Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

The BMW was the third he has owned and Sarossy is adamant in insisting that no other motorcycle is capable of maintaining such a grueling pace for such an ext ended period of time. "Nothing but a BMW could make it through the heat of the Mohave desert at the speed I was traveling. I also can't imagine anything but a BMW holding together at the consistent 100 mph speed I maintained through the midwest ," he said. The only modifications to Tibor's machine was a larger 4-quart oil pan (designed and built by the Penton brothers) and two 5-gallon army surplus gas cans which he converted into auxiliary fuel tanks. The auxiliary tanks , along with his stock 6~ gallon tank, gave him a range of 900 miles between gas stops. Averaging 60 mpg, he stopped 4 time s for gas and was forced to stop 4 more times for bad weather along the route. Sarossy credits the Glaser fairing on his machine as a major factor in his succe ss. By redu cing wind buffeting I did not become "fatigued as qui ckly," he said. "The Glaser fairing (which is not available in this country) is unique in that the windscreen is fuDy adjustable for height. T i b 0 r' s co n fi d en c e in Ge r m an craftsmanship was born e out by his trip to L.A. and back . Not expecting any trouble, he only took $iOO~OO with him. Th e only mechanical problem that developed Wa5 a worn out vibration damper element, which was supposed to be replaced at 4000 mile intervals, anyway . When he returned to Ohio the engine was stiD purring liIce a well-muffled kirten, even aft er 5000 miles of torture, and he hadn't even changed plugs! ROAR OF SILENCE The record attempt had originally been scheduled for Sun. , Aug. 25, but Sarossy was turned back by New Jersey Turnpike Officials because of poor weather conditions. After checking weather conditions over the entire route, Tibor had his time certifi ed by Western Union in N.Y.C. and was on his Wrf by Monday Midnight, Aug. 26. But, alas, it seemed as if fate was machinating against our boy . Unbeknownst to Tibor the Lincoln Tunnel was closed for repairs, ncccessitating a 22 minute detour, right at the beginning. If you place your trust in tunesmiths you might as weD belive that it's still a long, long, way to Tipperary. But for those who place their faith in the opposed-twins from Munich, the 3000 miles that separates New York City from Los Angeles, California, has been rapidly shrinking. As a matter of fact, Tibor Sarossy of Fairview Park , Ohio , is positively convinred that the average rider, on an average BMW can make such a trip any week-end with time to spare. NO HOT AIR Not one to make idle boasts, Tiber, a 22-year-<>Id engineering student at Ohio State University , recently hopped aboard his 1967 BMW R~9S in New York City , idly glanced at his odometer, which alread y registered 2,000 miles, pointed his Earles forks in the general direction of Los Angeles "L'd surged off in a great rush . On Aug. 28, exactly. 45 hours and 41 minutes later, a haggard but unbowed Sarossy clocked in at the L.A . Western Union office thu s becomin g the third Ohioan to hold the cross-coun try record. John Penton, the previous solo record holder, made th e trip in 52 hou rs and 11 minutes in 1959 on a BMW R~9S and his brother Ted , along with Bill Cleaver, set the side-car record in 1966, also with an R~ 9S , at 60 ho urs and 49 minu tes. 5 YEARS IN PLANNING Why did Tib or decid e to attempt such a man and machine destroying task? " I wan ted to prove that the old record could be broken and I wanted to do it on an average, used BMW", he says. Being an engineering stu dent he set abo ut his task with comm endable thoro ughness. "I have been trainin g for this atte mpt for five years", Sarossy said . "I ha ve driven my cycle twice to Florida and back , tw ice to New York City and back and almost every week-end I drive the 260 mile round- trip bet ween Columbus and Cleveland. " route , which he completely Tunnel to the New Jersey Turnpike, then the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Interestate 70, which would take him to St. Louis, where he could cateh Route 66 for Los Angeles. This was approximately 300 miles shorter than the route used by the Pentons, due to the completion of several new sections of Interstate freeways and bypasses. Instead of losing heart over this delay Sarossy cracked the throttle on his Teutonic juggernaut and made up the time on the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Turnpikes. On Interstate 70, through West Vuginia, Ohio and Indiana he averaged a steady 100 mph . He did, however, slaclcen his pace to 60 mph in Columbus, Ohio , SO that a friend, Charles LinaIc , who was also riding an R~9S , could pass him hot coffee. which he drank from the thermos as he rode. LinaIc kept him company until Indianapolis, Ind ., where he turned back. U By Paul Cosner Photos by Frank Mayer His reconnoitered by car in July, was the lincoln HARD RAINS GONNA FALL Tibor Sarossy, New York to Los Angeles cross-co untry record holder, and his BMW R-6!lS. Note special 41lallon oil sump. Glaser fairing and army surplus gas cans that served • a ten gallon auxiliary fuel supply. From Indianapolis to Oklahoma Sarossy's luck held and he had beautiful weather. As soon as he crossed the Oklahoma border though , the rains came. He pulled the BMW under a bridge for 20 minutes hoping that the rain would stop , since visibility was practically nil "I had been riding for 20 hours so far and had maintained a 75 mph average, bu t th e rain was very discouraging ," he said. '" decided to shave on anyway but the rain got even worse and I was forced to stop at a gas sta tion for another 20 minutes" . PART II CONTINUED NEXT W EEK 0) ~ ~ ~" 0) ..... r-: 0; .Q ~ 0 ~ ~ t.:l ~ t.:l ...,J ~ C,)

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