glenn says a photo or ser no would give us a better idea to give you more info from. Cheers Dave

Hi Mark Just noticed that the front brake arm is behind the fork leg, it should be in front . This will move the position of the brake actuation lever so you might have to adjust it like you have with the rear brake , it will give a straighter pull on the cable making it less likely to stick.You can just make it out behind my horrible Red Forks. Cheers Dave

Found a picture of Aveley pits and me age 15 on my mates Greeves TFS.

Remember practicing at Aveley gravel pits on my Greeves in the late 60's , then the works riders were Vic Allen And Bryan Wade and at that time the Griffon was being developed. Good times. Dave

When I fitted a new float chamber gasket I didn't use anything as the petrol might dissolve it, anyway the gasket should seal on its own. The O ring on mixture screw might need a little rubber grease to aid fitting the O ring into the groove, and the same with the slow running screw. The main , needle , and pilot jets do not have O rings fitted, as far as i know.

Well done Mark The rubber joint on the exhaust is probably missing, mine was. And yes they do smoke a bit, mine is now running on a synthetic oil premix at 3% and hardly smokes at all. Get it properly lubed up and clean &adjust the brakes then get out and give it a try, you'll love it ! I'm just out for a practice on mine :-) Dave

Hi Mark Sorry you admitted defeat and put it into the shop for the guys to fix. As I told you a couple of days ago The 21M18--- ser No is a MK4b 247cc made in Feb to May 1975 deffo not 1972. The 21M25--- No is a late Ulf Karlson Replica 240cc Approx Mid 1978. As Charlie said youve got points/condensor problems from the bikes hanging around for so long not being used!!! The air filter boxes should be silver, Frame Black Gloss, Tank was Red gel coat Glass fibre but you can get various near matches in spray cans. Let us know how you get on once its back. Cheers Dave

Well as you probably know youve got a Cota Mk4b , made between Feb 74 & June 75. You need to get yourself a flywheel puller and a clamp to hold the flywheel whilst tightning the puller , once the flywheel is off you can check the points are clean and able to move, although you cant see them open and close as they run on a cam inside the flywheel. The inspection hole in the flywheel is your only check as to the points operation. The condensor can be removed from the hot engine area and fitted up next to the coil in the cooler air under the petrol tank. Once you get a spark at the plug you need to get the timing correct ( check other threads on here as to settings) then you need to lock up the flywheel really tight again then concentrate on the carb getting a correct fuel mixture (Strawberry colour plug tip) you might have to change the needle and needle jet as i did with mine to get it running correctly,its an Amal Carb and you can get parts from Burlen Ltd. Good luck Let us know how you get on. Dave( another mid life crisis dad! )

Hi Paul, will try to get along sunday but have company for the weekend. Will look out for the NV Mcc trial later on and try to get to that if not there sunday. Cheers Dave

Hi Paul, the taco is looking great now. Where abouts do you ride, as i am fresh back into riding on an old Montesa and am in Suffolk and would be looking to do some easy-in trials later in the year, maybe next year. regards Dave