One of the world’s best-known Triumph tuners/builders George W. “Jack” Wilson died on this day in 2000.
Bikes and engines built by the Texan won hundreds of races and held scores of national and international speed records.
His first record-breaking Triumph began in a garage in 1954 when his friend, J.H. “Stormy” Mangham, constructed a streamliner aimed at beating the 1951 180-mph world motorcycle record set by the German NSU team. Wilson started with a standard Thunderbird, set up initially to run on gasoline, the bike would eventually burn methanol and finally a 60 percent load of nitromethane, which at the time was just beginning to enter the drag-racing circles.
The Thunderbird’s internals, and careful assembly, showcased Wilson’s innovation. He combined the latest Triumph factory speed parts, particularly camshafts, tappets, and gears, with a vast array of parts from various sources, including modified Harley K-model valves, Cadillac V8 shell-type main bearings on the connecting rod big-ends, and a 30lb billet crankshaft machined from Natralloy. It all added up to a lively 100 horsepower, according to Wilson.
In 1956, Wilson’s nitro-fueled 650cc Thunderbird engine powered fellow Texan Johnny Allen to a 214.40 mph motorcycle world speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats. It was this feat inspired Triumph to name their 1959 model the Bonneville.
One world record just wasn’t enough, so in 1958 Jack built a seriously trick 500cc Triumph twin. The machine clocked an average of 212.28 mph, seting a new world record for an unblown, streamlined 500cc motorcycle running on nitro. That record stood for 50 years.
