Whew, that's a mouthful! Yeah, but what is it?
Here's the poop: Any get-together with your fellow POG'ers is a good time, right? Well, how about an event where you can hang out with your Penton buddies, bring your bike and show it off, and ride your bike?
Sounds good, but what's the OVBSAOC? It's the Ohio Valley BSA Owners Club, and if you think that sounds like a bunch of old fuddy-duddies sitting around in lawn chairs watching their vintage British twin bake in the sun, you're wrong, because these guys ride!
Stay tuned for lots more info all about this event, the location, the riding, and lots more. We'll feed you bits at a time to keep the interest up and to help pass these winter months.
(http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn155/OhioTed/CF54_zpsf6323fab.jpg) (http://s303.photobucket.com/user/OhioTed/media/CF54_zpsf6323fab.jpg.html)
Right on Ted!I started attending their events around 1995 & have always had a good time.Really good vintage crowd.Awesome trails with hill's & creek crossings.If I remember right,it was there where I met Paul Danick and learned about POG. Hope to see ya all there. Bill
I've been going there off and on for years, riding the trials events long before I even considered owning a Penton as an option. One of our best times was when my kids were really young and we camped there in probably 2007 or 2008. (Decent camping by the way).
It was a lot like a POG or Ahrma event, family friendly. Some older kids kind of watched my kids while I rode. They had great stories of wandering in the woods, bear and wading in the creek.
One of the funniest parts was seeing my son attempting to cross the creek and had his PW50 under water burbling and sputtering. This time I was able to rescue it.
Vintage trials riders have a fantastic riding area and I always thought the trails connecting the sections look awesome and I would love to ride them.
I got my first trials trophy ever there on one of my first competitions, prior to the VMD National Championship in 2010.
My goal is to ride my restored (by then, hopefully) 1972 Six Days at that event in the reliability ride and teach my son to ride it on the trails. What better way to test a restoration?
Thanks for the replies fellows, and you are absolutely accurate. Among the numerous appeals of the BSA events, the location - Cable's Creek Campground and the surrounding area is about as good as it gets for off-road motorcycling fun.
As the name implies, the campground nestles right up against a beautiful, wide, shallow creek, perfect for the kids to splash in, and motorcycles to splash across. Additionally, the entire creek valley is just three miles upstream from the mighty Ohio river. At such a point so near to the big river, these creek valleys are cut deep, with much exposure of the underlying bedrock, which over the years has fallen, and shifted, and gathered, and so forth.
So, you've got steep hills, (multiple) creeks, and big, broken rocks. If that sounds like the perfect layout for top-level Trials sections - you're right! Among the multiple events which are part of each and every BSA meet, are vintage/modern Trials competition. And, while sections are laid out with plenty of variance for different skill levels and age of machines, you'll not find better, more enjoyable, natural Trials terrain anywhere!
Did you catch that "multiple creeks" reference? Yep, in addition to the main stream which runs adjacent to the campground, there are two more right on the property. One of them is waaaaaay up on top of the one of the hills. Must originate from a natural spring, and that must be some kind of powerful spring, 'cause there's a lot of water flowing up there. The other creek is just a short walking distance from the main campground, and is quite a sight to behold. It has, over many years, cut deep, deep, deep into the surrounding hillsides, and features some pretty impressive waterfalls. The Trials guys make good use of this one, and I would love to incorporate it into our trail loops, but it'd be rough! Still working on that one. Regardless, it would make for a very scenic walking tour during your stay at the event. Plus, you can ride your bike right up to where it starts getting rough and walk from there.
Hope this is all adding to the appeal. Much more soon.
(http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn155/OhioTed/OVBSAOC/JohnCapp_zpsa3f261d8.jpg) (http://s303.photobucket.com/user/OhioTed/media/OVBSAOC/JohnCapp_zpsa3f261d8.jpg.html)
Here's POG'er John Capp, enjoying some splashing fun out on the trails. Note, ignore the "yellow bike". It was a loaner. John typically rides a sweet Mint 400.
In addition to the Vintage Trials, the OVBSA club puts on a great reliability run at both of their events.
It's a great D/S ride for both modern as well as vintage bikes...with a few sneaky secret check points thrown in to test your time keeping skills.
There are trail by-pass alternate routes if you are concerned that your Penton may not be trail-worthy!
:D
As eluded to in the most recent issue of Still Keeping Track, in addition to the organized riding events, we will have a marked, closed-course trail section laid out around the campgrounds.
So, if you have a road bike, trials bike, dual-sport bike - we have an event for you. On the other hand, if you just want to be able to bring out your cherished, vintage Penton, or any trail bike for that matter, and go for a little putt, here's a great opportunity to do so.
The marked trail loop (or any trails on campground property) will be open all weekend. Ride 'em at your convenience. We must of course be conscious, and considerate, of other attendees/participants out there as well. No problem, though. Just use common trail sense, be aware, ride, and have fun.
BTW, we've had certain well-known attendees at the OVBSAOC events. Recognize this guy?
(http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn155/OhioTed/various068.jpg) (http://s303.photobucket.com/user/OhioTed/media/various068.jpg.html)
Hey, folks - over the years I've written up several accounts of my experiences riding the OVBSAOC's "Reliability Run" Dual-Sport ride. Here's one I just happened to dig up. No Pentons in it, but hopefully you'll still find it an interesting read, and maybe draw some incentive.
AUGUST, 2009 OHIO VALLEY BSA MEET RELIABILITY RUN
During the May event, my poor little, much-abused '77 Honda XL175 would not pull the mainjet, yet despite half-throttle performance at best still carried my overweight, worthless hide the whole way.
I attributed the affliction to bad gas, acquired at the half-way point of the Spring ride, as evidenced by the opaque liquid which rose to the top of the XL's tank during fill-up at a backwoods gas stop. I later drained the tank of the goop and cleaned out the carb, but did not "flush" the tank. Failure to do so would unfortunately come back to haunt me.
This Reliability Run (RR), of which I become so enamored, truly is a wonderfully fun event. And yet, it is also a "competition" affair, with a prescribed 24-mph speed average and trophies awarded to those stalwart individuals who manage to file into the one and only checkpoint at the finish of the ride closest to the correct overall time corresponding to their earlier departure.
With several successful previous rides under my belt, during which time I rode completely and blissfully ignorant of time/distance/speed concerns, I decided that on this ride, for the first time, I was going for a trophy! Supporting my ambitions were announcements that the event would award three trophies per class, per the RR's two-checks-only scoring arrangement. Such timekeeping leeway would potentially permit me to make up considerable time on the road sections after going slow off-pavement, getting lost, and crashing in the woods. Additionally, classes were structured for the first time by way of separating the old bikes from the modern stuff. Thus, I would be riding Small Displacement Vintage.
To assure I was going into the event armed with the best possible enduro tools available in 1974, mounted up on the bars were a clock, route chart holder, pre-calculated 24-mph time/distance chart, and (functioning – after I swiped the speedo cable from my '72 XL250) speedo/odo. I even made sure there was air in the XL's tires and changed the oil! Man, was I ready! I was already preparing my acceptance speech for winning Overall.
A few test rides up and down the street on Friday night before the event showed the XL, with its totally worn-out top end, to be running "perfectly". Satisfied, I pulled the bike back into the garage, stepped off of it, and looked down to see a puddle of gas beneath and a trail of fuel following us in from outside. The source was the carb's overflow tube. Dang, the float seat must be stuck open again. No problem. A few taps with the handle end of a rubber mallet on the carb brought an end to the leakage. One more quick ride to be sure. "Reggie" (my name for the old Honda), burbled a little, but then cleaned out. Hmmmmm. Not too late to swap mounts. My Can-Am 175 TNT was sitting right there, ready to go. A mental coin toss landed Hondas-up, so the little XL got rolled onto the trailer. Oh, fate. You're a cruel mama.
"Race" day started out perfectly. Beautiful weather, nice turnout, excellent trail conditions. I lined up for a mid-pack key time. Lots of good friends and fellow riders fore and aft. While waiting for my minute to come up I kept leaning over to eyeball the carb's overflow tube. Not a drop. The bike ran just fine in warm-up, too. RR trophy, here we come.
As we were waved off, the Honda and I accelerated smartly away from the starting podium. Spectators watched enviously. Surely this must have been how Jack Penton felt at the start of the 1973 ISDT, with that famous wheelie. We rolled out of the clubgrounds, directly into the woods, and the XL instantly bogged out. Yikes! Too late to do anything other than gassit, though. She still ran fine on the mainjet and besides, what would Jack do? Why, go for it of course! How ironic I thought as the little Honda and I careened through the first set of trails, that on the last ride we had power only in the lower revs, and now it was just the opposite.
Regardless, we came out of the trees in one piece and hit the road looking to make up time. Despite our frantic pace (by '77 Honda XL175 standards) through the woods, we were still about two minutes down. The first few miles featured some really tricky, hilly gravel roads, so it took us a while, but soon the planets aligned, and we were riding on our minute. Woohoo! And, at about ten miles out the XL's carb cleared its throat and we once again had a full range of throttle application at our disposal. Oh, yeah! Does it get any better than this? I started mentally rehearsing my victory speech: "Yeaaaaaaah, despite a stuck throttle and no bottom end, we hung on aaaaaand still managed to pull out the win.", I would say, with as much nonchalance as I could managed.
So, we bee-bopped along, watching for arrows and cranking the charts forward. Man, 24 mph on the road sure is slow! Later minutes came cruising by. I moved over for them and smiled and waved. Haha. So long, suckers! I'll gladly eat your dust now, 'cause later I'll be looking down on you from the victory podium. Heh heh heh.
Everything was working according to plan. The miles clicked by, and I hit every turn accurately, adjusting my odometer on the fly so that everything lined up. Then at 33 miles out, we turned onto a nice trail section and the Honda just died. Having put so many miles on this bike I knew in an instant why, too. It was out of gas. A quick peak into the tank confirmed my fears. Nothing left but Reserve. A tankful of fuel gone after just 33 miles on a Honda XL175? Impossible, on a bike which consistently delivers mpg figures near triple digits, right? Well, not if the float seat is stuck open. And, that's exactly what happened too, as a twist of the petcock lever to Reserve resulted in a steady stream of precious gasoline exiting the overflow tube. Dang it! My perfect day, ruined! I sat there dejected for a few minutes. A couple of guys on modern bikes came by and offered to help. No, thanks. I just waved 'em on. Joe Norton came by on his raucous, '74 Yamaha DT125, and offered to help. No, thanks anyway. I'm done. Just tell Clark Francy where I'm at, and have him pick me up in the sweep truck.
With nothing else to do, I dropped the float bowl. Yuck! The gasoline within looked like muddy water. How could this have happened after I had drained the tank? I fiddled with the floats a little bit and the drooling ceased. Then a thought occurred to me – why not go for it? If nothing else, I could at least try to make it to the gas truck. What have I got to lose? Better than sitting here with my thumb up my butt.
So I gassed it. Man, did I gas it. The poor, little Honda was really humming. As soon as I got moving, I checked my time and found I was about 15 minutes down. We went and went and went. And, I gained time back. Ah, but it was a double-edged sword. The further we went, the closed we got to our minute, but where was that gas truck? Finally, the inevitable. At a gravel road intersection, the XL died so suddenly, I knew immediately – that was the end of the fuel. Rats! And I after I had gotten back to within two minutes of my time. My hope at this point was to bum gas from another rider. I scrounged around the Honda and determined that the document pouch would serve as an acceptable vessel for fuel transfer. And, minutes later my buddy Mark came by on his Honda SL125 and graciously offered to help. Waiting for gas to slowly pour from his petcock was aggravatingly slow, but the pouch was liquid-tight and the process was working. Just then Joe Norton came by on that DT125. How did he get behind me? Joe looked right at us, then went straight on down the road – the wrong direction! Ok, so that's how he got behind me.
With a couple of pouches worth of gasoline in Reggie's tank, he fired right up again and we took off once more. As before, with nothing to lose I went as fast as I could. We were back to about ten minutes down after this last stop. Tick-tock went the merciless clock. I was gaining time back, but slowly. At eight minutes down, I spotted the fuel truck. Alright! Well, at least I won't be stuck out here.
Clark had told us in the rider's meeting that there would be two checkpoints – one at the gas stop and one at the finish. As I approached the truck I did some quick mental calculations: Eight minutes down at the first check – but if I could zero the finish, I might have a chance. Sliding to a stop, I grabbed for (Paul Busick's) gas can. It was marked "hi-test, 2-stroke", but Paul was long gone and he would have no reason to suspect me as the culprit. Besides, Reggie's worn-out top end was used to burning some oil. But then, just as I was filling up with the illicit gasoline, Clark announced that this was to be the "final check". Rats again! That was that. No overall for me.
For pride's sake, I gassed it again, hoping to reel in my lost time before the finish. And, I got to within about six minutes at the end. Reggie had come through once again, but I had let myself down in my ambition to score a prestigious and elusive Reliability Run Trophy.
Post-race inspection showed a ton o' rust in the bottom of Reggie's tank. Oh, so that's where all the crap was coming from! A thorough rinsing brought out a lot of rust flakes. That's a start, but I'm going to have to seal that tank. Plus, can you believe I was NOT running a fuel filter. Yeah, yeah. I know. But, lesson learned, and watch out next year! Besides, I've got a perfectly-running '74 Yamaha DT360A just sitting there. All I've got to do is mount up some fresh knobbies and hang my enduro instrumentation on it. Hey, maybe I'll even run the stock, Thermo-Flow shocks on it! Spring, 2010 Reliability Run, here I come!
Ted
Same weekend as Unadilla rewind.
Here's some updates on preparation efforts for the Reliability Run: https://www.facebook.com/ted.guthrie.79
Hey, all - check this out. Thought it'd be really cool, and practical, to have Penton-specific arrows for the trail loop down at the BSA Rally. Are these cool or what???
(http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn155/OhioTed/Pentonarrow_zps7907103d.jpg) (http://s303.photobucket.com/user/OhioTed/media/Pentonarrow_zps7907103d.jpg.html)
Those who attended and rode the Dalton 2013 ISDTRR understand this question. Are the road rules (i.e. Highway legal) enforced or an "at your own risk" proposition?
(http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/CheneySachs/2014SpringReliabilityRunflyer_zps92e4c6e1.jpg)
Dale Fisher
Penton Owners Group - Memberships
Facebook - Cheney Twinshock Racing Group - Administrator
'70 Six-Day 125 - V2017
'71 Six-Day 125 (Dave Fisher's) - V5553
'72 Mudlark - W257
'73 Jackpiner - 175 21159727
'74 Berkshire 100 - 40171056
And some silly other bikes...
i am looking forward to the bsa rally i hope to be riding my greeves pathfinder
dennis l.brown
I was just wondering you were planning to bring the Greeves, Dennis. That'll be great!
There is so much great riding to be found in the area of the BSA Rally, we actually find it difficult to keep the Reliability Run under 100 miles. However, since such a considerable distance may be a bit intimidating to riders on vintage machines, we offer an excellent option.
There will be two gas stops along the route, the first of which at about 1/3 distance. At this point riders will have the option of returning straight to the campground, which is an easy, 15-minute ride straight along one road, with just one turn to return to the start area.
Details will be included on the route chart. Please drop me a line if you have questions about this or any other part of the BSA Rally.
And what can you expect to find out along the Reliability Run course. Why, all kinds of interesting sights . . .
(http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn155/OhioTed/truck3_zps204d2665.jpg) (http://s303.photobucket.com/user/OhioTed/media/truck3_zps204d2665.jpg.html)
Great news everyone! There is going to be an exclusive "Penton" class for the Reliability Run Dual Sport ride! That's right, three trophies will be awarded for the top three Penton (not KTM) riders who finish closest to a perfect 24 mph average.
Only catch is - you've got to ride the entire course. It's a long one - but awesome! Two gas stops are calculated into the route, so there's no need to worry about coming up short. You'll have to bring along your own 2-stroke oil, but the ride is worth it.
The BSA rally is coming up fast. See you soon!
Hey Ted,
Are you going to have that truck out of the way or are we going to have to jump it? If you get it out of the way - at least put down a couple of planks so we old timers have got a fighting chance.
If I put a PENTON sticker on my PE will it qualify to run in the PENTON class? [:p] See you all soon.
Amherst Paul
Less than a week away..:D If any of you guys want to step "back in time" and have a really enjoyable motorcycling experience be sure to attend this event. We plan to have the POG Easy-Up set up and encourage folks to display their Pentons in that area when not riding them.
They have food vendors and showers on site. This is a no stress event, numerous guys mention how the race scene no longer appeals to them but they still like to ride...if that is how you feel this event is for you.
A BIG "thank you" to the Ohio Valley BSA Owners Club for rolling out the welcome mat to the POG, it is greatly appreciated.
Paul
I have been working on troubleshooting my Jackpiner and found some air leaks in the base gasket and flange gasket which was causing it to run lean and seize at high rpms. So I should have a bike to ride in the reliability run this Saturday. [:p]
I will be bringing just a few of my parts to sell in the swap meet area. So, if there is something that you need me to bring for you, give me a call or e-mail me your list and I will bring it. Otherwise it will be a hit or miss. I'm looking forward to doing some riding - a long time in coming.
Alan Buehner
ALB, I'm not sure if I read your post correctly. Can it be that the man of steel has come out of retirement again. We will all be watching to see the caped man in action.
P.A.B ;)
Hi all,
Looking forward to Saturday's reliability run!
I Will be riding my 74 Penton and be coming alone, hoping to tag along with other POG riders?
John Capp
We will be setting up the POG Easy-Up on Sat. morning as a gathering point. Please feel free to park your Penton in the POG spot between riding the trail loop or any of the rides.
Tickets for the John Penton movie will be available from us on Saturday, and possibly Sunday. We will have a drive up lane if possible set up on Saturday, just drive up on your Penton, hand us the $$ and we will hand you your tickets while you keep seated on your Penton:D:D will possibly do the same for BSA riders [}:)]
Paul
Many interesting stories can be told in just two photos.
It was a beautiful weekend for riding and Ted and the Ohio Valley BSA Owners Club put on a great event!
(http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/CheneySachs/005_zps500f95c4.jpg)
(http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/CheneySachs/004_zps9936c02d.jpg)
Dale Fisher
Penton Owners Group - Memberships
Facebook - Cheney Twinshock Racing Group - Administrator
'70 Six-Day 125 - V2017
'71 Six-Day 125 (Dave Fisher's) - V5553
'72 Mudlark - W257
'73 Jackpiner - 175 21159727
'74 Berkshire 100 - 40171056
And some silly other bikes...
My thanks to Ted and Steve for putting on an outstanding Reliability Run. They worked extremely hard to put on a fun ride. The weather had done them no favors with the heavy rains that caused some of the creek crossings to be rerouted. There were also some problems with the arrows. The problems were no fault to Ted or Steve. Some locals had torn them down shortly after they had been put up. However, this just made the run more interesting and gave the riders something to talk about at the end of the ride. The run was a hundred and five miles long and just plain fun. If you have never participated - The Fall event will be coming along-DON'T MISS IT! [:p]
Amherst Paul
Here's a few more posted by Ted on social media.
Paul Danik (left), and Jerry Young, 1972 National Trials Champion and father of 6-time National Trials Champion, Ryan Young.
(http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/CheneySachs/10172767_702484506500121_4502442101387813229_n_zps7f22bb91.jpg)
110 miles is a pretty good ride on a motorcycle - any motorcycle, on any road. Well, how about 110 miles of twisty, hilly roads plus gravel and dirt roads, plus rough trails, on a 1974 Penton 100cc Berkshire? That's what 63-year-old Lee Buffenmyer did, shown here at the finish as well as along a particularly tough, rocky section of trail.
(http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/CheneySachs/10380991_702488093166429_8187112022587276557_n_zps5f1800eb.jpg)
(http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/CheneySachs/10427339_702488153166423_6461005069813242925_n_zps15a273be.jpg)
Among the Penton contingent present was Dale Fisher, here with his Chaney Triumph ISDT bike. With great respect to Dale, I hope I don't mess this up - but if I understood him correctly the bike is one of five <actually six> which were produced for a group of U.K Police Officers on which to compete in the ISDT back in the day.
(http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/CheneySachs/10418191_702489479832957_3242441206401225975_n_zps256c309f.jpg)
The Penton Owners Group were special guests at the rally, and brought out multiple machines for display, including John Penton's actual, original NSU 175 and BMW 250 race bikes from back in the day.
(http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/CheneySachs/983689_702483453166893_1958383010312130430_n_zps2639b62d.jpg)
Riders who participated in the Reliability Run Dual Sport ride were treated to great roads and trails, as well as some interesting sights, such as this, ah - whatever this thing is.
(http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/CheneySachs/10372265_707498555998716_5779028523934807640_n_zpsb10f9aab.jpg)
Dale Fisher
Penton Owners Group - Memberships
Facebook - Cheney Twinshock Racing Group - Administrator
'70 Six-Day 125 - V2017
'71 Six-Day 125 (Dave Fisher's) - V5553
'72 Mudlark - W257
'73 Jackpiner - 175 21159727
'74 Berkshire 100 - 40171056
And some silly other bikes...