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Chopper chopper, Chipper chipper


hamster
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If anyone was thinking of buying me a Christmas pressie, please note that I never had a Chopper. By big brother did, my little brother did, but I did not. This would out-chopper both of them:

 

picture.php?albumid=39&pictureid=175

 

Little bruv also had a Chipper, so if you're feeling really generous, you could do worse than to stickk this in my stocking too:

 

picture.php?albumid=39&pictureid=173

Both ending on E-Bay soon.

 

They certainly don't make them like that anymore, in fact I'm not sure that theer have been any genuinely iconic pushbikes since perhaps teh Mongoose.

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Wasn't the entry level Chopper the Grifter?

 

Chipper was entry level to the Chopper. From what I recall the Boxer was the smallest, mid size was the Striker and the Grifter was the big boys bike, all of which came along later in the 70's.

 

Smashed me face in the road and lost the top row of my teeth after going over the handlebars of a Raleigh Chopper down Spencer Road in Thornhill was I was a kid... it hurt a lot. :(

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If you do i've got a cheap Ducati 600ss for sale, no tax or MOT and very much a winter project to bring it up to standard. ;)

 

Between you and I, I just happen to have some greenbacks laying around screaming to be spent. If the 'duke' was a 125, I would be happy to give you a monkey and pick it up tomorrow. However, I have a surprise in store sometime over the coming weeks for mrs h and it is not a motorbike.

 

btw SL, I almost bought a Chopper bike at the Beaulieu Autojumble last month, but nipper wouldn't sub me. But I would still like one, just to show it off to my little and big brothers. INFLUENCED, spot on fella, spot on mate. I'm almost over it now though, but can't speak for the other 4 (spoilt gits).

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Chipper was entry level to the Chopper. From what I recall the Boxer was the smallest, mid size was the Striker and the Grifter was the big boys bike, all of which came along later in the 70's.

 

 

Not far off being correct, however I think you are getting confused here. Perhaps due to me owning not a single one of the bikes referred to in this thrwad I have remebered them better. This is phsycho-analism at work before your very eyes. And yes, I do feel better for it.

 

Boxer was the baby brother to the Grifter, great bikes but there were just the 2 in the family. Boxer, single speed and Grifter 2 speed Sturmey-Archer twist grip. Correst though that the entry level 'machine' was the Striker.

 

Chopper was for the big boys (3 speed Sturmey-Archer stick-shift), Chipper was for the littler boys (single speed and (the one you forgot) the Tomahawk was the baby of the bunch (it had 'fixed wheels' and stabilisers).

 

Actually, is there anyone out there in the abyss that collects or restores old raleigh's? I have a 3 speed, Dynamo Hub Raleigh Wayfarer that needs a good home. FOC, just not for re-sale please?

Edited by hamster
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I've got an Aprilia SR125 scooter as well;)

 

Funny you should mention that actually swanny.

 

A couple of years ago I was offered one by a girl i worked with after the police returned follwing it getting nicked and found. Only neede a new ignition and had a few scratches on it. Then a little voice inside my head screams "WTF ARE YOU DOING MAN? IT'S ****ING SCOOTER FFS", so I let it go.

 

NB

My little brother was a 'mod', ergo I want nothing that he had, I want only what my big brother had.

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Why not try and get one with a sidecar?

 

ch_sidecar.jpg

 

A friend of mine has a special JPS edition Raleigh Chopper hanging on the wall of his hallway, between a Strat and a Les Paul.

 

It looks great, but I feel a bit of a waste really.

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Aha, so this is what you want...? A Honda NS125RR. You can ride this:

Honda%20NS125R%2087%20%201.jpg

 

What a sweetie. I'd have a go at scraping a footrest on one myself, given the opportunity. :)

Nowhere for mrs h to sit though?

 

If ever I did get back on 2 wheels, I'd have to do my test first as I don't really go anywhere on my own nowadays plus I would simply HAVE to get matching leathers for us now that the image is in my head ;).

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If ever I did get back on 2 wheels, I'd have to do my test first as I don't really go anywhere on my own nowadays plus I would simply HAVE to get matching leathers for us now that the image is in my head ;).

 

Well, now your just putting excuses in the way of freedom.

 

OK, I can get around that. I don't think I'll upset the applecart by telling this true story. Earlier this summer my niece broke up with her long time boyfriend. She was really upset by the whole proceedings. Feeling for her grief, we tried to include her in everything we did, if she would accept the invitation. So we brought her along on our sailing and biking trips, just to give her something to distract her from her obvious distress. It would also mean that we would be there when she wanted to talk things through.

 

As it happened, she loved the biking trips so much, she decided to take her CBT, which she sorted within a couple of weeks, and then she went on to pass her test after another two weeks. She's a natural motorcycle rider, showing great style and control. So within 6 weeks of first stepping on a bike as a pillion passenger, she then rode her own 250cc bike, and is now looking for something a might more powerful.

 

Food for thought, eh..? About time you explored your obvious curiosity..?

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Well, now your just putting excuses in the way of freedom.

 

To quote the Government's own site on the subject

 

"Compulsory basic training (CBT) was introduced in 1990 to help reduce the very high accident rate among inexperienced motorcyclists."

 

I think that was aimed at people like me SL.

 

Although the mere fact that I have copied that shows that I have searched for CBT info, so who knows? I could add it to my Christmas pressie list praps...

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Smashed me face in the road and lost the top row of my teeth after going over the handlebars of a Raleigh Chopper down Spencer Road in Thornhill was I was a kid... it hurt a lot. :(

 

At least you had one **sulks**

 

:mad:

 

But I didn't have one either... It was my friends, we just swapped bikes for a trip to the shops to get sweets. :(

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But I didn't have one either... It was my friends, we just swapped bikes for a trip to the shops to get sweets. :(

 

If I'd dared to borrow my brother's it would have been him knocking my teaath out tbh. Actually he did have his knocked out as a kid, when we were chucking rocks into a tree to make it 'snow' blossom. One kid threw this lump of granite and it came down and smacked him in the face. Lots of blood and two lost teeth. Happy days. Surprised no-one lost a toe actually as we used to play a game with our Scout knives called 'The Splits', you can guess the rules. I even remember catching a dart fired from a Gat Gun once aswell, that bloody well hurt I acn tell you (I was not too bright back then).

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