Hello,
I think I've been on this message board before, a few years ago, but had trouble getting back. Seems to be working now.
The question, I had was it a practice by a dealer to install Preston Petty fenders? I bought my bike from a guy that swore it was bought new that way. I doubted him, and he became rather upset, saying how positive he was about it. I think he actually believed what he was telling me to be true. I paid a premium for it(at the time) because I liked it, and now considering getting repro fenders to bring back the original factory look. According to him I'm the 3rd owner, but like everything he said, I'm taking that with a grain of salt too.
Thanks
Fullchoke,
Your question is interesting, at least to me, on several fronts. First off I wondered just when did Preston began his plastic fender revolution, the info below found on the "net" seems to indicate that his fenders were indeed available when your bike was sold, around 1971 according to your post's heading. As a side note, when we traveled to Oregon in 1973 for the Trask Mountain and Bad Rock ISDT Qualifiers we took a little field trip to Preston's operation in the Penton Cycleliner. He was making a product I think he called the "Tuff Tub " at the time and we decided to do a little "test" of it's strength by trying to pull the Cycleliner's left front wheel up onto it...Dane Leimbach was behind the wheel as Jack Penton guided him slowly up to and hopefully onto the Tuff Tub...which quickly became the Flat Tub :D Sure wish I had thought to have kept it as a souvenir !!!!
PRESTON PETTY INFO FROM THE "NET"
" It was during a race in 1969 when a broken aluminum fender on his motorcycle (and the resulting face full of mud) gave Preston the idea making fenders out of plastic. Preston Petty the off-road rider then became Preston Petty the industry."
As for your actual question about the possibility of a dealer removing the factory installed aluminum fenders and installing the Preston Petty fenders, it sounds quite logical to me.
I think a shop "updating" a Steel Tanker with Preston Petty fenders was actually doing the new owner a favor. I still remember riding a Mud Run at the Sunset Riders Club in Butler, PA on cold winter day and bending my front fender down just in front of its front mount and reaching out to straighten it only to have it break off in my hand. Yes, I sure would have liked to have had one of Preston's fenders on that Steel Tanker.
As for you wanting to return the Steel Tanker it it's Factory original look, sounds like a great plan as they sure look great with those aluminum fenders, BUT, you might want to hang onto those Preston Petty jobs as you may get the itch to put that Tanker through it's paces at a vintage event sometime.
Good luck and have fun.
Paul
Thanks for your interesting thoughts and history. I said my bike was a 1971, but maybe it is considered a 1972, because it is date coded as October, or November 1971. I don't think it is considered a "tanker" as it's tank is not steel, but probably fiberglass. It was an Enduro model, with the lights. The rubber mounting for the rear tail light has disintegrated, and I'm not sure if it was original equipment or not? I don't see many pictures of the enduros. Were they dealer added items?
Fullchoke,
I had made the assumption that it was a Steel Tanker, incorrect assumption obviously. The Chrome Moly Frame ( CMF ) machines were the next generation of Pentons after the Steel Tankers and the early ones came with the aluminum fenders just as did the Steel Tankers. My thinking is the same for your CMF machine in that the dealer felt, and rightfully so, that putting the Preston Petty fenders on the bike was a wise upgrade. Possibly he tucked the original ones away and made a fair return on his storing them for many, many years as original aluminum fenders, especially unused ones, can fetch a pretty penny.
Penton sold Enduro Kits through their dealers that included lights, different rear sprocket, speedometer with mounting bracket and few other items that converted the off the floor Factory built machines into an enduro ready machine, for the most part. Possibly your lights are from an Enduro Kit.
The first CMF machines have a build date of June of 1971, which would be an 061 prefix on the steering head serial number. If your machine has a 101 prefix it was an October build, 111 would be a November build. First two numbers are the month and the third is the year.
Paul
I forgot to add..... The Trask is where my friends and I rode every weekend that was reasonably dry for many years back in the late 70's. We rode the marked trails of the ISDT and others. When we thought we knew every trail out there we would find more. One of the guys rode in the Trask Mtn, so we probably discovered a few trails that way. It was a trail riding paradise out there. Some trails were difficult to go fast on and some became impassible when wet, but that was part of the fun. Sadly Weyerhouser bought the land from Willamette Ind. and gated most everything we liked the most. I have a cabin south of the Trask now and am starting to discover some good riding areas, as I try to get back to enjoying trail riding again.
I've been to Hodaka Days too where they run a portion of Bad Rock ISDT. The last time I was there Tom Penton was a featured guest. Not sure what year that was. Preston Petty was there too. I'd like to do that again also.
1105 are the 1st 4 numbers. It must have that enduro kit, because it has the front light, speedo, and rear light. Not sure about the sprocket.
Thanks
I gave incorrect information as for reading the serial number / date code, must be an age related issue :) The FIRST number is the year and second & third are the month. Your first three digits 110 would indicate 1971 as the year and the 10th month, October.
As for Bad Rock, I am sure you know they made a really cool film from the 1973 event. Peter Starr was The Man behind creating the film. A little Bad Rock Movie trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxPDWNWMvlo
Paul
I haven't been able to find any good pictures yet of the enduro kit that Penton supplied to compare my bike to. Especially the rear tail light mount. I think the headlight and speedo are correct. If this info is documented somewhere that would be great to see. I will try to get a picture of mine on here tomorrow.
Thanks
The pictures are in the spare parts manual 002 if you have one,Al Buehner sells them,you should have one anyway.Hi-Point sold them in a kit,send me your address and I will send you some pic's.
Bob, I tried to send you my email, but I get a "500 server error" message. Maybe I'm not allowed to send messages. Possibly you can send me yours, and I will respond to it. It's probably not the best idea to post my email here.
Thanks
Greg,I got the same thing,call me at 301-8435695.If no answer leave message and I will call you back.
Here are a couple pictures of what I understand is a Hi-Point enduro kit. Many thanks to Bob Gilman for his help and Penton knowledge. It was difficult for me to accurately describe some of the parts, especially the tail light, hence the pictures. What I'm going to need is the rubber piece that the tail light attaches too, as it has deteriorated and I would risk losing the light if I ride it the way it is very much. I'm wondering if there are different rubber mounts for the different versions of tail lights.
What I'm learning is that those Green Preston Petty fenders may very well have been on the bike when bought new, like the prior owner insisted, as he bought the bike from the original owner who he said he knew. The one thing I do know, is that he was sure of that fact.
Thanks
https://imgur.com/a/SNECV3n
Greg from Tualatin (fullchoke). Forgive me for not remembering ... were you at the Hodaka days at Yamhill this year?
I remember the Hodaka Days you're referring to ... Preston and I had a great few hours talking about the good old days. He and I think alike in many ways.
Tom Penton
Hello Tom, No I wasn't at Yamhill this year. I didn't know there was an event there. I noticed that the Athena Hodaka Days was cancelled, and thought I would have to wait until next year. Yamhill is knocking on the door to Trask Mtn. There used to be incredible riding out there when the ISDT was held there in the 70's. I'm only minutes from Yamhill, I'm bummed I missed it. Will Yamhill be a yearly event?
Thanks,
Greg
So a good picture of the Enduro Kit can be found on the back cover of Issue 92 Summer 2021 of Still....Keeping Track !
Timothy Walls
Hello fullchoke and welcome back to the message board. You'll find lots of helpful folks here on the website with a great wealth of information. Your early CMF bike is a nice find and a keeper for sure. These 1971 built CMF bikes had a few unique features that eventually went away as the bikes got into the 1972 builds. These unique features were slightly more narrow triple clamps on the 32mm forks, rear shocks with chrome covers at the top and a Sachs 5A engine. I see from the pictures you posted that your bike does still have the narrow triple clamps on the forks. Does it still have the 5A engine and the rear shocks with the chrome covers at the top ? I'm just finishing up a restoration on a Sept 1971 built CMF 125 Six Day which has been a nice project. I ran across a very early serial number CMF 125 Six Day bike while at VMD at Mid Ohio in July. That bike had a serial number of 10650181 and I really wanted to take it home despite the poor condition. I wasn't able to strike a deal with the seller and so went home without it. I'm hoping some other POG member was able to make a deal and take it home. Those original rubber taillight holders can be very hard to find. You might consider buying sheet of corded rubber and cutting out a replacement taillight holder by using your original one as a template. Once again welcome and good luck with your bike !
Dave McCullough
Hi Dave,
This bike doesn't have covers on the rear shocks, they are all black, and leaking. The engine is a Type 1251/6a. It looks original to the bike, possibly a change over was made between yours and mine. Somebody might know about when changes were made. I will try to post some pictures soon of these 2 things, and include the engine numbers, which are probably useful.
Thanks
Greg, Sorry you didn't get the word. It was somewhat an informal get together word of the mouth thing. It wasn't to replace Athena, just to get by until after Covid, sure hope next year.
Tom Penton
Tom, Not to replace Athena of course, but it would be fun to have a campout in the fall, say at one of the OHV sites where everyone could bring their Hodaka's, and other vintage bikes like Penton, and ride for a weekend. Whip Up, Elk Flats, and I think one other, are not far from Yamhill. I don't know how much interest others have, but I like riding a vintage bike, and looking at what others ride too. I really like the ridden bikes. I never knew anyone that would buy a bike off the showroom floor and take it riding that way. We always put on Preston Petty fenders, took off, or modified the exhaust, and sometimes if it was a street bike we did a lot more than that. Just a thought.
Greg
Back to the bike....here are those pictures of the engine numbers, and shock. I tried to find out what should be there from pictures, and other data, but there is some conflicting info out there. Hope the pictures help, but the bottom line on those engine numbers are small and difficult to focus on. My eyes tell me Type 1251/6a. The rest is visible. I can try again if needed.
Thanks
https://imgur.com/a/TZ2rXFt
Thanks Bob for sending all that great info on the enduro kit. I will post some pictures when I get the bike completed and rideable. You convinced me to join POG. I will be sending in my application.