You can still buy parts for them today which make them a great bike to not only collect and work on, but actually ride as well. The majority of these bikes came to the United States through Nick Nicholson, a Greeves distributor. Still, riders such as Gary Bailey, Bryan Wade and Dave Bickers all gave the Greeves a go. Once motocross hit America, exotic CZs and lighter Huskies became the bikes everyone wanted. The 1967 Greeves 250 Challenger came along at the height of his popularity but was also the last primary bike for the brand. But by the early 1960s, Greeves bikes had become one of the most sought-after off-road two-stroke dirt bikes around. He was doing well with his business of building carriages used by invalids. Value $10,000)Īt first, Bert Greeves didn’t even want to become a motorcycle manufacturer. We truly believe that all collectors should strive to own one of these Husqvarnas as a centerpiece of their collection, but only the lucky few will succeed.ġ0. In addition, both the ‘66 and ‘67 models had a burgundy color. The 1966 model features a 19-inch front wheel, a frame that’s bolted together and smaller crankcases. While there are several models available, you’ll notice some small differences between them. To further fuel the desire, about a hundred of these bikes were imported to the States for private sale.
Ossa motorcycle poster plus#
Once Torsten Hallman won the World Championship plus the Inter-Am astride a 250 Cross, Americans wanted them even more. To do this, he had to import bikes and GP riders in order to run the first races of the series.Īt the time the Husqvarna 250 Cross was the best machine to pick from. He saw the popularity in Europe and knew it would be a success here as well. Value $14,000)Įdison Dye is known as the man that helped spread motocross as a popular event in America. Projections state that this bike could be worth more than $100k in the next ten years.ħ. If you can get your hands on one of these today for $40k, you should scoop it up. You know, because those things tend to go bad all the time, right? When it was sold, it came complete with a parts kit that contained replacement clutch parts, carburetor jetting, gearing plus pistons and rings. That’s what helped it to become one of the top collector motocross bikes in the United States. Several racers rode it including Gary Conrad, Walt Axthelm and Preston Petty. Even still, Suzuki built more than 100 of them and sent 65 of them to the States.
Unfortunately, the subpar handling and peaky power didn’t hold up against European bikes from CZ and Husqvarna. Then, Suzuki put their efforts back into it and improved the machine. It was influenced by the 1965 CZ Twin-Port 250 bike.Īt first, the Grand Prix results weren’t that fabulous. They tested out both twin engines and single-cylinder models, but finally settled with a single-cylinder.
You might know that the TM250 is the first motocross bike from Japan.īack in 1966, Suzuki had two engineers work with a road racer to develop a motocross bike in Europe. 12 of the Rarest Dirt Bikes We Want to RideĢ. So in no particular order, these are our top picks along with some of The Best Vintage Dirt Bike Brands to Look For and 7 Tips for Buying Rare Vintage Dirt Bikes. We found 12 of the rarest dirt bikes that we would love to hop on. In the vintage bike community rarer is always better, but you’re about to see that cost doesn’t always equal desirability. They were made to be ridden hard and put up broken, and all but a handful of each of these bikes likely rusted away a long time ago. After all, these were dirt bikes from day one. Or maybe it’s the idea that the bike could break down at any moment.īut hey, you could fix it with a set of hand tools instead of needing to pay a shop for electronic diagnostics.įinding any of these bikes today is nigh-on impossible. Maybe it’s the thrill of knowing that everything underneath you is governed not by computers, but by good ol’ fashioned mechanical engineering.
While there are plenty of amazing modern dirt bikes, there’s something about getting on the back of something rare and old that makes everything even more exhilarating.