Taber intended it as a touring bike right from the beginning. “I started with a Kraftech frame and set it on our frame jig. I chopped it down until all I had left was the engine and trans cradle. Then I added a few inches and narrowed the rear section behind the trans to fit the seat suspension,” he said. “Next, I changed the standard neck for a gooseneck style with 29-degrees of rake and a new curved backbone and top motor mount.” His custom frame was almost finished but he still had to install an odd, but effective method to suspend the seat. “I built a great pogo-style suspended seat using a chopped FL fork tube slider. Think of it like riding on a seat attached to a single leg of a front end. It really helped absorb the pounding from some of the horrendous potholes during the ride. I don’t think I would have made it the distance if I hadn’t made that modification.” Taber didn’t stop thinking about handling or ride quality at any point of the build; the front end, rake, and trail are all well planned. “The springer front end is raked really steep but the 3 GUYZ front-end is specifically built for these dimensions,” he said. “The ride is cushy because the springs are working at a good angle and the rockers are custom made, but there’s not much flex in the legs because the forks measure about 4” shorter than stock. The short length of the front end and relatively small rake make for quick, receptive steering.” The tire width adds to the light steering characteristics of the bike with a wide 21” in the front and a 130mm rear tire with a decent sized sidewall for a little added cushion in the rear.”
A bike is more than a frame and wheels, small details and unique touches can make a huge difference in the appearance of a bike, Taber only refers to the bike catalogs for accessories when he has no other choice. Most of the headlights and taillights come from the local classic car swap meet that he attends twice a year to stock up on interesting parts for potential builds. “I’ll spend all morning at the local antique auto swap meet and buy a big box of broken parts. I store them in the shop and when I need something interesting, I’ll dig through the box. If I think it’ll work with the build, I’ll update it from the inside out. I replace old headlights with halogen bulbs and old marker lights with LEDs,” he said.
His experience riding the bike after it was built taught him a few things that he’ll remember before he starts his next build. “I’ve never used this color scheme on a bike before, and I won’t use these colors again on a bike that I know I’ll spend a lot of time on. When we were riding to South Carolina, the sun would hit the tank and the metalflake would reflect the sun right into my eyes.”
The majority of the ride was without mishap, but every journey has a few remarkable moments — some good and some soiled with blood. “It took us about eight days to make the trip, but we were behind schedule by the time we got to Phoenix. We had to pick up some time and rode hard into El Paso. When we got into town it was already late in the day but we decided to keep going. The next leg of the trip was to Houston, about 1000 miles of long straight roads and nothing but hot sun to look forward to if we waited until daylight to leave. That was a long, gruesome night that I’ll never forget. I remember listening to Hank Williams on my iPod well after midnight, cruising along and barely thinking about the road because we hadn’t made a turn in hundreds of miles. Some of the guys were falling asleep and we’d try to keep each other awake by nudging one another with a kick to the leg. Suddenly one of us hit a jackrabbit and blood spattered on half of us. That woke us up! It happened a few more times, and we tried to slow down a little to give them a chance to cross the road. We couldn’t help but hit the poor animals; they would hop right in front of the bikes without any warning. We didn’t have time to swerve and no one wanted to get in an accident because of some dumb bunny. I can’t imagine how scary we looked when we got to Houston. There was blood spatter on everyone’s shoes and pants, blood on the bikes, and we’d all been awake and riding for 36-hours ⎯ it had to look bad,” he said.
After the ride, Taber named the bike Sancho after the sidekick of the notable literary figure and windmill chaser, Don Quixote. “The bike was my sidekick, it went everywhere I went, and Sancho is a good name for a trusty sidekick.”
Builder: Taber Nash
Nash Motorcycle Company
Taber Nash and his older brother, Trent, started Nash Motorcycle Company in 2003. With a myriad of magazine feature articles under their respective belts, these guys are talented, but judging from their website and their easy-going nature, they don’t take themselves as seriously as they take building bikes. Located in Vancouver, Washington, they started their shop because they were frustrated with the slow pace of the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute. “My brother Trent and I were attending MMI in Florida; about half-way through the program we decided we were wasting time. We thought MMI would help, but it wasn’t as advanced as we hoped. We wanted to do it on our own and moved to Vancouver to open up shop. Our parents already lived there and we knew there weren’t many shops to compete with in the area, and renting a decent sized place to work on bikes would be relatively cheap,” Taber said. The shop started with the older Nash brothers, but the third and youngest was soon to follow. “Teddy started a little while ago and we’re getting him involved with more of the shop all the time,” Taber said. “Right now, he’s making the entire line of our Gimp series handlebars. His nickname has always been Gimp, so we named the bars Gimp-Hangers in his honor.”
Taber was interested in riding at a young age and bought a bike as soon as he possibly could. His first bike is also what enabled his first attempts of customization and fabrication. “I got my first bike when I was in high school, an ’86 Sporty,” Taber said. “It was the test bike for a lot of my ideas and it’s been through a lot of changes over the years. Now it’s called the TSN Bike. It’s on our website, www.nashmotorcycle.com.”
This bike feature originally appeared in Barnett’s Magazine issue #58, October 2007.
SPECIFICATIONS | |
---|---|
Bike Name: | Sancho |
Owner: | Tracey Wellendorf |
Year / Make: | 2006 Nash Motorcycle Company |
Fabrication/ assembly: | NMC |
Build time: | 1 month |
Engine: | 93″ S&S Shovel |
Cases: | S&S |
Flywheels: | S&S |
Rods: | S&S |
Pistons: | S&S |
Cylinders: | S&S |
Heads: | S&S |
Cam: | S&S |
Ignition: | Crane Hi-4 Single Fire |
Carb: | S&S Super E |
Pipes: | NMC |
Air Cleaner: | Goodson |
Transmission: | 5-speed RevTech |
Primary: | BDL |
Clutch: | BDL 2″ Open |
Frame: | NMC rigid |
Rake: | 29-degrees |
Stretch: | NMC Gooseneck |
Forks: | 3 GUYZ Customs springer |
Front Wheel: | Wide 21″ 40-spoke |
Rear Wheel: | 16″ 40-spoke |
Front Tire: | Avon |
Rear Tire: | Avon 130mm |
Front Brake: | GMA single caliper |
Rear Brake: | 3 GUYZ Sprocket/Rotor |
Fuel Tank: | NMC |
Oil Tank: | NMC |
Fenders: | NMC |
Handlebars: | NMC |
Risers: | NMC 6″ Slugger Risers |
Headlight: | Old |
Taillight: | Old |
Grips: | Old |
Foot Controls: | NMC |
Electrical: | Centech Wiring |
Chroming: | Masic Industries |
Painter: | Jeff Richards |
Color: | Gold Flake |
Graphics: | Paul Cameau |
Polishing: | Masic Industries |
Molding: | Jeff Richards |
Seat: | NMC pogo seat |