Raleigh Chopper find

[Green Dragon]

so..... I get a call yesterday from a guy has a Chopper for sale. Thinks it's a 3 speed but it has a small little lever, so maybe a 3+2 ? Won't give me a price ( grr ). Finally decide to go for it, drove 50 miles round trip, in a blizzard and -1 wind chills..
This is what I found:



Didn't steal it, but happy... not sure a value on this one.
Question for the Chopper Guru's (Jake ?). is exactly how rare IS the 5 speed ?

Also, only thing missing is the always-missing chainguard. which guard should this have ? the early one with the dip (hockey stick almost ), or the taper one more similar to a mkII guard ?
I don't have a tapered one, but do have the 'dip' one on my yellow bike, was thinking about making a couple repops from that one, if correct style.

Enjoy...

looking forward to getting the Muscle Bike section here on RRB rockin' .

 

[rfeagleye]

Nice find! Looks like a nice start to a project.

The only thing I know about Choppers is that the MKI frames are the most desirable, so you have a good one. I think that 5-Speed with the little side lever is a nice item too, I had one recently and traded it, got a nice trade for it.

Congrats!

 

[71SC360]

Nice find! For sale? It looks like a 71 or 72. Five speeds are not "rare" but they are not as "common" as the three speed version. The" holy grail" Chopper is the ten speed....

 

[ChicagoMuscle Guy]

Nice Chopper, Good Find.

 

[Green Dragon]

Thanks guys... tinkered with it a little today.

the good: fenders,bars should clean up perfect. The sissy bar and post came right out. Seat is near perfect, just two tiny splits at the back sides, parallel to the sissy. should be able to repair and leave as-is. Does need the rear decal of course.

the bad: one grip end is ripped, the rims have a lot of peppering, one small spot flaked.Rear tire is near bald, front is a Raleigh but may be newer, no red line remnants either.

the ugly: Turns out BOTH of the seat stays are broken off the rear vertical tubes, leaving holes. It was all hidden under the chain lock, and when I examined it, thought the silver spots I saw were worn paint from the lock, not sissy bar chrome showing through holes.
(my fault for not looking it over better in the blizzard ? oh well, live and learn, and repair it
Still happy, this is the first Mk1 I've had that was not a tall frame, and the 5 speed, even if not rare, shows up much less often, both in person and online ( had a hard time finding some on google for reference pics ). plus I'm into it for less than the partout value, I think ,at 150.
Going into mothballs for now, until my welder - thanks Dad - recovers from recent heart surgery. then we'll see.

 

[Green Dragon]

 

[71SC360]

Broken seat stays are pretty common. They also break around the support plate at the top of the seat tube (the plate welds break away from the seat tube). Most of the hard parts are there except the chain guard but those are reproduced. If you ever part it out, I would be interested in some of the parts..

 

[Jake B]

Yep, that's a 71 pumpkin 5 speed. These derailleur 5 speeds I think are the most common models to find stateside, as we never had the mk1 5 speed over here. It looks like this ones had a tough life

 

[LukeTheJoker]

I would say you got a good deal there! Desirable bike!

Luke.

 

[71SC360]

It's funny, Choppers have never really "caught on" as a desirable collectible bike here in the states. Yeah, there is a small following and most bike collectors know enough to pick up Choppers when they see them reasonably priced but they do not command the prices other bikes of the same vintage. The guys from the UK are always saying that Choppers here in the states don't sell for anything close to what they do over there. I would think more of them from the states would be sold to collectors over there. Yeah they might be pricey to ship to the UK but with prices at about half of what they are over there, why are the UK collectors not buying them up from the states?

 

[Jake B]

I have had a lot of Choppers from the US imported over years, nowadays we are looking at about $200 to ship one of these to the UK if you get it in a small enough bike box, and then its a further $100 in import charges.

At least if you go for a 50 mile round trip you are likely to find a bike with pretty decent chrome! over here its a totally different kettle of fish!

 

[Green Dragon]

Seems like Chopper prices here have been on the rise lately, maybe with the economy 'improving' ? .
Serial on this is 1202304, if that helps date it ( will assume 71 as Jake noted ).
Jake - which guard would this have ? not the early 69-70 style, right ?
( I need to find one to replicate ).

Still happy with it, I've never seen a 5 speed one in person, and since it can't be 'cloned' from a 3 speed, since the drops are different, figured it was worth picking up.
Just wish I'd notice the damage hidden under the lock cable, would have been a good bargaining point

 

[Jake B]

120 is a mid 71, what way are the lines on the console? Horizontal?

Yep this will have a normal 70-72 spec mk1 chainguard! There's one for the darker orange on eBay.com at the moment! So may be worth you having a punt

 

[Green Dragon]

Will have to check the lines on the console, not there right now.
Did not find the ebay listing for an orange guard, so maybe missed it ?
Thanks for the help, will most likely be repairing this one and go from there, progress as it happens.

 

[Jake B]

Damn, it sold!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Raleigh-Cho...043?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a4b26d703

But now you've reminded me the next time I see one I will post the link

 

[Green Dragon]

Thanks - looks like it went quick, I even did a 'completed' search earlier and did not find it, odd.
Will keep looking, or just go the repro route, bummer there is shipping form the UK.

 

[madsapper]

Nice! I have an early MK1 3x2 in Yellow. Mine is missing the kickstand and fender guard. I have an extra frame, seat, sissybar if you need parts.

 

[71SC360]

Hey madsapper you gotta pic of the parts you have for sale ?

 

[madsapper]

I'll get some for you.

 

[Green Dragon]

Do you have a spare chainguard ? If I could get my hands on one I could have a few made up, as I know a couple fabricators. might not be exact but should be able to get close - going to give a go at the early ( Tall frame style ) guard, since I have one to copy .