Back Street Heros - June 2020

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There can’t be many folk out there who haven’t heard of Raw Steel Choppers – anyone asking for a frame builder or fabricator on just about any social media platform will have them recommended at least a couple of times, for instance.

They’ve developed a good reputation for quality work at reasonable prices, and’ve built a few bikes that’ve been featured here in BSH, so we thought we’d have a chat with Stuart Thompson, ‘String’, the main man. 

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO?

I’m String, and I run Raw Steel Choppers, an up-and-coming business set in the heart of rural Essex. I aim to build quality one-off frames, and bikes – anyone can buy an off-the-peg frame and put it together, but it’s not the same as having your dream bike built exactly how you really want it. And it doesn’t just have to be a chopper, by the way, we’ll build any style.

TELL ME ABOUT RAW STEEL CHOPPERS? WHERE DID THE NAME COME FROM? WHEN WAS IT SET UP?

RSC came about, kind of by accident, back in 2011. I wanted a set of wide ‘bars for my streetfighter, but couldn’t find anything suitable, so decided to make my own. I hired a tube-bender, and made a few sets with the plan of selling them on eBay to cover the hire of the ‘bender. They all sold quickly, so I repeated the process again, and then again, and that was literally the start of Raw Steel Choppers. I moved on to different styles of ‘bars, and then progressed to a frame. I’ve always had a passion for choppers, but everything I looked at I dwarfed so I set up in my garage, purchased a tube-bender and a TIG welder (which I’d never used before!), and applied to The Welding Institute (www.theweldinginstitute.com) for an intensive course on TIG welding. I came away from there a week later with a TIG welding coding, and felt confident enough to build, and weld up, my first frame.

It wasn’t an easy road to get the business going. I still had to work full-time (as a welder/fabricator), fitting in jobs in my lunch breaks, evenings and weekends, as I had a young family to support. Slowly the business started to grow, initially friends and local people, but then, thanks to social media, people from other parts of the UK started to call, too.

The next step was to go self-employed, and work part-time as a fabricator and part-time for myself. I continued like this for a year or two, and in that time built a new workshop in my garden. Taking the plunge is always difficult, and it never seemed to be quite the right time, but I got to the point where I had three frames to build in the diary, plus other small jobs, at the same time as the sub-contracting came to an end. My wife freaked out, saying, “Go and find another contract”, but my reply was, “I have these three frames to build so I’ll do them first”, and that was it – the orders kept coming, and Raw Steel Choppers become a full-time concern.

The name came fairly easily. In the beginning I didn’t like getting involved with paint (being partly colour-blind I can get in a muddle) so everything was sold in raw steel, and my main aim was to build choppers so it made sense.

WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR INSPIRATION? WHO ARE YOUR HEROES (BIKING OR OTHERWISE)?

I s’pose it really started with the Orange County Choppers television series – I didn’t particularly like many of the end products, but I enjoyed watching the builds, and I’d watch the programmes very closely to try and pick up tips (although they were cleverly edited so as not to give too much away). Luckily, I started my career as a tool-maker so I have an engineering mind – mix that with fabricating skills, and you can fill in the edits and work it out.

Other inspirations are Billy Lane, and Indian Larry – I love the way they produce handmade things using old skills. This is how I try to work; you don’t need machines as much as you think, you can produce a product with your heart and soul, and know it’s truly a one-off.

AT WHAT AGE DID YOU GET INTO BIKING? 

I always had a passion for ‘bikes, but as a teenager (like so many others) I was never allowed one. I remember buying an ER50 for about £50 from a guy – he told me how to do the gears, and I set off on the five-mile journey home. I loved every minute of the ride home, feeling completely free... That didn’t last though, as once I got home my parents hit the roof, and I was grounded!

My next experience was at about 24 years old. A mate’d just bought a 1000 EXUP, and he said: “Get on the back, I’ll take it easy.” I did, and minutes later we were flying down the bypass at 130mph! I was terrified, but the speed and sheer power was like nothing I’d ever experienced – truly mental! Once I passed my Direct Access, I picked up a GSX 750ET and my biker life began.

WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE BIKE YOU’VE BUILT, AND WHY? 

I think my favourite has to be ‘Moonshine’ – my rat-rod chopper built around a GSX 1100 Power Screen engine. I built it based on my passion for rat-rod cars, and just about every part is handmade. The bike’s truly part of my soul – building it was a very love/hate thing but, now it’s done, I’m really pleased with the outcome.

WHERE DO YOU SEE CUSTOM BIKE BUILDING/CUSTOM BIKES GOING IN THE FUTURE?

I’m hoping the scene’ll continue long into the future. My main worry’s the talk about banning petrol in the future for new motors, and I wonder what impact this’ll have on old(er) vehicles. Will petrol prices soar? Will it still be widely available? I guess only time will tell…

On the other hand, I’m a custom fabricator/engineer, and so we should be able to adapt with the times, and provide customers with what’s the current trend so I’m not too worried. The main thing to remember is to support your local small business. We can provide many parts, bespoke or from suppliers, and at competitive prices, and every purchase helps and adds to the bigger picture, keeping us here to provide for you.