Hi everyone, great to see and be part of this Grifter Forum, I have so many great memories as a boy of riding my Raleigh MK2 flame red Grifter. Doing stunts on homemade ramps as well as pulling great skids. That time in my life was 27 years ago, the bike was bought for me when I was 9 years old as a Xmas present. I kept it for 3 years until it was stolen outside a friends house,  I was devastated and have been on the look out for an exact same one since.

I bought a MK2 flame red in good condition today and was so happy when I picked it up   The frame on the bike I have bought is sound, the seat is missing a small piece at the front and the brakes, gears and wheels have been well used. I intend to replace all cables, both grips, wheels, tyres etc, a full resto. basically. The paintwork is in very good condition but has some chips and wear in places. I have never restored a bike before let alone one that means a lot to me. Any tips and advice on restoring the paint work and other help on my resto. would be greatly appreciated. I will post some pic's of the bike on here shortly!!

Welcome in mate. If you need any help what so ever please ask.

I look forward to seeing your pictures.  

HI mate

just restored a mk2 in pretty poor nick, paint wise 2 optionS get someone to strip it ( blast cabinet ) or strip yourself , i stripped my with flap wheel which worked pretty well ,

cheers mike

[img]www.flickr.com/photos/judge palmer
Thanks, here is a pic of me as a boy with my MK2 and a pic of the MK2 I bought today! Upon closer inspection I noticed some approx. 1cm chunks of paint missing from the rear left cross bar from the seat stem down to the wheel as well as minor paint damage along the frame. Is it possible/easy to strip the old paint and respray yourself or do you know someone and approx. cost involved who could do that for me?

I will clean up and salvage as much of the original bike and parts as possible but will buy the bits that need replacing such as cables, brake pads etc. So far I have bought some new brake pads, a set of brake cables and new stars and stripes decals. I will buy a new gear cable and tyres, the wheel rims look good, just a clean up on the chrome required. The rear wheel mud guard has some small dents so I will buy a new one. The handlebar has some paint damage and a few cracks to the foam so any tips on cleaning up/repainting the handlebar or if anyone knows someone who has a new or as new(undamaged foam) handlebar would be appreciated. And do you have any tips on cleaning up and re-chroming wheels, brakes etc.
I also saw a pair of new supergrip grifter tyres on ebay for £60, is this the going rate for a new pair or are these really rare to find?

Thanks again for any help with this and I hope you have a good laugh at the appalling clothes I was forced to wear when I was a lad

your link does not work mate. You need to copy and paste the img link.

Make a list of parts you need and post them up in the wanted section im sure someone on here will have the bits you need.

I have some parts i will sell you it depends what you want mate.


The supergrips on ebay are good value for £60 as they are brand new and very hard to find (they are foreign) but still very good.

RE chroming wheels are very expensive so if yours are clean then theres loads of ways to make them shine again. I use ultra fine wire wool and wd40. The chrome cleaner to buff them up.  

Welcome to the forum, its great having your a exact copy of your old bike isn't it? i have a exactly the same style of silver mk2 i had all those years ago!! good luck with the resto mate, keep us posted with plenty of pics of your new baby!  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/judgepalmer/
Here is the link for the pic's! Great shots of your 2 bikes gaz and I noticed you also have the original ever ready lights. Would certainly love to get a pair of those!!

Thanks for your tip carling, i'll have a go at the chrome rims tomorrow and let you know how I get on. As for parts i'm looking to buy a new/as new handlebar complete with intact foam crossbar, a new/as new seat with chrome and foam intact, new brake levers and new pedals do you have any of these?

I saw your MK1 resto. an excellent job, very impressed and most certainly worth what your asking for on ebay. If I can get even close in my resto. as you have achieved i'll be chuffed with myself.
Cheers, Simon  

--Last edited by judge palmer on 2009-07-21 22:44:39 --

Great pictures simon (i did wonder about the name judge palmer)
I love that film.  Theres some nice pedals on ebay at the moment.

You will find it difficult to find new brake levers ive never seen them for sale. (its a shame ive just sold a lovley mk2 seat)

I will keep a look out for the bits you need mate.  

Thanks, yeah, my username does tend to 'fox' people when they first see it

I'll have to clean the brake levers up as best I can, I couldn't see the pedals on ebay. Have you got a link for them? Thanks for keeping an eye out

Started to strip the bike today, haven't got the cotton pins out yet, having a bit of a nightmare with these. After looking through the tech. section on the forum it seems the cotton pins are a common bug bear with restoring grifters. I am also having problems getting the handlebars out. I unscrewed the expander bolt going through the handlebar and have 'tapped' it with a hammer but I still can't seperate the handlebar from the forks. I have even unscrewed it completely and taken the bolt out but still no joy.  Any tips on what else I could try, thanks!
Simon
Simon

Great looking mk2 mate, the chrome looks to be excellent!    this bike should come up mint!! yes, cotterpins can be a pain in the arris!  luckily i have never had to remove mine!! i am sure the lads will have some tips for you!! glad you like my bikes, yes they have period front and rear ever ready lamps, they have been taken off for the summer at the mo! they come up quite often on ebay, just type in raleigh grifter they are usually listed with everything else grifter related! cheers and once again, good luck with the resto  

Heres a link to some pedals mate

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330345463989&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&salenotsupported

The handlebars can be a problem mate you will need a vice to help get them out.

As for the cotterpins you may have to drill them but again if you can get it in the vice they sometimes come out like that. Soak the cotterpins and handlebars in loads of wd40 for a couple of days first.  

Yes the chrome does look in good nick especially on the rims, some minor rust marks here and there. I'll have those rims and the brakes and levers looking even better when I get the 00 grade wire wool out with some WD40.

Thanks for the link, i'll be watching these pedals and hopefully be successful in purchasing them. I'll leave the pins and handlebars to soak another day or so and try and get them out on the vice, i'll let you know how I get on. My new decals I bought on ebay arrived today and they look sweet.  
I'm going to strip all the paint off, not sure though whether to use paint stripper or wire wheel with my dremel. Any other tips on this and which primer and topcoat is best would be appreciated  

I get my frames sandblasted,then etch prime,prime and topcoat.

If your restoring it back to a red mk2 stars then powdercoat is good in flat colours (i did my red stars and it come out lovley)

P.S dont touch the sticky side of the decals with your hands as the ones on ebay are good but not very sticky and once you touch them they can curl a little.  

Wow, that is a excellent paint job, rich in colour, I like it    Did you sandblast and topcoat the frame yourself or can you recommend the people who did it for you. Thanks for the tip with the decals, i'll be sure to keep my mitts of the sticky side
Off to nod land to dream of my restored grifter, speak to all tomorrow

The judge would be better off buying my mint mk1 to save all the hard work on his bike.    

--Last edited by 4737carling on 2009-07-23 12:03:13 --

  I may have the Grifter flu or is it the Gruffter flu, never can tell the difference  

I did contemplate buying a fully restored Grifter but then I thought where is the fun in that when I can have ago myself although I may live to regret that if I can't get the bloody handlebars off  

    I still have my minter if you change your mind mate!  

Thanks, tried getting the handlebars off this afternoon, still won't budge. The handlebar wasn't in good condition anyway so i've chopped it in half but now I now have part of the stem stuck in the forks. The nut is still inside the stem and is free and loose, looks as if the stem itself has seized to the forks. Any tips on getting this piece out?