New York State Trooper Lenny Bauer sets out to break the motorcycle cross-country record of Tibor Sarossy.
Tibor Sarossy set the world record for traveling on a motorcycle from New York to Los Angeles in an incredible 45 hours, 41 minutes in 1968. Riding a BMW R69/S, Tibor made only four fuel stops, carried extra gas on his back, took food handed to him by passing motorists, never slept but, fainted twice in covering 2,687 miles. The previous record was set by John Penton, who, in 1959, made it across the United States in 52 hours and 11 minutes, also riding a BMW R69/S.
Lenny Bauer, a New York State Trooper from New Windsor, New York, enlisted a local machine shop to to cut an aluminum beer keg in half, insert some baffles to keep the gasoline from splashing around, and welded it back together. He then mounted it on the back of his 1966 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide to make the need for stopping to refuel less frequent. He gets his departure time certified at Western Union in NYC. A hair after 6:00 AM Lenny and his shovel head west. L.A., here we come...
Sadly, the beer keg didn't help, due to construction delays on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Turnpikes, Bauer ends up missing the record by 28 minutes.
Sadly, the beer keg didn't help, due to construction delays on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Turnpikes, Bauer ends up missing the record by 28 minutes.
