Great restoration, it looks like it just left the factory! I'll never forget Christmas morning 1978 coming downstairs to see my brand new Ultra Violet Raleigh Chopper in the middle of the living room. I've never even had a new car or anything else that evoked the same excitement.
Wow .. i lived in. RAF feltwell from 1970 to 1974 and had a black chopper, and my brother got a red and gold one for Christmas , I'm also 58 ... loved living there ..
I remember coming down stairs on Christmas day 1976 and I saw a raleigh chopper waiting for me it was bright orange I was absolutely estatic what wonderfull times I'm 57 now and miss those fantasic care free days so much
Got a red 1 for Xmas 1974,I was 8 and the happiest kid in the world,had it for years then didn't use it anymore,the hub had ceased and the scrap man took it,I bought another red 1 1976 model 8 years ago and I ride it on the canal towpath regular.
I had two Mk2 Choppers as hand me downs from my uncles. Sold one for £40 in the mid 80's, gave the other away to a younger lad who had recovered from a serious illness. Was then offered another Mk2 for free from a friend who (like myself) wanted Raleigh's new Burner BMX. I turned that down too. Another friend had the Tomahawk and a little lad who knocked around with us on a Budgie. Riding together, we looked like the three stages of bike evolution 😅 Too young to appreciate the future desirability of this aesthetically classic design.
Amazing, well done. I had a first generation Raliegh Chopper as a kid, put many miles back and forth to school and on adventures around my home town, many happy memories. Thank you.
That's a MK2 Chopper, I had the MK1 as a kid in red, got it for Christmas, it was my first bike. Cost my parents £35 from Halfords and I still remember them paying it up weekly and the payment book getting stamped. Wish I still had it. Pure nostalgia. :)
I started off with a Raleigh Boxer, then a Grifter. Later had a Chopper, then a Raleigh Bomber. Then had 2 Raleigh Record Sprints and finally a Raleigh Max HT3 mountain bike. Grifter was my favourite.
Oh no! You did red! I ordered the purple one like I had way back then! Seriously though - you've done an amazing restoration of a true classic - well done!
Eternally thankful that I never got one of these when I asked for a bike as a kid. I got a Falcon ‘racer’ that I used to tour around the country during school holidays (Youth Hostelling) as a teenager. The Raleigh Chopper wasn’t capable of that kind of job. It was for posing on, not going places.
I had fond memories too, watching a rich kid in our neighborhood riding one after school and while the rest of us other scallywags watching him having a whale of a time on his shiny red and chrome chopper. Cheers God!!
I know this is an old video, just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoyed watching you restore this bike, especially with paint cans, I have a MK1 and you have given me the inspiration to have a go at it. Thanks Joe
Thank you very much, I still like getting comments from our older videos, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Good to hear that you are going to get your mk1 restored too. Paint cans are probably a lot better than the older paint techniques if you are careful and you can get a lot of parts for the old bikes now so I hope you get it done. Thanks for your comments and good luck with your bike, cheers Joe.
Hi Joe Things have progressed and we can't remove original paint as its a January 1970 mk1 USA bike thats come back to the UK after 50 or so years, I am struggling to find any form of paint to match the original colour (sky blue candy paint) as I need to touch up some areas where the paint has come off. As far as I am aware everything is original. Kind regards
Hello from Brazil. Congratulations on the excellent work. This bicycle model in Brazil was called Tigrão (Big Tiger) and it was the dream of children like me in 1973.
What a great video and professional restoration on a bike i used to own as a boy.Thank you very much for this,it's taken me back to my boyhood day's...
Thank you for making this video! It was wonderful to see this. That was the bike I had when I lived in Germany when I was eight years old. I remember when I first saw it in the department store, and showed it to my mother. I got it for Christmas, and I had such wonderful adventures on it. I had recently seen the motorcycling film, 'On Any Sunday', and I dreamt of becoming a road racer, and I would repeatedly ride down a certain road that seemed to bank just a bit in the sweeping corner, and I would lean over as far as possible, trying to get my knee as close as to the ground as I could. Such wonderful memories! Sadly, my bike was stolen by the movers when we moved back to the US later that year.
Wonderful to watch you work Joe. Lovely job and restoration. Thank you for sharing. Owned a mk II as a kid; owns a mk I, and most recently a mk IV. Never rated nor therefore owned a mk III
As a 60's kid that was obsessed with owning a Chopper this was superb viewing, a real joy to watch Joe. I never did get that Chopper as a 6 year old but eventually bought my own used model some years later (in my teens) and made it look how I wanted it to (without the resources you have). One thing I didn't do, even as an inexperienced kid with limited equipment, was tighten wheel nuts with pump pliers . . . . . . what's that all about man? With the set up you have you should be using a socket set at least for that kind of task, it just makes sense for the safety and well being of your customers.
Hi Tony, nice to hear your story, we have had some great responses. Those Knipex pliers are not your average pump pliers, if you get chance to use some you will see why, better than a socket or spanner for these old nuts. Cheers Joe.
Same thing with my 1982 MK1 Raleigh Tuff Burner. It always attracts attention. Took it out again today and someone stopped me, asked the usual questions and offered to buy it from me. I laughed! Not a chance! I love it too much.
Ive got to start hitting the swap meets. I can never find complete, old school digs in that kind of shape. What a great bit of bones to start out with! FANTASTIC job 👏
19:29 The one shown In the Blue Peter clip Is the one I had, the Mk1 In Red, the one Joe just Restored, Is the Improved Mk2. The Mk2 was made safer, the seat was straitened (So You couldn't do wheelies) the handlebars were welded so You couldn't adjust them forward. The gear stick was changed from Round to the Gripper one seen hear for safer shifting. And Suspension on the back of the seat (Again to stop wheelies). If you are restoring one and You don't have the Stencil printer, You can get the original stencil's still. Nice work, would love another one, but would look strange on one at 63.
Great work rebuilding this bike. Had a MK1 back in third grade in 1970. A real step up from the Schwinns all the other kids had with the banana seat and monkey handle bars. I think one my favorite parts was the shifter, reminded me of the shifters in the muscle cars of the same time. Thanks for the trip down memory lane...
Freaking brilliant. Just sourcing all those replacement parts must've been a chore. I had a Spider (American version/knock-off of the Chopper) when I was a kid; had never heard of that style when I got it for my birthday. (And how cool were my parents??) Metal flake orange, racing slick in back, silly but way cool muscle car shifter on the top tube, the whole 8.23 meters. Seeing you bring this one back to life was a real joy. I hope some kid is riding it now.
Thanks Rob, I hope you liked it as much as we enjoyed putting it together, we have some more like this coming soon. I hope you liked our other videos too, please subscribe and help us spread the word, cheers Joe
I would have given ANYTHING...to find a distributor near me in Connecticut to buy a Raleigh Chopper back in the 70s! I HAD the money from my paper routes and shoveling snow but no one sold them anywhere I could find and I DID try, believe it! lol
I must have been a spoiled brat, in 1971 I wanted a schwinn krate bike and I got this bike...I was upset because I wanted the 5 speed, and the chopper was only a 3 speed........what stupid kid I was. BTW, I destroyed it, which is what would of happened to the krate, had I gotten it. 😬, now they are all worth big $
@@JoesBikesUK I did, I loved it.....the memories are imprinted. I jumped that bike, I wheelied it, it really did have a good balance. Thanks Joe, your a treasure, keep up the great work.
I’m sure many had a similar experience, but Christmas morning I think 72-73, I woke up Christmas morning, and parked up in my bedroom on its side stand was a brand new mark 2 Red Chopper identical to this ! I was physically sick I was so excited ! I rode that bike around our estate in the freezing cold, couldn’t feel my hands and I didn’t care…….they had to drag me in for Christmas dinner ! I wasn’t expecting the bike; my Dad said we couldn’t afford one ……but I went on and on about it, dreaming……I have NEVER recreated the joy of getting that bike with any of the many motorcycles and cars since……..
Hi there, I never tire of hearing about the experiences people have had on bikes. Thanks for sharing this comment, I'm sure a lot of people have had similar things happen and will love to see it, cheers Joe.
I had one in the 70s I had a problem with the 2 frame bars breaking and needing a weld done to the bike. I had two of them and had the same thing happen but I did love those chopper bikes.
I have Given a Thumbs up before even watching this😜 I had 2 Original Choppers around 1975 and 1976 one Red and one Blue and in my late 50’s now wishing I still had them both.The Newer Version 2.0 so to speak may have been a Remake but was still nowhere near as Retro as the Original. I had a Raleigh grifter after that ( not a bad Bike) and then a 10 Speed Puch Free Spirit racer but the Chopper is still the one for me that will always be Raleigh’s legendary Bike. Absolutely Loved this restore and with the Prices the Original Chopper is now here in the U.K. I wish I had bought 10 of them and stored them🙈
Hi Paul, glad you enjoyed the video, we also did a three part Grifter restoration on our channel you may enjoy. We love the old bikes, such cool memories, cheers Joe.
I had a chopper in 1978 , I was 11years old and watching this brought back so many memories ,great times, great restoration job it looked as good as new when it was finished, the man restoring this chopper made it look easy and also enjoyable, well done that man👍👍👍👍👍
I had the same spec of your restoration. All but the stickers mine were black. Anyways, Well done. You brought me back to a young boy with your efforts. Appreciate it.
Ha, I always wanted one too. Mum wouldn’t let me as she said they were too dangerous and that you could go through the handlebars when braking ! I’m 53 now 😁
mk1 chopper was the best one. firstly it had a round gear nob secondly it had a longer seat so you could ride 2 up and thirdly it had adjustable handelbars..i had a mk1 and loved that bike
the only problem though with mk 1s is riding 2 up and the frame used to crack at the bottom lol, i think thats why you had the hockey sticks and a shorter seat on the mk 2. but yeah would love a mk 1
My parents got divorced and my mother convinced my father to buy one for my birthday. I still remember see it standing in the living room, wauw. So I kind of traded my father for a chopper, perhaps not the best deal but it could be worse, no chopper and no father.
Very cool I have an original 1979 chopper but I might keep it original I bought the decals and everything.... might keep it original as even the tires still work even though they're all corroded, it's still rides good even though it's rusty.🤣
Too piss poor to afford one, even if we had the money dad would never have spent that sort of cash buying one. Best to make friends with a kid in the neighborhood who had one and see if he could give us a go on the bike. Deprived childhood.
I knew a guy who worked at the Raleigh factory in Nottingham in the late 80s. He looked after one of the warehouses. He was told by his boss that all the Choppers, Chippers, Tomahawks, Budgies, Grifters Strikers and Boxers, were all to be cut up and recycled. He reckons there were around 2000 bikes. Sad, but no one was buying them.
That's a sad tale, glad some people kept their old one's. thanks for telling us that, it adds to the story that keeps these old bikes alive. I hope you enjoy our video's and please spread the word. We have a Grifter build coming soon, cheers Joe
@@JoesBikesUK Look forward to it. I'm currently deliberating - and have done for several years - whether to restore my Mk2. It's a 1979 red model. It's rideable with everything original (except the front-wheel inner tube and SA gear chain). It needs stripping, re-spray, re-chroming, new saddle strap (stretched), gear indicator cover. I did want to have everything powder coated matt black, a stealth Chopper if you will. I also know a lady who is an enameller and thought about have my initials put in enamel in the seat post bolt. It's the time and space to do all this though.
Hola.....yo tuve una usada en color amarilla.en el Año 1985.. en ese tiempo yo tenia 9 añios ...pero yo feliz con mi primer bicicleta alla en Nicaragua,. Tiempos de guerra
I grew up (some say I haven't) with a 5-speed derailleur, tall sissy bar, trashed it riding in the desert. Got a Mk1 about 40 years ago, been hanging from the rafters until this month. So the chrome fenders, wheels and parts are just wire-brushed?
Fabulous restoration, back in the day it was either a Grifter or Chopper, or in my case neither 😢. Given the current prices on EBay unlikely I would own either anytime soon 😂.
The Chopper. Difficult to ride, dangerous, absolutely inefficient and, in some eyes, ugly. But everyone wanted one, the very definition today of an icon. What an excellent video.
Hi Craig, the rear hub was working ok, We did a full rebuild on the wheel but the film would have been too long to show everything, I hope you enjoyed it, Cheers Joe.
Great work! Any restoration done to the drive train (e.g. chain, gearbox internals)? Looks like the old chain is re-used. Was it intentional or was it just impossible to find a replacement?
Hi Joseph, glad you likes it, didn't need the gears sorting as they were ok, I chose to put the original chain back on after a bit of a clean but I may replace it soon, cheers Joe.
Got a mk11 at home that needs some bits and a complete restoration. Lovely winter project but I am not sure how much it’s worth when done and therefore how much to put into it. Any ideas? UK based.
My mate had the MK1 version chopper. When we went for a ride longer than a few miles he would say does anybody want a go on it, that's so he could ride one of our racer bikes. That's because the chopper was horrible to ride over a long distance it just wanted to wheelie etc.
Great restoration, it looks like it just left the factory! I'll never forget Christmas morning 1978 coming downstairs to see my brand new Ultra Violet Raleigh Chopper in the middle of the living room. I've never even had a new car or anything else that evoked the same excitement.
Brilliant, I can remember that same feeling and there is nothing to beat it, cheers Joe.
I am 55 and Still have my 1973 red MK2 all original,still in my garden shed,will have some TLC soon.
Good work dude, keep it original, cheers Joe
I'm 53 and I remember the Raleigh GRIFTER and Raleigh commando
Wow .. i lived in. RAF feltwell from 1970 to 1974 and had a black chopper, and my brother got a red and gold one for Christmas , I'm also 58 ... loved living there ..
Awesome, hope you enjoyed the video
@@JoesBikesUK i did . Thank you very much...
wow fantastic hes a very talented man always wanted a chopper when i was a child and still want one today and i am aged 58 now
maybe now is the time? :o)
Me too, same age as you 👍
Do it. Do it
@@markhunt8715 ;-)
I also had the Raleigh commando
I remember those bikes. I always wanted one but couldn't afford it. You did an excellent job of restoring it.
Cheers Danny
I remember coming down stairs on Christmas day 1976 and I saw a raleigh chopper waiting for me it was bright orange I was absolutely estatic what wonderfull times I'm 57 now and miss those fantasic care free days so much
Thanks for sharing, I have some great chopper memories too, they were great days for sure, cheers Joe.
Got a red 1 for Xmas 1974,I was 8 and the happiest kid in the world,had it for years then didn't use it anymore,the hub had ceased and the scrap man took it,I bought another red 1 1976 model 8 years ago and I ride it on the canal towpath regular.
I had two Mk2 Choppers as hand me downs from my uncles.
Sold one for £40 in the mid 80's, gave the other away to a younger lad who had recovered from a serious illness.
Was then offered another Mk2 for free from a friend who (like myself) wanted Raleigh's new Burner BMX.
I turned that down too.
Another friend had the Tomahawk and a little lad who knocked around with us on a Budgie.
Riding together, we looked like the three stages of bike evolution 😅
Too young to appreciate the future desirability of this aesthetically classic design.
Amazing, well done. I had a first generation Raliegh Chopper as a kid, put many miles back and forth to school and on adventures around my home town, many happy memories. Thank you.
Very cool!
That's a MK2 Chopper, I had the MK1 as a kid in red, got it for Christmas, it was my first bike. Cost my parents £35 from Halfords and I still remember them paying it up weekly and the payment book getting stamped. Wish I still had it. Pure nostalgia. :)
Very cool!
Nice ..that was mine first bike . I was in love with my first bike , used bike but I Love it...1985....nice memories....good 📸
Thanks for the comments. Glad you enjoyed the filn
I started off with a Raleigh Boxer, then a Grifter. Later had a Chopper, then a Raleigh Bomber.
Then had 2 Raleigh Record Sprints and finally a Raleigh Max HT3 mountain bike.
Grifter was my favourite.
A great bike the grifter, cheers Joe.
When bikes were bikes, 1974 the best time of my life. Thank you mum and dad.
I love hearing comments like this, a very nice thing to say , cheers bro ;-)
Hi Joe, I love to see your restoration works esp. Raleigh Choppers!
Bringing back lots of memories..
Hope to see more.
Well done & Thank You..
Hello mate, glad you like the video and good to hear that it provokes so many good memories for you, we are doing some more soon, cheers Joe.
Oh no! You did red! I ordered the purple one like I had way back then! Seriously though - you've done an amazing restoration of a true classic - well done!
Thank you!
@@JoesBikesUK I still ride Raleigh to this day - best bikes ever!
Awesome, I had a mark 1 with the high back in the late seventies and could wheelie forever. The video took me straight back, brilliant
That’s great to hear
Eternally thankful that I never got one of these when I asked for a bike as a kid. I got a Falcon ‘racer’ that I used to tour around the country during school holidays (Youth Hostelling) as a teenager. The Raleigh Chopper wasn’t capable of that kind of job. It was for posing on, not going places.
I think you may have been saved by your parents ;-)
Great video!
cheers dude
The most iconic bike of alltime. Nothing quite like it before or since. From 1973 to 1980. I lived on one of these.
I think you could be right, a great looking bike that brings all sorts of memories flooding back, what other bike does that? Cheers Joe.
Thanks joe ..find memories right there
This reminds me of my old Ross Apollo 5speed.
Your videos are great👍🏼
Thanks dude, really glad you like the videos, your kind words are encouraging, tune in tomorrow at 5:00pm when we reveal another beauty, cheers Joe.
Exactly the same as my old mk 2 chopper. Fantastic.! Great video.
Thanks Len!
Brought back some fond memories.
It's such a cool bike isn't it
I had fond memories too, watching a rich kid in our neighborhood riding one after school and while the rest of us other scallywags watching him having a whale of a time on his shiny red and chrome chopper. Cheers God!!
I know this is an old video, just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoyed watching you restore this bike, especially with paint cans, I have a MK1 and you have given me the inspiration to have a go at it.
Thanks Joe
Thank you very much, I still like getting comments from our older videos, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Good to hear that you are going to get your mk1 restored too. Paint cans are probably a lot better than the older paint techniques if you are careful and you can get a lot of parts for the old bikes now so I hope you get it done. Thanks for your comments and good luck with your bike, cheers Joe.
Hi Joe
Things have progressed and we can't remove original paint as its a January 1970 mk1 USA bike thats come back to the UK after 50 or so years, I am struggling to find any form of paint to match the original colour (sky blue candy paint) as I need to touch up some areas where the paint has come off.
As far as I am aware everything is original.
Kind regards
When I was a boy my neighbour had one ... I could bike on it many times, loved it and this 3 speed gear, his bike was also orange, great work.
Great memories, thanks for watching, cheers Joe.
I had one Chopper in the early 70th. Just the same as this. Orange. I miss it. I am 58 now.
You're the perfect age for a new one then
Hello from Brazil. Congratulations on the excellent work. This bicycle model in Brazil was called Tigrão (Big Tiger) and it was the dream of children like me in 1973.
That’s so cool, thanks for the information
Good job Joé, magnifik.
cheers bro
Got my mk 2 in 1975..57 now just bought another needs alot of work..cracking video
Love all the machines you have to make life easier ..great stuff ..
Cheers Paul ;-)
Wow, that's very impressive indeed. Had a lemon coloured one back in the say. Loved it.
Glad you enjoyed it
What a great video and professional restoration on a bike i used to own as a boy.Thank you very much for this,it's taken me back to my boyhood day's...
Thanks David, pleased you enjoyed the film
Thank you for making this video! It was wonderful to see this. That was the bike I had when I lived in Germany when I was eight years old. I remember when I first saw it in the department store, and showed it to my mother. I got it for Christmas, and I had such wonderful adventures on it. I had recently seen the motorcycling film, 'On Any Sunday', and I dreamt of becoming a road racer, and I would repeatedly ride down a certain road that seemed to bank just a bit in the sweeping corner, and I would lean over as far as possible, trying to get my knee as close as to the ground as I could. Such wonderful memories! Sadly, my bike was stolen by the movers when we moved back to the US later that year.
Hi there, thanks for watching and sharing you memories. Sorry to hear it was stolen though, cheers. Joe.
Amazing 👍
cheers
Wonderful to watch you work Joe. Lovely job and restoration. Thank you for sharing.
Owned a mk II as a kid; owns a mk I, and most recently a mk IV. Never rated nor therefore owned a mk III
As a 60's kid that was obsessed with owning a Chopper this was superb viewing, a real joy to watch Joe. I never did get that Chopper as a 6 year old but eventually bought my own used model some years later (in my teens) and made it look how I wanted it to (without the resources you have). One thing I didn't do, even as an inexperienced kid with limited equipment, was tighten wheel nuts with pump pliers . . . . . . what's that all about man? With the set up you have you should be using a socket set at least for that kind of task, it just makes sense for the safety and well being of your customers.
Hi Tony, nice to hear your story, we have had some great responses. Those Knipex pliers are not your average pump pliers, if you get chance to use some you will see why, better than a socket or spanner for these old nuts. Cheers Joe.
Fantastic. I had one just like that when I was 10. Always regretted selling it
There's a real following for them still
I had one from new I am 68 and will never sell it a mark 2 and looking good still
I still have my chopper I would go on most weekends people would stop me all the time for a look of it great video
Awesome! thanks
Same thing with my 1982 MK1 Raleigh Tuff Burner. It always attracts attention. Took it out again today and someone stopped me, asked the usual questions and offered to buy it from me. I laughed! Not a chance! I love it too much.
Ive got to start hitting the swap meets. I can never find complete, old school digs in that kind of shape. What a great bit of bones to start out with! FANTASTIC job 👏
eBay is your friend too.
19:29 The one shown In the Blue Peter clip Is the one I had, the Mk1 In Red, the one Joe just Restored, Is the Improved Mk2. The Mk2 was made safer, the seat was straitened (So You couldn't do wheelies) the handlebars were welded so You couldn't adjust them forward. The gear stick was changed from Round to the Gripper one seen hear for safer shifting. And Suspension on the back of the seat (Again to stop wheelies). If you are restoring one and You don't have the Stencil printer, You can get the original stencil's still. Nice work, would love another one, but would look strange on one at 63.
No you wouldn't, you need to get one! Thanks for all the info
I am 68 and still ride one had it from new a mark 2
I'm 58 and just bought one.... Yippee.!!!!
Great work rebuilding this bike. Had a MK1 back in third grade in 1970. A real step up from the Schwinns all the other kids had with the banana seat and monkey handle bars. I think one my favorite parts was the shifter, reminded me of the shifters in the muscle cars of the same time. Thanks for the trip down memory lane...
Awesome thanks for watching
Brilliant
Thanks
Well done!
Thanks! Glad you liked the video
Freaking brilliant. Just sourcing all those replacement parts must've been a chore. I had a Spider (American version/knock-off of the Chopper) when I was a kid; had never heard of that style when I got it for my birthday. (And how cool were my parents??) Metal flake orange, racing slick in back, silly but way cool muscle car shifter on the top tube, the whole 8.23 meters. Seeing you bring this one back to life was a real joy. I hope some kid is riding it now.
Thanks Rob, I hope you liked it as much as we enjoyed putting it together, we have some more like this coming soon. I hope you liked our other videos too, please subscribe and help us spread the word, cheers Joe
I would have given ANYTHING...to find a distributor near me in Connecticut to buy a Raleigh Chopper back in the 70s! I HAD the money from my paper routes and shoveling snow but no one sold them anywhere I could find and I DID try, believe it! lol
Oh no!
Child world in waterbury
I reckon kids back in the 70s thought they were Harley Riders when they were riding them.
My dream bike, when I have 10 years old
And now?
I must have been a spoiled brat, in 1971 I wanted a schwinn krate bike and I got this bike...I was upset because I wanted the 5 speed, and the chopper was only a 3 speed........what stupid kid I was. BTW, I destroyed it, which is what would of happened to the krate, had I gotten it. 😬, now they are all worth big $
@@mrrodgerspoliticalplaytime5663 They evoke such a lot of different memories, I hope you ended up enjoying your bike, cheers Joe.
@@JoesBikesUK I did, I loved it.....the memories are imprinted. I jumped that bike, I wheelied it, it really did have a good balance. Thanks Joe, your a treasure, keep up the great work.
Great , well at least the paint is not lead based . Restoring a masterpiece is an learned art .
Cheers Joe
@@JoesBikesUK do you own the GRIFTER or the commando bikes
@@almorgan68 We have those too, watch this space ;-)
I’m sure many had a similar experience, but Christmas morning I think 72-73, I woke up Christmas morning, and parked up in my bedroom on its side stand was a brand new mark 2 Red Chopper identical to this ! I was physically sick I was so excited ! I rode that bike around our estate in the freezing cold, couldn’t feel my hands and I didn’t care…….they had to drag me in for Christmas dinner ! I wasn’t expecting the bike; my Dad said we couldn’t afford one ……but I went on and on about it, dreaming……I have NEVER recreated the joy of getting that bike with any of the many motorcycles and cars since……..
Hi there, I never tire of hearing about the experiences people have had on bikes. Thanks for sharing this comment, I'm sure a lot of people have had similar things happen and will love to see it, cheers Joe.
We lived in western Sydney, we made a cool chopper with a welder and extended front forks,..
That sounds cool
I had one in the 70s I had a problem with the 2 frame bars breaking and needing a weld done to the bike. I had two of them and had the same thing happen but I did love those chopper bikes.
Thanks for sharing
It was right below the seat where it had the welds break under the sissy bar.
Do you have a chopper bike for sale if yes how much for a decent one
Amazing work! U're a true artist!
Thank you! Cheers!
I have Given a Thumbs up before even watching this😜
I had 2 Original Choppers around 1975 and 1976 one Red and one Blue and in my late 50’s now wishing I still had them both.The Newer Version 2.0 so to speak may have been a Remake but was still nowhere near as Retro as the Original.
I had a Raleigh grifter after that ( not a bad Bike) and then a 10 Speed Puch Free Spirit racer but the Chopper is still the one for me that will always be Raleigh’s legendary Bike.
Absolutely Loved this restore and with the Prices the Original Chopper is now here in the U.K. I wish I had bought 10 of them and stored them🙈
Hi Joe. Restoration is a work of art, congrats man. You did it again.
Thank you so much 👍
Best bike and build video of 2020 Joe! Excellent job dude, I always wanted one of those 👍👍
Glad you liked it!
Awesome 👏
Thanks 🤗
my brother had one of them , In australia they were called the Fireball
Awesome restoration on the chopper we never had chopper we’re we lived as kids we had grifters
Hi Paul, glad you enjoyed the video, we also did a three part Grifter restoration on our channel you may enjoy. We love the old bikes, such cool memories, cheers Joe.
Really amazing Beautiful job 👌
I had one when I was a kid😍
Thank you! Cheers!
I had a chopper in 1978 , I was 11years old and watching this brought back so many memories ,great times, great restoration job it looked as good as new when it was finished, the man restoring this chopper made it look easy and also enjoyable, well done that man👍👍👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it
These were sold in Canada at the Eaton's Department Store and in their catalogue. Mainly as the Fastback XT-101. Very Cool!
I had the same spec of your restoration. All but the stickers mine were black.
Anyways,
Well done.
You brought me back to a young boy with your efforts.
Appreciate it.
They were memory making bikes for sure, thanks for watching, cheers Joe.
Great video
Thanks Glen appreciate it
We attached tank aerials to ours bought from the local army and navy store with a flag at the top. Certainly enjoyed mine.
Awesome love that
Ha, I always wanted one too. Mum wouldn’t let me as she said they were too dangerous and that you could go through the handlebars when braking !
I’m 53 now 😁
Hi Jason, Good job we listen to our mum's, some lads who had choppers didn't get to 53 ;-) cheers Joe.
Always listen to mum 😁
This Chopper would be a MK2. Awesome restoration.
Thank you.
I always wanted a Raleigh Grifter.
An iconic bike for sure.
mk1 chopper was the best one.
firstly it had a round gear nob
secondly it had a longer seat so you could ride 2 up
and thirdly it had adjustable handelbars..i had a mk1 and loved that bike
100% agree
the only problem though with mk 1s is riding 2 up and the frame used to crack at the bottom lol, i think thats why you had the hockey sticks and a shorter seat on the mk 2. but yeah would love a mk 1
Back when your bell bottom jeans got stuck in the chain
I owned a chopper when I was 12 years old and I want to get one now for my grandson who can help me to find one
Bits come up on eBay from time to time and there's a very active market on Facebook. We have a few we're finishing up here
@@JoesBikesUK Whats the name on Facebook
Do you remember the Raleigh GRIFTER or the Raleigh commando
@@almorgan68 I also had a black grifter plus the mk11 red chopper
Lucky lucky!
My parents got divorced and my mother convinced my father to buy one for my birthday. I still remember see it standing in the living room, wauw. So I kind of traded my father for a chopper, perhaps not the best deal but it could be worse, no chopper and no father.
Good bad story there! Hope you enjoyed the video, thanks for your story
ha great bikes back then!!...most we got on one was 8 :))))
No way!!! That’s a challenge
Amazing great work
Thank you! Cheers!
Very cool I have an original 1979 chopper but I might keep it original I bought the decals and everything.... might keep it original as even the tires still work even though they're all corroded, it's still rides good even though it's rusty.🤣
Sounds awesome, just iconic bikes
What amazing guy
Too piss poor to afford one, even if we had the money dad would never have spent that sort of cash buying one. Best to make friends with a kid in the neighborhood who had one and see if he could give us a go on the bike. Deprived childhood.
Me too. I used to dream about having one. Piss poor as well.
I knew a guy who worked at the Raleigh factory in Nottingham in the late 80s. He looked after one of the warehouses. He was told by his boss that all the Choppers, Chippers, Tomahawks, Budgies, Grifters Strikers and Boxers, were all to be cut up and recycled. He reckons there were around 2000 bikes.
Sad, but no one was buying them.
That's a sad tale, glad some people kept their old one's. thanks for telling us that, it adds to the story that keeps these old bikes alive. I hope you enjoy our video's and please spread the word. We have a Grifter build coming soon, cheers Joe
@@JoesBikesUK Look forward to it.
I'm currently deliberating - and have done for several years - whether to restore my Mk2. It's a 1979 red model. It's rideable with everything original (except the front-wheel inner tube and SA gear chain). It needs stripping, re-spray, re-chroming, new saddle strap (stretched), gear indicator cover. I did want to have everything powder coated matt black, a stealth Chopper if you will. I also know a lady who is an enameller and thought about have my initials put in enamel in the seat post bolt.
It's the time and space to do all this though.
@@octaviussludberry9016 time is our enemy at times, look forward to seeing it done cheers Joe.
Missing one thing: Hockey cards in the rear spokes using wooden clothes pins.
Ha ha. We talked about that as we finished it
@@JoesBikesUK That was the definition of cool.
We used ice lolly sticks, plenty strewn on the ground.
Very good 👍
Thank you 👍
Increíble, hermosa,
Yo tenía una muy similar
Impresionante, esperamos que hayas disfrutado del video.
Hola.....yo tuve una usada en color amarilla.en el Año 1985.. en ese tiempo yo tenia 9 añios ...pero yo feliz con mi primer bicicleta alla en Nicaragua,. Tiempos de guerra
@@adrianhidalgo9699 ¡gran historia!
I grew up (some say I haven't) with a 5-speed derailleur, tall sissy bar, trashed it riding in the desert. Got a Mk1 about 40 years ago, been hanging from the rafters until this month. So the chrome fenders, wheels and parts are just wire-brushed?
You should do a schwinn stingray chopper bike after
You've got me thinking now ;-)
Fabulous restoration, back in the day it was either a Grifter or Chopper, or in my case neither 😢. Given the current prices on EBay unlikely I would own either anytime soon 😂.
I have a scruffy old mark 1 at the back of the shed, wonder if it is worth digging out?
DEFINATELY
The mustard colored chopper my brother had one only one i ever saw mine was yep red
We get to hear some great stories about choppers, I hope you subscribe and watch some of our other films too, cheers Joe
The Chopper. Difficult to ride, dangerous, absolutely inefficient and, in some eyes, ugly. But everyone wanted one, the very definition today of an icon. What an excellent video.
Thank you for the nice comment, they were iconic for sure, cheers Joe.
I madly wanted one, til had a go on someones, soon went off them!😂
Good to look at but not really a riders bike were they? Cheers Joe.
You skipped over the wheel shining process! Did you strip them down to polish them, and did you strip and service the rear hub too?
Hi Craig, the rear hub was working ok, We did a full rebuild on the wheel but the film would have been too long to show everything, I hope you enjoyed it, Cheers Joe.
Great video and very enjoyable to see the transformation! If you don’t mind me asking, what was the tool you used to shine up the fenders? Cheers
To think I cut up two of these bikes for tubing few weeks ago LOL Great job!
Oh no! They fetch good money these days, Cheers Joe
Great work! Any restoration done to the drive train (e.g. chain, gearbox internals)? Looks like the old chain is re-used. Was it intentional or was it just impossible to find a replacement?
Hi Joseph, glad you likes it, didn't need the gears sorting as they were ok, I chose to put the original chain back on after a bit of a clean but I may replace it soon, cheers Joe.
Still have mine.. exact same
This was a great restoration. I was just wondering how you managed to fix up the seat.
I put a new cover on it and polished the metal then we made the stickers, cheers Joe
would it be possible to get the stencil anywhere to be printed out?
Hi, great resto. Can i asked the paint code you used instead of the original infra rdd?
What an amazing job you've done, very talented !! Great video !! Well done you...👍
Thank you! Cheers!
I was born a bit late for these, which meant I got a Raleigh GRIFTER!!Oh Yes!!😁
Perhaps we should do one of those next
man they were tough old bikes!.......and there was the Boxer
My little brother had a Grifter too, also a great bike and better to hit the woods than my chopper
Got a mk11 at home that needs some bits and a complete restoration. Lovely winter project but I am not sure how much it’s worth when done and therefore how much to put into it. Any ideas? UK based.
If you look on Facebook there's some good forums, they will probably be able to help
My mate had the MK1 version chopper. When we went for a ride longer than a few miles he would say does anybody want a go on it, that's so he could ride one of our racer bikes. That's because the chopper was horrible to ride over a long distance it just wanted to wheelie etc.
👏👏👏👏👏