Photo: Mecum
Custom motorcycle builds based on existing platforms are of course exciting, but they don't even come close to what full customs have to offer. And if you have any doubt about that, the 2008 Brouhard Design V-4 Softail is here to put those doubts to rest.
The monster is a blend of exciting engineering, rampant imagination, and a touch of Harley-Davidson. It's a bike so extreme and unique that back in 2008, when attending the 59th Grand National Roadster Show in Ponoma, California, it was declared America's Most Beautiful Motorcycle.
Although that's debatable and clearly subject to personal interpretation, the fat tire chopper build sure is one of a kind, and a beauty that'll probably forever be remembered. Helping with that are not only the title it got in Ponoma, but also its appearances in the Cycle World and AmeriCycle magazines, but also the fact it's probably the most famous product of its designer, Carl Brouhard.
Put together by Brouhard with help from Bud Price Fabrication and Twisted Metal Fabrication, the bike is centered around a chassis made by 8-Ball Manufacturing. That's exciting and all, but things get really interesting when you learn what that frame holds inside it.
The bike is powered by a monster of an engine, a V-Quad beast 217ci in displacement that uses four Harley-Davidson Evolution-style cylinder barrels. The unit initially developed 250 hp, but thanks to the fitting of unique twin-turbo setup, the output was pushed to a staggering 350 hp and 425 lb-ft of torque.
All that is controlled through a 6-speed transmission and sent to a huge rear wheel wrapped in a piece of rubber that measures 360 mm in width.
The bike was specifically built for a customer, and it of course uses probably close to 100 percent custom-made parts. At the time of its making its builder estimated the two-wheeler to be worth $175,000.
Because it is not road legal, the bike spent several years on display at the Vault in Big Horn Country Club in Palm Desert, California. And we're talking about it now because it popped up on the open market, waiting to be sold during the Mecum auction in Monterey, California, later this month.
The seller of the bike is the one who originally bought it, and the price they expect to get for it is not as much as the bike's initial estimate, but "just” $100,000. It remains to be seen if anyone finds this incredible red and chrome machine interesting enough to pay that much and never ride it into the open.
We will of course get back to this story once the hammer falls and update with info on how much value the collectors' world puts on this unique piece of American engineering.
Although that's debatable and clearly subject to personal interpretation, the fat tire chopper build sure is one of a kind, and a beauty that'll probably forever be remembered. Helping with that are not only the title it got in Ponoma, but also its appearances in the Cycle World and AmeriCycle magazines, but also the fact it's probably the most famous product of its designer, Carl Brouhard.
Put together by Brouhard with help from Bud Price Fabrication and Twisted Metal Fabrication, the bike is centered around a chassis made by 8-Ball Manufacturing. That's exciting and all, but things get really interesting when you learn what that frame holds inside it.
The bike is powered by a monster of an engine, a V-Quad beast 217ci in displacement that uses four Harley-Davidson Evolution-style cylinder barrels. The unit initially developed 250 hp, but thanks to the fitting of unique twin-turbo setup, the output was pushed to a staggering 350 hp and 425 lb-ft of torque.
All that is controlled through a 6-speed transmission and sent to a huge rear wheel wrapped in a piece of rubber that measures 360 mm in width.
The bike was specifically built for a customer, and it of course uses probably close to 100 percent custom-made parts. At the time of its making its builder estimated the two-wheeler to be worth $175,000.
Because it is not road legal, the bike spent several years on display at the Vault in Big Horn Country Club in Palm Desert, California. And we're talking about it now because it popped up on the open market, waiting to be sold during the Mecum auction in Monterey, California, later this month.
The seller of the bike is the one who originally bought it, and the price they expect to get for it is not as much as the bike's initial estimate, but "just” $100,000. It remains to be seen if anyone finds this incredible red and chrome machine interesting enough to pay that much and never ride it into the open.
We will of course get back to this story once the hammer falls and update with info on how much value the collectors' world puts on this unique piece of American engineering.
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