I Collect & restore Raleigh Burner BMX bicycles from the 1980’s

My name is Julian Hopkins. I collect and restore Raleigh Burner BMX bicycles from the 1980’s.

I have been doing this for 18 years now and have a large collection of over 60 bikes. I had 2 Raleigh Burners in the 1980’s, a blue Mark 1 in 1982 and an Andy Ruffell Team special in 1985.

I started collecting after seeing and buying the same bike I had in 1985 and when I collected it from the seller, it was a wreck, so I restored it and it kind of got a bit addictive.

These pictures are the very first frame, forks and bars Doug Taylors did for me, it is a Raleigh Cromo Burner Mark 1 originally made in 1983.

I have been using Doug Taylor Metal Finishing for many years for all the Re-chrome plating of my BMX frame and forks as well as all my chrome BMX parts.

I have used other chrome platers in the past, and apart from bad plating experiences in general, one of the main problems I was getting when having a frame re-chromed was the bottom bracket area not taking the chrome plate properly and getting a nickel area.

I spoke to John the 1st time I spoke to anyone at Doug Taylors about this issue I was having, and he said they hadn’t had this problem, and it was likely due to the voltage output of plating process itself. So, I got Doug Taylors to plate my first frame and it came out perfect and I’ve never looked back or have gone anywhere else since then.

One of the other main reasons I use Doug Taylors was because of the friendly attitude of the staff.

I spoke to Doug himself a few times in the beginning and then his daughter Lorraine and the customer service I have received has been better than any company I have used for all aspects of my bike restoration.

They always have time to listen and also their prices were better than other places I had used and a much better-quality finish. You may find a slightly better quote if you shop around, but you will not get better quality.

Over the years I’ve had every bike part you can think of chrome plated which can be plated Here are some pictures of the work I have done with Doug Taylors so you can see the quality of their work. I’m really fussy with my bikes and everything on them has to perfect, so If I am pleased with their work then you know their work is the best!!

Over the years we have enjoyed the relationship that has built between Doug Taylor Metal finishing and Julian.

Julian is a valued customer and has become loved by all our staff and we are grateful that he has taken the time to write this testimonial for us. We know we will see him in the future and look forward to being a part of his continued restoration projects.