Calling All Choppers!!

[100%Pat]

CALLING ALL UK CHOPPERS!
GET YOUR CHOPPER ALONG TO THE DUKE LONDON CHOPPER BIKER CONVENTION AT ACE CAFE LONDON!

Calling all UK choppers! If you are passionate and dedicated chopper with a custom-made or customised motor bike that you are really proud of, then the London Chopper Biker Convention at London’s biking epicentre - Ace Cafe London - in North London is a must for you and UK chopper fans everywhere!

This London Chopper Convention will feature the Duke UK Chopper Awards – Best UK Chopper built by a man, Best UK Chopper built by a woman and Best UK Chopper, Under 21s selected by the event’s media partners and judges – The Sun and Motor Cycle News!

Playing throughout the day will be a preview screening of American Chopper – Series 1 – now available from Duke Video on DVD and VHS. Following the massive cult success of the reality TV series American Chopper on the Discovery Channel in the UK, American Chopper - Series 1 on DVD/VHS chronicles the turbulent relationship of the Teutul family who run Orange County Choppers (OCC), creators of the world’s most outrageous custom motorcycles! Series 2 is now airing on Discovery Channel on Mondays and Fridays.

Each Duke UK Chopper Award winner will receive a trophy and an American Chopper Gift Set to include – American Chopper - Series 1 DVD digipaks; die-cast bike models; T-shirt and cap, and be celebrated in the media!
The London Chopper Convention to be held on Thursday 28th October at Ace Cafe London between 11am and 3pm courtesy of Duke Video, in association with The National Chopper Club and media partners The Sun and Motor Cycle News.

It will be your chance to meet, greet and celebrate you and your fellow choppers achievements. The event will be filled with madness, mayhem, motorcycles and Duke biker girls! It will give you the chance to win some great awards, superb prizes and soak up some great hospitality!

In addition to the awards, Duke will be recognising and thanking those who come to the event with some great Convention gifts. The first 100 chopper bikers to attend will receive DVDs of individual American Chopper Series 1 programmes, replica die-cast bikes or American Chopper T-Shirts. 25 lucky winners of an event prize draw will scoop the entire American Chopper - Series 1 on DVD.

All you have to do is turn up!

Duke ‘s London Chopper Convention at Ace Cafe London – 28th October 2004 from 11am – 3pm – make it a date!

For further information on American Chopper – Series 1 on DVD or to order your copy, simply call Duke Video on 01624 640000 or email mail@dukevideo.com or visit www.dukevideo.com online.

[Creature]

Anyone Live Close By That Could Spare A Space In There Floor ???

[XJphil]

What if i`ve already ripped the back end out of the chop??

[Creature]

put it together again quickly :)

[shasha]

judged by staff of The Sun???
that doesnt bode well

[Simon B]

Bike show 28th October, now that's a sensible time to have it, just as most people are starting their winter projects, mind you with the sun and MCN involved I aint suprised.

[Blue]

And no-one has actually yet pointed out that 28th October is a ... Thursday. :rolleyes:

[Shudy]

And no-one has actually yet pointed out that 28th October is a ... Thursday. :rolleyes:

Thats handy for you journos then!

[Simon B]

Well spotted Blue. So lets get this right a Thursday night towards the end of October, Nah think Ill give that one a miss then.


Oh no hang on just re-read it. Its on between 11am -3pm, well at least you wont have a problem parking at the Ace then

[100%Pat]

Nope its 11.00am till 3pm - just when you are all at work??

[Creature]

true - anyone know of any cheep motels around there - would prob go down on wed and come back on friday.

or if ya gotta space on floor - dont mind paying my way - may even bring some of the infamous creature juice down :)

Just ask Pat n Rik what its like :)

[madastoast]

Is there an award for best chop I might get round to building one day if I get off my rrrrs and actually do it cos' it looks great in my head (ooh look at all that luvverly chrome) :D

[Creature]

Ok folks desperate to goto this - not that i'll win ought - because my old girl is ridden all year........... But would like to meet other like minded peeps.

still on look out for cheep BB for wed & thurs nite if anyone down that way can help

[Creature]

route sorted - still trying to sort accomodation out :( websites not being very helpful here......................

does anyone know if ace cafe is INSIDE CONGESTION CHARGE area ???

[Simon B]

Creature. the Ace cafe is not in the congestion zone. Finding a cheap B&B will be a problem anywhere inside the M25, but there is a travel lodge or inn on the last services on the M1 going into london which aint far from The Ace

[Freak]

C. where do you plan to go/do Thursday night/friday

[Creature]

am looking at hotel at Acton priced at £20.00 per nite

but just got back from test ride and have a cracked carb :(

so gonna be touch n go as i havent got any spare carb bodies

so if anyone has a spare set of good honda 500/4 SOHC F2 (1980) carbs taht are going please email me

[Creature]

right am working flat out to bodge me carbs up and service me chop - IF we make it were we gonna meet ???

[Blue]

.......... But would like to meet other like minded peeps.



Like-minded peeps? There'll probably be a fair number of HOG members, but as for 'real' chops and chopper-builders ... well, I wouldn't hold your breath. Bear in mind that neither of the UK custom bike magazines were given details of this event in time for publication...

[100%Pat]

I tried to tell em!! Pissup & brewery are the words that spring to mind....

[Creature]

looks as if im not gonna make it - have got severe chest pains today - prob overdid it yesterday ... So with DJing the halloween disco on saturday am gonna rest for the rest of the week :(

[Blue]

I tried to tell em!! Pissup & brewery are the words that spring to mind....

The really embarrassing thing is that whatever is chosen as 'Best UK Chopper' will no doubt be splashed all over the Sun and MCN in all its bolt-on chrome glory, and will be about as representative of the chopper scene as George Best is of the temperance movement.

[Huw Beer Monster]

The really embarrassing thing is that whatever is chosen as 'Best UK Chopper' will no doubt be splashed all over the Sun and MCN in all its bolt-on chrome glory, and will be about as representative of the chopper scene as George Best is of the temperance movement.

The Daily Mirror might be interested in this fact ;)

[Freak]

Well Im gonna go and do my bit, Me yammy chop should stand out like a sore thumb amoungst all that chrome and tack. No chance of winning anything but it's a day away from work. Wonder if anyone will speak to me? O well, Feck em if they dont. Anyone else going?

[Dougie]

looks as if im not gonna make it - have got severe chest pains today - prob overdid it yesterday ... So with DJing the halloween disco on saturday am gonna rest for the rest of the week :(
Severe chest pains?!?!?GET TO A DOCTOR PRONTO!

[100%Pat]

You rest mate!! I bloody worry about you often enough!! Whats the doc saying? There doesnt seem to be improvement??

Blue is quite right again.... I dont suppose many if any of the best custom builders will be represented , and again folks will only see what the 'media' wish them to.... custom bikes PAH!

[Creature]

i know - not really any improvemnet - am on diff medication this week - so gotta give it time to settle.

i do try and take things easy but its just not me..... altho i have slowed down a lot

many thanx for your concern - has cheered me up a bit

[100%Pat]

Well, due to the concerns expressed, The people involved have just managed to persuade none other than Mr Alik Windrush to join the blokie from the Sun in judging this .... Should help things along a bit then....

[Blue]

Mind you, the torrential rain and gales forecast for London tonight and tomorrow might do more to put people off than The Sun!

[Creature]

DUNNO THO - am sat here itching to go.................

[Freak]

I'm gonna brave it, providing the rains not horizontal and mixed with cars, trucks and cows when I go to set off.

[Creature]

You take it careful Bro & have a great time...

HAve looked outside and looks a nice day here - OH so tempting :)

[Freak]

Cheers m8. and what a lovely sunny day it was.

[100%Pat]

so HOW WAS IT THEN.... :D

[Creature]

YEAH come us tell us about it ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

[Freak]

If Id believed the forecast from the start of the week, I would have stayed in me storm shelter at the bottom of the garden till at least a week on Sunday. Knowing John kettley and his crew talk more bollocks than an excited American evangelist I held out hope of a break in the weather. Thursday morning came and as the early hours passed by the clouds vacated the sky to reveal a grand, autumns day :D so around 9.30 I headed on out towards our country’s capitol city. Unfortunately the remnants of the last few days weather combined with cow muck, great clods of earth from tractor tyres and the usual debris from where cars and trucks had cut up the verge had bonded together and been spread up the road as a fine film for the first 20 odd miles. By the time I got to the next village me poor bike looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for about…well, ever! :( Things improved somewhat once I turned onto the A40 where the traffic had dried the road. It was then easy riding in blazing sunshine all the way to the Ace Café.
As I pulled off the road I was greeted by a friendly marshal who directed me to a position in amongst the other show bikes. In my haste to get parked up I nearly ran over Ian ‘Sooty’ Remolds. (At that point the words “****, if I run him over, STEViE will kill me” entered me head). A quick look around for a bucket and sponge for some emergency cleaning proved fruitless and then I was collared by a lovely young lady who had me fill out an entry form for the show. All entrants got free American Chopper merchandise for there efforts in turning up the choice being a baseball cap, t shirt or dvd. Carol Nash insurance provided free coffee, tea and food all afternoon which was a nice touch and very much appreciated. In all about 40 bikes were on show, the standard of some were very high indeed and around 100 people were present at any one time although I’d say many more than that came and went through the course of the day.
I’m really not quite sure how the judging was done. We were all asked to stand by our bikes at one point but after an hour the results were announced.???? Did I miss something? I admit that a trip to the loo accounted for a couple of minutes not in attendance but when ya gotta go, you gotta go. Perhaps Mr Windrush can shed a little light on how it was done (not that I expected to win anything with a bike that looked as if it had just come fresh from a regional ploughing match.) No real surprise in the list of winners although Sooty did seem to get an award for being the best woman in show :eek: which was unusual to say the least!!?
All in all a grand day out with nice weather, good organisation and a friendly atmosphere. Quite where it goes from here I’m not sure. Should it become an annual event than perhaps a Thursday in late October is not the best time to hold it. I could see potential for regional heats being held all over the country leading to a grand final at the Ace. This would potentially bring out the best of British built choppers. I’m sure we could show the yanks a thing or two.
Thanks to all involved. :D
Freak.

[Blue]

I'm glad you enjoyed it Freak, but all I can say is we must have been at different events. :confused:

[Freak]

I'm glad you enjoyed it Freak, but all I can say is we must have been at different events. :confused:

Why's that then?? :confused:

Ah! it's the amount of people present at a guess, I re-wrote that part and never changed the numbers. I'll do it now, should read 100 not 200. Bugger I even pre-viewed it twice. :rolleyes:

[shasha]

[QUOTE=Freak]Should it become an annual event than perhaps a Thursday in late October is not the best time to hold it. I could see potential for regional heats being held all over the country leading to a grand final at the Ace. [QUOTE]

not likely tho as this was just a promo event for the american chopper dvds.

[Alik Windrush]

It was a pro-mo for the American Chopper dvd's.
And Duke Video gave away lots of goodies.
Which is fair cos that's what it said it would be in the pre release stuff.

It was a thursday afternoon in October because Duke Videos didn't buy the rights to the programme until a month or so ago.
So the media company engaged to promote the release had about a fortnights notice to plan the event. I reckon the did pretty good.

MCN couldn't be arsed to turn up, but the Sun guy rode down from Brighton on his bike wearing gaffa taped leggings that he crashed in a couple of weeks back. (I dunno if that aids his credibilty but that how it was.)
Is a geeser from the Sun the best judge of custom bikes...? Is jeremy Clarkson the best person to review the kind of car you and I are likely to buy....? But you all listen to him.!

Judging is a very strange business and as it turned out we picked three red bikes. Should we have altered our choice and made one of them a different colour.? I really don't know.

The Harley big twin that won (It was a compromise between me and Mr. Sunny) cost loads to build but followed the traddition any of us follow to build, which is one persons vision more often than not with the help of several other people. The guy rode it there, swore it had never been on a trailer in its life and (the decisive part for me) carried a dent in the tank sustained while touring in France last summer.Yeah you're right the Sun would be unlikely to splash pictures of anything other than a Harley but.... If I'd had my way the winner would have been a..... Harley Sportster

Mega Monsta deserves to win anywhere and Sooty did offer everyone a taste of the real world when he lit the back tyre up.

The third award was for a bike built by someone under 21 years old. (Who thought that one up!) As most under 21's are in Vauxhall Nova's, we searched high and low until we found one.. Well actually we waited ages and two came along. The winners bike was mint. I did ask him if he was a drug dealer but he said no. I wish I could afford his insurance let alone his bike.

Yeah it was a media event but it attracted 45 entries a lot of people (I didn't count them) we all got free grub and drinks and most people got a dvd or two. I didn't hear anyone moaning on the day and I've been to a lot of one day shows that attracted a lot less people.

I'm not trying to justify the event in any shape or form, but I thought it was OK and everyone got what they wanted out of it.

Having pulled the proverbial "**** back from the Fan" had decent weather and a successful event; there was a lot of talk about making it an annual affair... BUT Not in October..

I suscribe to Pat's pre-description re: "Piss Up and Brewery" but if I went to every event with pre-concieved ideas of what it was going to be like; then I'd be working in TV and not choosing to spend time chatting with other bikers on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

Oh yeah... And I went to a 'custom bike event' on a stock BMW K1100..! So that's my credibilty destroyed............

[Alik Windrush]

P.S. Why can't I write **** on here without it being starred out...?

I wonder if I can write ****e...!