Old Bonneville Pictures

[MattGuzzetta]

That group of photos is a treasure trove of history!  Do you have a bigger photo of the 507 available?  I have very few with myself included.
The photo of Freud and Alex Tremulis is great!  I was lucky to get a photo at the same time as Freud, he got the set up and I just got a snap.





I love the old photos, keep em coming!javascript:void(0);

Matt Guzzetta

[Freud]

Matt is a real expert on Vesco history. For quite a few years he was deeply involved with Don. Actually, he is probably

the best source of information from that era. He even towed the 'liner on the trailer with his car, so he is totally on top

of that info.

The Vesco team was a fun group. Don was surrounded by a bunch of kids, everyone that is younger than I was, is still a kid.

It was wall to wall fun. Don wasn't adverse to any of it. In fact, he instigated many of the happenings.

As I remember, Matt and his wife, had their first child during that time. Something makes me think his wife's name was Sandy.

I'm probably a mile off base. She's probably still with him, no possible improvement in her leaving, and she's not to get

upset if Sandy was just a "side project" for Matt. Norma Vesco had this group around her all the time and she was a jewel.

The first year my son, Gary, went to the Salt with me, he spent the entire week with Don and Norma. It was a great relief for

me knowing where he was, no idea of what he was doing, but constantly protected by Don and Norma. He was on their CB most of the

week talking to the passing truckers. On the 800+ mile drive home, he "worked the band" all the time. I was blown away with the

grasp he developed with that group. His mother was shocked when he made several seemingly "innocent" statements at the dinner

table that came from his conversations with the truckers.

Matt, Mike Devlin, Murray Hoffman,"the stumpy monkey", were the backbone of the "slave labor" group but they certainly were on the

inside track of motorcycle racing for that time. When they weren't at B'ville, they were riding road racers that originated at Don's shop.

These are memories of a most exciting time in my life and everytime I recall any part of it I realise what a great era it was and

it's not just happiness that overcomes me but also a sadness knowing that that time will never be repeated.

Mike, Denis and Sam are living those experiences now but at a totally different level. God Bless them. I just wish I was part of

their adventures but it just wouldn't be the same. I'd probably trip over my walker.

FREUD

[streamliner]

FREUD,  I just can't hear enough about those days!  I love it!!!








Matt,  here are a few more.  I'm SURE I've got plenty more, just give me some time to find 'em.  What's the story?  Did it go from 2 to 3 wheels, vice-versa, front removed for transport, or a totally different ride over the years???

[Freud]

Slight modification to prior shot.

FREUD

[Freud]

I think that #50 'liner was Bob Braverman's piece.

I don't remember what he accomplished but I do remember one time that he was riding a solo

750 Honda and needed some images of it. I was working for CYCLE Magazine that

year and didn't want to be providing images to his rag. (I don't remember the name of his publication.) But

I did shoot him and sent him the fotos and told him, NO FOTO CREDIT.

Several years later I had a credential problem at Daytona Bike Week and he bailed me out. That was more

than repayment.  That was a saved trip.

Thanks Bob Braverman.....RIP

His wife, Barbara, was a piece of art. She had personality to spare and added to whatever scene she was in.

Barbara, Norma Vesco and SuSan McCarty were as enjoyable as any group of ladies on the Salt at that time.


FREUD

[RidgeRunner]

     Without digging into my archives to confirm I'm gonna say Bob Braverman's magazine was Cycle Guide about that time.

[MattGuzzetta]

Freud and RidgeRunner have great memories!  I too have fond memories of those days and certainly of Bob Braverman, Cycle Guide publisher.  I had rolled my streamliner whilst testing at El Mirage and had a non displaced fractured back and was not able to finish the paint and some other details of the car.  Bob was building his motorcycle streamliner (beautiful job ) and he thought it would be fun to bring a 2 streamliner team to Bonneville and he was going to drive them both.  He got Road Test magazine to sponsor the paint jobs and they really came through!   When we got to Bonneville, Bob had the same problem I did with the vibration of the Triumph 500 (Borrowed from Dick and Bill Love in Palmdale, it was Gene Romero's flat track motor) getting to the helmet and causing your vision to go grey...your eyeballs got rattled and you could not see....not a good thing on the salt
It looked like we would not be able to run the car when another great competitor, Bob Leppan, offered to let one of his riders, another great guy, Rosevelt Lackey, who still runs bikes on the salt!  Rosie was short enough to keep his head off the head rest and was able to drive the car.  He made 2 runs on Friday, the second run was 137.35 against a 142 record.  The day finished and we were not able to make another run that year.   Don Vesco offered one of his 350cc road race motors so we could go faster and that was the beginning of another great friendship and business relationship.  I cannot say enough good things about Don, he was a rare soul and we were really saddened when he passed. 







The Vesco "Compound" with the crew.

Here are some pics of Bob Braverman trying on the streamliner for size at El Mirage.  The Car had no tube chassis and was made with aluminum bulkheads and special polyurethane construction foam made by CPR Upjohn.  We took it to El Mirage to get with the tech crew before we went to Bonneville, we had kept a running photo record of how the car was made as it went beyond the rules at the time.
There is no motor sporting event like Bonneville, just mostly good people willing to help "beat the clock"!

[streamliner]

Great stuff!!!  These must have been taken right around that time...

[Freud]

It's the car that's OLD, not the model.

FREUD

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Here's Rosie in the summer of '09.  He doesn't look much different, does he -- well, except for being in awe of the girls on either side.  I remember him telling me that I shouldn't send a copy of the photo to his house -- in case his wife saw it. . .

[RayTheRat]

Oh, man, Jon.  Ya beat me to it with the shot of Rosie Lackey.  I had a very hot, long coupla days at the starting line during the BUB meet last year...but it was fantastic! 

Lessee here...got some photos somewhere...oh, here they are:

I guess I wasn't the only one gettin a little dehydrated.  This poor guy just went and dessicated hisself.  (No, not defecated, dessicated.)

Rosie with a very, very intense look on his face, just before he put the visor down for a run on the M-V Agusta.

I think the next one is Richard Assen trying to do an Evil Knievel impersonation

and finally, Jeff Tobey.  I think he's requesting a table for 2 or maybe telling me that he's gonna stop at the Port-a-Potty.  Not quite sure.

I really enjoyed myself doing that part of the coverage.  The whole mess is here:
http://www.chevyasylum.com/lsr/bsf2009/bub/pix/Welcome.html  These are the picks of the pics...I'm slowly getting caught up on the backlog....while creating more like shooting a car show today.  Anyway, I enjoyed so much, I'm gonna post 4 more after this,

But first, I wanna thank all the folks who've made it possible to get media credentials so that I CAN get these shots.  I bow in your general direction. 

More in a minit

[RayTheRat]

Second verse, same as the first...sorta.

Chris Carr explaining to Denis Manning which Port-a-Potty Jeff Tobey headed for,

Assen missing the apex of Turn 0.  (What?)

Sam Wheeler gettin suited up.

Last but not...well you know...

Sam Wheeler wishing Chris call luck.  It musta worked.  Carr added 7 mph to the record.

Stay tuned for more stuff.  Editing photos and developing html is my life...or so it would seem.  Btw, I sell 8x10, 11x14 and 20x30 prints of these.  If ya see yerself in a shot that ya just can't live without, send me an email (that will get faster attention than a PM) and I'll fill ya in on the details.  I'm easy AND cheap.  But don't tell my ma.  She thinks I'm a piano player in a whorehouse...something respectable rather than a freelancer.

Again, all BUB 09 coverage (and thank you Dennis for keepin it goin.) is here:

[theazoldcrow]

Ray?  Hermans Hermits?  You DO need to take a break!      Hang in there!    Crow.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Ray:  Only one "n" in Denis.

[bak189]

Regarding Bob Braverman,...... Bob also roadraced sidecars in the mid 1970's with his son Mike as passenger.......He took the outfit to Bonneville and ran 125mph. with wife Barbara as passenger.....the sidecar chassis was build by Doug Bingham of Side-Strider in Van Nuys CA. and the outfit was powered by a very fast Kawa. 750c.c. two-stroke triple.........Bob's son Mike, just resently found the sidecar outfit and is planning to restore it to it's old glory..........In one of the early copies of Cycle Guide, Bob did a great story of our BSA A-65 roadracing sidecar..the first sidecar in N.America to use small 12inch wheels instead of the 16inch spoke wheels that were used at that point in time.  Bob was a great supporter of all types of sidecar racing and helped move the sport forward in N.America.......................................