Greetings,
Sometime in December of 1967 the end product of the idea that first took hold of John Penton in the deep sands of the Jackpine Run in Michigan, and eventully led him to KTM in Austria to strike a deal and then to Italy to select components, had finally arrived in Amherst, Ohio.
The exact date of the prototype Penton Sportcycle's arrival has never been stated, but in the John Penton movie footage that Todd Huffman showed us recently it states that in 1967 John Penton got an early Christmas present when the prototype arrived. There is an entire segment in Todd's newly shown footage that is devoted to the arrival of the Penton which includes a number of interesting interviews, along with some photos that I had never seen before of what looked to be the uncrating of the machine in the area of the Penton Brothers Machine Shop. I can't wait to see that footage again in March.
A statement that John Penton has made over the years keeps coming to mind as the 50 year celebration of the creation of the Penton Sportcycle starts to ramp up, " If Husky had built that 125 the Penton never would have come about ".
Possibly when we gather in Amherst, Ohio with John Penton on March 10th. we should toast the fact that Husky never did build that 125...:D
Paul
Well...let's toast that Husky didn't build one in 1967 as JP wanted.
But sure glad they finally built one in 1972! Cause I've been racing my trusty old 1974 125WR ever since![8D]
Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA
my first penton was a 1968 125 I still have the owners manual .4 or 5 typed pages stapled together.i think number was 26 from chuck boleher Jamestown ny.wish I had it back! the only trouble I had with it the right footpeg broke off the frame at 150 mile enduro in alpine ny
dennis l.brown
I am pretty sure number v026 was found in a barn in Vermilion Ohio in 2000, and now is in southern ohio.previous owner bought it used in 1969 in avon ohio.
Thanks for nothing Hooskvarna !!
Greetings,
Through the generosity of POG member Cal Alexander, we may have found the earliest mention of the then new Penton Sportcycle in a national magazine, and the kicker is that it was in a hot rod magazine! And not just any hot rod magazine, it was THE Hot Rod magazine dated June of 1968.
As the story goes, Cal had recently come into the possession of this issue of Hot Rod magazine from an eagle eyed buddy of his that spotted the mention of the Penton in it, and knew that Cal was such an enthusiast of all things Penton. Cal sent me a scan of the article, then graciously sent the entire magazine along, and I am most certainly very much appreciative of his generosity....:D Thank you Cal !!!
The one page article was written by Bob Greene and is titled A Test Of Endurance Daytona. The article tells about how the Alligator Enduro starts just outside the Daytona Speedway's main entrance and it then goes on to tell about the ingenious ways that the riders keep time during the event, along with nine small photos.
The one photo is of one of the early Pentons and the text for it goes on to tell how Bob Greene was given a chance to give it a quick ride and then he tells a bit about the bike. I want to get the photo enlarged but for now I just used a magnifying glass to look for any interesting details.
If there had been some rubber bands made up from cut up inner tubes hanging on the bike then I would guess it might have been John's machine, but there are none in the photo..possibly when I get it enlarged some clues / details will emerge.
Prior to seeing this June of 1968 Hot Rod article mentioning the Penton, the earliest two write ups / tests of the Penton Sportcycle that I am aware of came along in December of 1968 issues and are in Modern Cycle and Cycle World. Granted those two articles are full blown tests of the Penton, the Hot Rod piece along with accompanying photo is very, very special, and thanks to Cal we were able to see it...:D
Paul
Paul,
I noticed a small picture of Tom Penton riding a steel tanker in the March 15 1968 issue of Cycle News. No mention of the bike or race just Tom riding thru the Ohio country side. The picture is above a article called "Midwest Ohio Message". That might be the earliest image of a Penton cycle in a publication.
Kevin