BREAKING

First RidesIn The Magazine

The 2010 Brawler

Motorcycles Builds A Riders Dream

Article By: Rob Keller  -  Photos By: Dar Holdsworth

_DSC0106 In the motorcycle world, there is a common bond among us. We all have the passion to build our dream bike but for some of us, we may not be able to make it a reality. Our jobs, or just having the free time to commit to a big project may prevent us from getting started but we can all keep the dream alive. This bike build is just that.

There are a few people in the industry, believe it or not, that don’t have the time or means to build that bike they have pictured in their mind. The following article shows all of us that there are a lot of great ideas out there and sometimes it’s beneficial for us to share our ideas otherwise fantastic motorcycles, like the Brawler, may never be conceived.
_DSC0009 Dar Holdsworth of Darwin Motorcycles, a.k.a. Brass Balls Bobbers and Choppers, was looking down the road and thinking of possibly adding a bagger to his lineup of bikes.
He brought his idea to our own Chris Callen. Chris was quick to add his opinion that the lifetime of the bagger products, although in high swing right now, was somewhat short, had already been satisfied by many companies in the aftermarket world and that baggers are also like a last stop in the natural evolution of a motorcyclist. He explained to Dar that with that in mind, it might be cooler to build something more in the middle of the road; a bike that handles well and can also be ridden in comfort on long trips, something like an old FXR. Dar agreed that this was a possibility and told Chris that he always aspired to build a sport bike platform and that the FXR may fit that category.
As the design process began, sketches were passed back and forth and a few other people got involved. Keith Ball, of www.
bikernet.com, and Roadside Marty were also consulted on the design concepts. All having different visions, Keith would draw up long chopper versions and say it had to be a long bike. Roadside would throw his sketches into the mix and Chris would come back with the need for a steep rake with mid controls. Dar’s ten year old son, Will, even put his two cents in with a drawing of his own. Before long there was an impressive body of work sitting right before him. Dar used all of these ideas and designed a steep rake of 28 degrees but added an extended swingarm to give it a little length as well.
He used a Meanstreat 56mm inverted front end and an FXR style 2 shock design. Mids and tracker style bars were thrown in and the rider position became a natural fit for any cycle nut. In spite of all the progress with the design, the bike needed a name and Roadside finally came up with it: The Brawler. It was perfect for a bike that was fought over by design ideas from different generations and geographic locations; it had an instant sense of aggression and was sure to be a favorite of angry young men everywhere.
This bike looks great on the kickstand and has a real attitude. The combination of Raptor handlebars with motocross grips along with the mid controls mentioned above,

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