SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/590058
standard 2.4-gallon fuel tanks in 60 miles. When they kept it under 55, and it wasn't a problem to hop from rancho to rancho, they only ended up going to the emergency cans once during the ride. The Ride On Saturday, March 17, 1962, after putting in a full-day at their respective jobs, Dave Ekins and Bill Robertson, Jr., drove to San Diego, donned their riding gear and hopped aboard their Hondas. Starting at midnight, they checked in at the Tijuana telegraph office to get an official time stamp which would be the only form of verification available. If all went well, they'd reach the telegraph office in La Paz 32 hours later. All did not go well, however. According to Dave, there are enough stories to fill a book, but some of the more interesting stories included when a wire stretched across the road, snatched both men off their bikes. Although they escaped injury, it broke the rear fender brace on Robertson's bike, so they simply removed it and the rear fender, unknowingly exposing the fragile paper element air filter. Some of the other factoids of the run included when they lost more time posing for pictures for the accompanying journalists traveling in a second Cessna. They also got lost when fog rolled in south of San Ignacio and rather than run out of gas, they simply stopped and slept until the sun came up, which cost them even more time. And due to the filter issue, Robertson's bike eventually lost a cylinder with 130 miles left to go. But both riders eventually did make it. Ekins finally found the La Paz telegraph office, getting clocked in 39 hours and 56 minutes after starting. Robertson nursed his sick bike in a little over two hours later and the goal was achieved. There was only one thing the pair didn't realize -- they had to ride the bikes back to the U.S.! Heading Back Home After spending a day in La Paz replacing the engine from Robertson's bike with one from a spare parts bike Fulton carried REFUELING THE CHASE PLANE IN THE 1962 RIDE REQUIRED SIPHONING GAS THROUGH AN OLD GARDEN HOSE FROM A 55-GALLON DRUM. THE CREW THEN HAD TO CLIMB ATOP THE CESSNA'S WING IN ORDER TO POUR THE PRECIOUS LIQUID IN, STRAINING IT THROUGH AN OLD CHAMOIS. 051 SCORE JOURNAL