It Ain't Easy Being Green...
Nash Motorcycle Company was started in Vancouver, Washington by three siblings in 2003. The brothers Taber, Trent, and Teddy had all been building bikes for years and finally decided that the clan would get together under one roof and make a go of it. Half a decade later, with handcrafted bikes and parts steadily going out the door, it is easy to see why NMC's business has grown immensely in such a short period of time.
The Number Nine is yet another bike to roll out of their shop with the same level of attention to detail that they are already famous for. Most of the bikes built inhouse don't stay around for long, thanks to customers all over the globe, and Taber tries to build at least one bike for himself from time to time. This bike was put together between two customer projects in a span of just three months.
The Nash boys started off with a 1975 Ironhead basket case purchased for $1,200 that someone with much less skill started to chop. They sold off some parts to a customer in need and were left with enough goodies to start on the No. 9 project for the lowly out-of-pocket sum of $200.
The Sporty frame, which was pretty much junk, was rebuilt and raked as well as stretched to Taber's desired look. It was coupled with a rebuilt narrow glide frontend from another basket case.
The brothers from Vancouver then added their mix of proven off-the-shelf components and hand-fabricated parts, along with items gleaned from various old cars and other vintage machines, such as the Zenith fuel filter and headlight.
The No. 9 is powered by the same '75 1000cc Ironhead motor that it came from the Factory with, but it has been hot rodded a bit by being bored and ported. The motor was topped off with the tried and true S&S Super E carburetor and a set of wrapped custom Nash Motorcycle Co. pipes, making more than enough power and noise for any sane human.
Shifting is done with a one-off fabricated hand clutch setup, with the throttling business being done with a simple yet effective internal setup on a pair of their custom Midget Gimp handlebars. The bars are made in-house and have the distinctive Nash look to them. Another part that furthers the "technically simple" aesthetic is NMC's Swift Kick, which is a sliding telescopic kicker arm/pedal combo that folds neatly away after use, keeping the pedal from flopping out and gouging your calf while on the road. Another Nash exclusive is the Lefty oil tank, which resides on the left side of the single downtube on the front of the frame. It was fabricated out of two-inch tubing and is self-cooling due to its location on the bike.
To further set this bike apart from the masses, two blacked-out front '80s-era Harley-davidson Sportster mag wheels were used. both front and rear were shod in MEFCO rubber with a rear-only brake setup made from a late model H-d caliper mated to a Custom Chrome rotor.
The fuel tank on No. 9 was another swapmeet find in the form of an old Honda dirtbike that was sliced into pieces. After being sprayed to match the altered rear fender by Justin Simmons in chalkboard green paint with some striping and graphic handiwork by friend and artist Paul Cameau, the tank became one of the standout components on this bike
Like most bikes pro builders do for themselves, they are usually sold off after a period of time to fund the next personal project and this one was no exception. The No. 9 has found a new home with none other than Pro Skateboarder benji Galloway who had NMC fab up a custom skateboard rack and now rides from park to park on it.
In the current climate of chopper building there is an art to taking so many different parts from such a vast array of vehicles and making them look like they all belong on one bike. Many try and fail, but it seems that Nash Motorcycle Company indeed has a knack for making it happen.