In a world in continuous struggle, where you always have to overcome the above, records do not make much sense. There are events that consist, precisely, in people left to beat them and upload the bar enough to be considered their important feat. But there was a time when the records were important, they gave fame and supposed a great image for brands.
One of them was the cannonball record, the transcontinental race that crossed coast at the coast of the United States and in which there was epic, risk, danger, disaster and fame. Trying to beat the record had something almost mystical, and they threw themselves to try.
This concrete story also leads us to the implementation of BMW in the United States, with a script written by one’s own life that neither the best screenwriter could have written. We are in the late 50s, BMW is trying to settle in the new continent and demonstrate its reliability. The idea by the Germans was simple: demonstrating with a practically standard motorcycle could establish the record.
And we are talking not so much about BMW, which at that time had not been officially established, but of a small Ohio dealership that slightly prepared a BMW R 69 of 1958. The motorcycle, with a design that mixed Café Racer and Cruiser influences, was piloted by John Penton, an experienced motocross driver who, years later (1962), would take the silver medal in the sixth day of Enduro in addition to establishing a curious relationship with KTM.
Penton went in search of the record after a very complex vital experience
Penton departed from New York towards Los Angeles, touring the distance in a time of 52 hours and 11 minutes. As we said, that BMW had practically not been modified, since the only change made was to make the fuel deposit somewhat bigger.
However, BMW took advantage of this feat as part of its marketing strategy in the United States, although the true story behind the trip went far beyond a simple demonstration of mechanical resistance.
As Ride Apart collects on an interview with Motorcycle Classics before his death, Penton recalled that in 1958 he was going through a difficult time. After the death of his wife, he was in charge of his three children, but his family took over them so that he could find some clarity. His Brother Ted suggested going out, which led him to undertake a 12,000 -mile trip that ended in Mexico. Upon his return to Ohio, after touring the journey without stopping, his brother gave him a challenge: trying to break the record of coast to coast that at that time belonged to Cannonball Baker.
For Penton, that journey was more than a challenge; It was a way of healing and finding direction in the midst of adversity. In that same interview, he made it clear that he would not have achieved the feat with any other motorcycle. “If I had chosen another brand, I would have been cheating on me”he said. “It was a modern motorcycle. Absolutely standard. If I had taken a Harley, I would have needed a support vehicle. With any other, I would have had to load oil, chains and spare parts. ”
