Rusty Butcher, or as his mom calls him- Mark Atkins, is a stunt rider that also has his own line of custom merchandise. He has his own unique style, so the new Harley-Davidson Fat Bob was just the right bike for him to customize.
The weird cousin meets the Butcher
If you have been following my work here at H-D Forums, you will remember in my Softail write-up, that I referred to the Fat Bob as the "weird cousin" of the Dyna and, now, the Softail line. I still stand by that description because I think it fits. Off the assembly line, the Fat Bob is a rocket. It's fast, nimble and it looks like it could fit right into any futuristic sci-fi movie. So, it's really no wonder that a guy like Mark Atkins would choose it to be "Butchered."
>>Join the conversation about Rusty Butcher's 2018 Fat Bob right here in HDForums.
"Rad shit for dirtbags"
Mark has quite the flair for advertising his wares...yes, "rad shit for dirtbags" is an actual phrase that he uses to describe his products and, just like him, it works. He has built quite the company, selling everything from hand-made wallets to hard parts for your bike that have that same, "don't give a damn" attitude. Mark believes in working hard and playing harder, so when he got this 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Bob...he took it out and gave it the Butcher's treatment.
>>Join the conversation about Rusty Butcher's 2018 Fat Bob right here in HDForums.
Built to be ridden
Mark put the hard-core treatment on this Fat Bob- S&S intake, new custom stitched Saddleman seat (not pictured on this slide), a fairing, new ODC Suspension forks, Hardcase Performance brake calipers and 14" rotors, Two Brother's Racing 2-into-1 exhaust (previously highlighted in my Sport Glide mods write-up), Rusty Butcher bars on Hardcase risers and, of all things, a traditional top-mount headlight and wire spoke wheels.
>>Join the conversation about Rusty Butcher's 2018 Fat Bob right here in HDForums.
And I do mean RIDDEN
Most people wouldn't even consider taking a brand-new Harley-Davidson Softail to the dirt, but, then again, Mark isn't most people. If he can't ride it where he wants to go, he'll modify it until he can. He did just that with this dirty Bob and look how it turned out. Mark is a man that knows what he wants his bikes to do and he builds them to make them do it.
>>Join the conversation about Rusty Butcher's 2018 Fat Bob right here in HDForums.
The Rusty Butcher
While Mark's style may be a little, well...unorthodox, he is the heart and soul of the Rusty Butcher brand. He created it only 5 years ago, but it already has a massive following. Why wouldn't it, after all? The Rusty Butcher brand is focused on creating a high-quality product using high-quality materials while honoring time-honored traditions of craftsmanship and hard work. What else can you expect from a brand inspired by an old, rusty butcher's cleaver?
Mark doesn't create things to be pretty, as much as he builds them to be functional. His work could easily be likened to that of an artist, but to him it's just about building something that works exceptionally well and, if he can make it look cool, all the better. The 2018 Fat Bob was the perfect platform for Mark to hack up- it is light, powerful, and as Mark related in one post about the new mono-shock rear suspension, "it handles like a...." well, you can fill in the blank, but, he thinks it handles pretty well.
Good old-fashioned American craftsmanship isn't dead...not yet anyway. As long as we have guys like Mark Atkins, who are willing to work hard, get their hands dirty and build what needs to be built, that craftsmanship will never die.
>>Join the conversation about Rusty Butcher's 2018 Fat Bob right here in HDForums.
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