Bonneville George!

Simon Davidson

It’s been two years since we published a photo of 72-year-old George Nachtsheim from Colorado in Transmoto Issue #14, and he’s still carrying around his copy of the magazine to this date! The original photo, “Bonneville George” was shot at the 63rd running of America’s infamous Bonneville Speedweek, by Aussie photographer Simon Davidson. A year later, at the 64th running of the event, Davidson ran into George, only to find him praising the magazine and showing off the shot. And last week, while the 65th running of the epic event was taking place, Davidson sent us an email with the shot featured above attatched. Yep, two years later and George is still carrying around Issue #14 of _Transmoto_! How rad!

You can check out the last two “Framed” shots we have published from Bonneville below, along with their original captions. Don’t forget, you can pick up any of our back issues from our online store, or using the free Zinio App or iTunes.

Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine Issue 14: Bonneville George…
This year marked the 63rd running of America’s infamous Bonneville Speedweek, where 566 entries (198 of which were bikes) pitted themselves and their machines against the Gods of Speed. As you can imagine, the gathering routinely unearths some colourful characters. But Aussie lensman, Simon Davidson – on his first trip to Bonneville – kept gravitating back to this bloke, George Nachtsheim, from Colorado. “Against a 12.5mph headwind,” Davidson explained, “George clocked 108.907mph on his best run in his 650cc class, where the record is 114.567mph. I don’t know how old George is, but he’s got to be in his 60s. And how cool’s his all-black get-up!” It turns out George first got into Trumpys way back in 1961 with a brand new Bonnie. He ran it in the local drags before opening a custom shop in California in the 1970s. For Speedweek 2011, George built this double-loop frame in his home workshop and machined the leading-link front-end from 6061, all of his own design. Custom front and rear hubs run 21- and 18-inch Road Runners and brake parts from a list of 1970s Honda dirt bikes. The motor started as a ’59 TR6, before George went to town on the thing. It’s fed by Amal T10 carbs on a diet of 110/112 octane. Looks and sounds horn!

Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine Issue 27: Men Of Salt And Smoke…
Last year, after we published a Framed image of 71-year-old George Nachtsheim aboard his 1959 Triumph Bonneville at Speedweek, George wrote to Transmoto singing the praises of both the magazine and Aussie photographer, Simon Davidson. And when Davidson returned to the Bonneville Salt Flats this year, he ran into George. “Mate, George has those two copies of the mag we sent him and he’s wheeling them out for everyone,” says Davidson down the phone line from the US. “But he’s got the mags wrapped in plastic and won’t let anyone touch them. It’s classic.” Like thousands of others under the spell of the Gods of Speed, Davidson was lured back to Utah for the 64th running of the event. “This year, wild fires in the surrounding states shrouded the blue skies in a haze of smoke,” he explains, “so the graphic visual of white salt versus crisp blue sky was absent. Frustrating as this was, I had no choice but to adjust my shooting style. Sometimes you have to work a little harder or just rethink your approach. Salt racing tests everyone – from competitor to spectator. One of the stars this year was this beautiful twin-engined 1955 Triumph, known as Double Vision, built from scratch by Tyler Malinky of Lowbrow Customs. Paying homage to the twin-engined drag bikes of the past, Tyler piloted Double Vision to claim a class record of just over 128mph. But nothing comes easy at Bonneville. A week of teething problems and a slipping clutch tested Tyler’s mettle, but in the end passion won and a record was claimed.”