IronWorks, The Journal for Harley Enthusiasts, BIKERNET.COM and Darwin Motorcycles, the manufacturer of Brass Balls Bobbers, have teamed up to giveaway a Digger motorcycle. Help us build the Bobber Giveaway motorcycle.

YOU DETERMINE THE IRONWORKS/BRASS BALLS BOBBERS 
GIVEAWAY BIKE

Your selection of components will determine what gets built for the Enter to win the Digger by selecting the components on the Brass Balls site (just click on the banner below) and enter your e-mail address. Once the voting is completed we will build the bike based on the winning number of votes for each component. Then IronWorks will draw the winner at the 2009 Daytona Bike Week. Watch the pages of IronWorks and here on BIKERNET.COM to see the motorcycle build.

You can’t officially begin a bike project until you’ve got a place to hang all the bits and pieces. That, of course, means you must start with a frame. Part 1 of our giveaway project bike begins in the Brass Balls frame shop. Like all of Brass Balls Bobbers’ frames, this essential foundation is made of hand-bent tubing hand-fitted and hand-welded by a race experienced team. In fact, BBB’s frame production is managed by Sam Wills, a 3-time world champion in Top Fuel drag racing. Sam built race bikes and street bikes for 30 years, so he knows a thing or three about frame geometry and material selection. The accompanying photos and captions explain how each frame—in this case our giveaway bike’s frame—is made.

Brass Balls CNC-machines all motor mounts, tranny plates, axle mounts and steering heads. All material used is either cold- finished flat stock or tubing. All tubes are precisely measured and bent by hand.

All frame tubes are made of high-content carbon (for stronger welds) 1026 DOM (drawn over mandrel) mild steel with .156” wall thickness. The backbone is 1-1/2” diameter, all other tubing is 1”.

The frame tubes are notched so the rear axle plates seat inside the tube before it is welded on both sides. This gives the frame greater strength, especially at the rigid tail section where torque is felt most.

To assure accuracy and straightness, the crew at Brass Balls Bobbers precisely measure all the dimensions, including the axle plates as shown here.

Welding the steering head is a critical step because correct steering geometry is so important to a bike’s handling performance. All parts are TIG welded by hand to assure complete heat penetration for strength.

We want you to be able to register and insure your bike, so like all Brass Balls bikes, this one will come with a vehicle identification number (VIN), which is stamped into the frame.

We always appreciate quality workmanship. Here we get a close-up look at the weld joints of our giveaway bike. If there’s ever a case for “no paint,” this is it!

This is just the first lively installment. Over the coming months we will cover every component incorporated into Brass Balls Bobbers, every element, every construction nuance and every Brass Balls assembly secret. Watch for another installment next week. If you're not familiar with Brass Balls Bobber by Dar Holdsworth and Sam Wills, check their site or click on the next page to see the new models.

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