Nothing But Customs 360B

In the world of custom bikes there are innovators and there are imitators. In the eyes of Nothing But Customs' John Triplett, he is indeed an innovator. If you don't believe us, just ask John. This soft-spoken former drag racer has brought a new dimension to the realm of customs thanks to his ability to take a bike lower than they have ever gone before.

Just look at the pictures of his eye-catching 360B. The bike has been engineered with every piece of high-tech hardware you can possible imagine. From the massive 360 series rear tire - hence the numeric part of the name 360B - and the fabulous swingarm that its nestled in to the curvaceous lines and dripping paint, this bike exemplifies what Triplett believes a custom should be. It's unique, attractive, powerful and most important of all - it's low slung.

This wild ride caught our eye during Bike Week 2005 so we took the opportunity to find out what exactly was the impetus behind this crazy concoction of custom. "The 360B is a bike we've been working on since about November (2004)," explains Triplett. "Its one of the first bikes that I know of that's actually a running, drivable 360-tired bike.

"The 360 bike was a challenge for us to create a chassis design that allowed us to put the engine and transmission in-line so that the bike was still centered - but able to run a 14-inch wide wheel and 360 series tire in the back." Its massive tire required a huge 14" x 18" wheel that is made of three pieces.

To accomplish the task of utilizing the massive tire - incorporating the air-ride components all while keeping the bike fully functioning and rideable - it was necessary to utilize a jack-shaft that keeps the drivetrain in line with its motor. As a result, John says the bike is perfectly balanced.

The innovations don't stop there either. A close look at the rear wheel reveals no rear brake disc. That's because it is mounted on the I-shaft drive inside the rear behind the seat. Both front and rear brakes are actuated by the right foot control from Thunderheart manufacturing. A proportioning valve makes sure the proper amount of pressure is applied to each master cylinder.

Cool yet sublime components like the internally mounted rear brake would remain hidden if not for the builder revealing the secret location. Look around for throttle cables and brake lines and you won't find them. The clutch is a twistgrip on the left and the throttle is where it should be on the right. But all wires are routed through the bars for a very clean look. The brake and tail lights are equally difficult to spot since they are integrated into the rear of the tubular steel swingarm.

In this day and age it is important to understand the driving force behind a custom biker builder in order to truly appreciate where the inspiration is drawn from. In the case of NBC's John Triplett it was spending his formative years behind the bars of a drag bike.

"Twenty, 25 years ago I used to drag race motorcycles," says Triplett. "I've built top-fuel and top-alcohol chassis and wheel assemblies for all the drag race guys. I got out of it when drag racing took a slump back then and I went into the marine industry. I did that until about three years ago (2001) when all of this wide-tire-thing started happening on the custom bike scene - and I couldn't stand it. I felt like there was still something more to be done. I mean a lot of these guys were close but they just weren't quite there. They didn't have what I considered the cool look. But then, I've been that way my whole life - everything had to be slammed to the ground, long and low with as fat a tire as you could get on it.

"So I looked around at the chassis guys that were out there because I wanted to build a bike, not really knowing at the time that I would end up going back into the chassis business again. But when I found out there wasn't really anything out there that suited me, well. I went and built another chassis jig and here we are."

That decision may very well have created a shift in the custom bike market. Now, three years later there are countless chassis and bike builders that have duplicated his design. A number of builders use the NBC air suspension chassis (expect to see a couple of those bike in the near future), but the 360B is a ride that really does stand out in the crowd, so to speak.

When its time to build a bike, Triplett doesn't pull any punches - his self-righteous in-your-face bikes will leave your jaw on the ground alongside his base tubes. That's right - kick-stands be damned when it comes to one of these bad bikes. All you do is roll up to your favorite hangout, flip a switch and the bike settles down onto the frame rails below the big Twin Cam 95c.i. B-motor (hence the B designation in the name 360B) and 6-speed Baker transmission. From that point you just walk away, grab your burger and watch the pedestrians gather like squirrels around that crazy old lady sitting on the park bench tossing out peanuts.

"All our bikes are on air suspension. Last year we started all of this no kick-stand thing here at Daytona. We debuted a couple of bikes at the Rats Hole show that were full air suspension, no kick-stand at all, that sit flat on the frame. You just air up the system and it raises you up to 3.5- 4 inches of ride height. and you ride. Now, it's really taking off and there's a number of people who have jumped on the bandwagon.

"That same guy you saw on Discovery was on his hands and knees crawling all around our bikes last year. But we were nobody - just a little chassis shop from Kentucky, and we just try to do what we can and try to stay ahead of the game."

Obviously, imitation is the sincerest for of flattery and a quick look around any current bike show or TV program will reveal at least a couple of these air-equipped ground-pounders with a ribbon dangling from its handlebars.

One particular manufacturer that both influenced and followed suit was Amen Chassis Works' Mike Brown. His YWYH and Hubless Monster sleds have been turning heads at Bike Week for a couple years now and it came as no surprise to find out that Brown and Triplett are quite chummy after we asked if there were any custom builders that NBC was particularly fond of.

"Oh yeah, definitely," responded Triplett with a grin. "Mike Brown from Amen Chassis Works is a good friend of mine a very well respected guy in this industry. He had a lot to do with what I've done. He's a good man and I can't say enough good things about him and his company. He influenced me a lot and helped a lot as well."

In the end the 360B is what this article is really all about. The bike exemplifies the clean custom scene that many modern riders are looking for. Everything on the bike was well thought out and engineered with the goal of creating a rideable and usable yet bad-ass bike that was unlike anything else on the market.

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