With the ever increasing rear tire sizes, NBC built frames to accommodate them and supplied many master builders with the basis to begin their creations. The advent of the 360 tire caused John to modify his 300 frame and the result was Big Red, the meanest, baddest bike NBC had ever constructed. Long and low, Big Red looks like a drag strip refugee ready to smoke the quarter mile. “I really like the 360 bikes, they really got an attitude to ‘em,” said John. “I designed it with the same distance from both the front and rear axles to the crank centerline so it looks correctly proportioned.”  The twin downtube, long 10” stretch, drop seat frame extends out to the horizon, seemingly holding back the fat Vee Rubber 360 from pushing it there. NBC’s adjustable air chamber, billet shock eliminates the need for a kickstand and allows the frame to sit right on the ground at rest. “It’s a real honest to goodness suspension system with both shock absorption and rebound built in,” says John. Meanwhile, Perse’s ultra clean spherical fork is raked out a hefty 43-degrees and holds a 19” Avon shod wheel by NBC and Tight Customs, looking like a ‘60s five-spoke Halibrand, The matching 14” wide rear wheel is probably wider than anything available on a drag car back then. Classic drag strip looks in a modern package.

Motorvation is provided by a different choice of engine than usual customs, a Harley. I applaud the idea of John’s choice of a reasonably sized 95” Twin Cam B motor with its counterbalanced smoothness already built-in. Not many builders are using this configuration as it requires a little bit different frame design and a different mind-set to “Just say no to needless vibration.” Adding S&S cams and a Super G carb along with Carl’s Speed Shop heads powers this TC up to respectable and useful levels. NBC delved into the first of Big Red’s carbon fiber delights with the cool air cleaner stack which feeds the S&S Super G carb blowing its mixture through the Carl’s Speed Shop heads. Fortified with an S&S cam and lit off by a Crane Ignition before unceremoniously dumping the burnt mixture through the brutal, but beautiful NBC two-into-one exhaust, this “B” motor makes both respectable and smooth power. Primo’s Brute Force primary doles this output to a Baker 6-speed LSD tranny and this is where the fun begins. Note that it’s a LSD tranny with a 360 rear, a combo which would normally cause enough left engine offset to make right turns an impossibility except for the extremely strong. NBC has attacked this with its own intermediate shaft system mounted aft of the tranny which allows the engine to stay centered while the outside bearing support mounts the countershaft sprocket for the rear belt drive. The handsome milled drive covers are hand sanded to match the subtle wheel finish and elegantly contrast with the carbon belt guards. There’s a whole beautiful world going on in the drive system. “It also adds 8” under the seat area which gives the bike proportion, so it doesn’t look like a tractor,” said John. What’s also way cool about it is that the rear disc is incorporated into this leaving the rear wheel to look even cleaner while in front an RC Components single disc does the yeoman’s duty of stopping.

Bodywork starts with a gorgeous Fat Katz tank with not a straight line in sight. The fenders are by NBC and the downtube mounted oil tank is straight out of the dragster handbook of style. Then it was up to Chat’s Custom Automotive to spray on a coat of hot rod red paint with a silver racing stripe tying it all together. It’s a very simple, but classy look in a Shelby Cobra way. John is extremely fond of the Cobra look and the frame hoop over the seat is made to emulate the look of a rollbar in a Cobra. This bit of wizardry nicely breaks up the transition from the Sneed’s Hot Rod Interiors’ seat to the Orca-sized rear fender. The dramatically sweeping look of the NBC bars is enhanced with carbon-clad twist controls providing a super clean cable-free environment. Milled out foot controls by Mid-West add an airy touch and blend in perfectly. Road-legal equipment consists of a petite Highway Hawk headlight, a small bar end mounted mirror and LED taillights hidden in the ends of the swingarm. Nothing’s been left to chance on this bike. “I just had a hell of a good time building this,” adds John. 

Up Close: Nothing But Customs

You’ve seen the 360mm Vee Rubber tire on several bikes in this magazine recently. Who is Vee Rubber? Vee Rubber is a Thai company with 4,000 employees that has been manufacturing tires since 1977. Producing tires in the same country where the rubber is made gives them an edge in production costs. John Triplett is a drag racer so he’s used to taking corners slowly at the end of the strip on bikes with super wide tires. He describes the ride of the big 360 as better than that of the Boss Hoss with the car tire they used to run, so he claims it is altogether manageable in a custom bike application. To read more about this zero degree radial tire, check out www.veerubberusa.com.

Builder: john Triplett, Nothing But Customs

Too many times a company’s name tells nothing about what it is or does. Now take John Triplett’s company, Nothing But Customs, based inTaylorsville,Kentucky. Okay, so what do you think they build there? That’s correct sir, nothing but customs. That wasn’t always the case in John’s life though. Having a drag racing background and later building monster engines for the marine industry as financial times dictated, John returned to his passion of two wheels. “I had always built my own bikes, but customer work came much later,” said John. “Bikes were getting pretty wild again and I was going through my third childhood so it seemed natural to get into it again.”  Drag racing endeared him to thePro Streetstyle. “I feltPro Streetneeded to be addressed in a different way,” said John. “I started building frames to stretch the envelope.” Stretch it he did, incorporating carbon fiber technology and a look not based on chrome accents. “Contrast is what makes my bikes look good,” states John. “All chrome, all steel, all carbon fiber is too much, it’s finding the right balance.” Right now John is ready for anything. ”What I enjoy doing is R&D work, one-offs, being asked to do something nobody can seem to do,” said John. ”You never know where the edge is until you step over it.”

Looking for that edge? Check out www.nothingbutcustoms.com or challenge John’s imagination at 502-314-5767. 

SPECIFICATIONS
Owner:	John Triplett
Year / Make:	2005 NBC 360 B
Fabrication:	NBC
Assembly:	NBC
Build time:	4 months
Engine:	95″ H-D Twin Cam B
Heads:	Carl’s Speed Shop
Cam:	S&S
Ignition:	Crane
Carb:	S&S Super G
Pipes:	NBC
Air Cleaner:	NBC
Transmission:	5-speed H-D
Primary:	Primo Brute Force
Frame:	NBC 360 B
Rake/Stretch:	43 degrees, 10″
Forks:	Perse
Rear Suspension:	NBC
Front Wheel:	NBC Signature/Tight Custom 19×3
Rear Wheel:	NBC Signature/Tight Customs 18×14
Front Tire:	Avon 120/70
Rear Tire:	Vee Rubber 360/35
Front Brake:	RC Components
Rear Brake:	NBC
Fuel Tank:	Fat Katz
Oil Tank:	NBC
Fenders:	NBC
Handlebars:	NBC
Headlight:	High Hawk
Taillight:	NBC
Hand Controls:	NBC
Foot Controls:	Mid West
Electrical:	Wire Plus
Chrome Plater:	K&X Powder Coating
Paint/Graphics:	Chat’s Custom Automotive
Color:	Red/silver
Seat:	Sneed’s Hot Rod Interiors
Special thanks to:	Lisa and Jacob