What a wonderful picture, showing the inaugural world motocross champion, in his title winning year of 1957, on his self-modified, 350cc AJS 7R-based 500cc class scrambler.
Born in 1932, by 1955 Nilsson was competing at a high level, finishing second in the European (forerunner to the world) championship, on a BSA Gold Star, then building his own machine and claiming the first-ever world title. In 1958 and 1959 he was runner-up, then took the world crown again in 1960, though this time on a Husqvarna four-stroke.
Supposedly named after the celebrity ‘cowboy’ Buffalo Bill Cody, as the elder Nilsson son (Bill’s oldest brother, Ove) was a fan of stories from the Wild West, Nilsson earned the Buffalo Bill sobriquet for himself, with his hard, determined, ruthless riding. Small and squat,…
