Hey POGrs,
I recently emailed the Circle F pipe guys to see if they made Penton/KTM stuff for my 72/74 Six Day or my 76 MC5 250. They emailed back said no but to try Jemco or Ace. I called Jemco and they are just down the street from Circle F. Apparently Circle F guy used to work at Jemco. Anyway, Jemco makes a 74 250 pipe for about $180 which is a little different from the Circle F pipe. IE: tapered head. It comes with either a built-in or attached silencer(your choice). He seemed open to the idea of making some other style pipes if there was enough interest.
The Ace guy also makes a pipe for the 74 250. He would be willing to make a pipe jig and pipes for other stuff if the demand would be at least 10 pipes or so to cover setup and to make a buck. He is very busy however, so it would be a few months before he could get to it. He seemed interested that I knew where a bunch of rabid Penton guys were and that they communicated and seemed a bit organized.
Soooo, this brings me to some questions. I know we email constantly about pipes. Is the treasure hunt method the way to continue to go or do we want to organize a bit and try to get certain models made? I know Karl makes the rear end shroud/cover for some pipes but not the whole pipe, correct? How about a Berk/Six Day/Piner style? Which is the most common bike in that group? The Six Day, I imagine? The 250 sounds about covered for mid-70s. How about the MC5 types? Thoughts from the group?
Humbly submitted,
Mike Husted (rd400pi)
72/74 Six Day & 76 MC5 250
Edited by - rd400pi on 05/06/2003 2:48:00 PM
Hey Mike,
As it turns out I am not in need of a pipe. I have two. I have the stock pipe that has hardly been used and a custom pipe that was made specifically for my bike. While I was still in calif. I became friends with a guy that made pipes. He had several guys working for Him. The name of the company was Protopipe. I don't think that they are still around. Anyway, When my bike came out, they wanted to build pipes to fit my bike. I even saw a ad in I think Motocross Action with a picture of my bike. that was kind of cool. Anyway they built the pipe for free and in turn I gave them some feed back as to how well it worked. As part of the deal I got a spark arrestor too. I don't remember how the stock pipe works compared with the custom.
If someone would like the specs from it I guess that I could pull them. I could send some pictures too. I sure like the pipe.
Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.
Im pretty set for pipes but I know most arnt. Come on guys who needs a 400 pipe?
Hi Mike. I would be interested in a 71 steel tanker 125 cc. pipe. anybody else? don howard
I've got a '75 250 that I plan on keeping forever, and wouldn't mind an extra pipe. Does anybody know the address or phone # for Circle F and Jemco? Does the tapered head pipe work better?
Mick Milakovic
Delphi, IN
765-268-2570
Hey guys,
I'll post the phone numbers for these pipe guys later today. I'm at work now and can't get to it.
Mike Husted (rd400pi)
Edited by - rd400pi on 05/07/2003 08:13:39 AM
I would be willing to order two 400 MC5 pipes. We need to talk abit about silencers. I am also looking for a 175 MC5 pipe. Good luck
Hey Mike,
As it turns out I am not in need of a pipe. I have two. I have the stock pipe that has hardly been used and a custom pipe that was made specifically for my bike. While I was still in calif. I became friends with a guy that made pipes. He had several guys working for Him. The name of the company was Protopipe. I don't think that they are still around. Anyway, When my bike came out, they wanted to build pipes to fit my bike. I even saw a ad in I think Motocross Action with a picture of my bike. that was kind of cool. Anyway they built the pipe for free and in turn I gave them some feed back as to how well it worked. As part of the deal I got a spark arrestor too. I don't remember how the stock pipe works compared with the custom.
If someone would like the specs from it I guess that I could pull them. I could send some pictures too. I sure like the pipe.
Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.
Im pretty set for pipes but I know most arnt. Come on guys who needs a 400 pipe?
Hi Mike. I would be interested in a 71 steel tanker 125 cc. pipe. anybody else? don howard
I've got a '75 250 that I plan on keeping forever, and wouldn't mind an extra pipe. Does anybody know the address or phone # for Circle F and Jemco? Does the tapered head pipe work better?
Mick Milakovic
Delphi, IN
765-268-2570
Hey guys,
I'll post the phone numbers for these pipe guys later today. I'm at work now and can't get to it.
Mike Husted (rd400pi)
Edited by - rd400pi on 05/07/2003 08:13:39 AM
I would be willing to order two 400 MC5 pipes. We need to talk abit about silencers. I am also looking for a 175 MC5 pipe. Good luck
I need a 74-75 400 pipe.I bought a set of twin pipes from John at Jemco.He sent the wrong product,and it took 3-4 butt kissing c-mon do the right thing type calls before he resolved the problem.If he had the product ready to ship and you verified the application he would probably be ok to deal with.
See Kip Kern for Steel Tanker pipes. I believe Aircone makes them. I got one but it took a year to get it. It was nice.
Dwight
Dwight Rudder
7 time ISDT / E medalist
7 time National Enduro Class Champion.
Unless the pipe manufacturer had to smelt/roll his own steel and then hand-form his own welding rods, why on god's green earth, would it take a year to get a pipe?
Mike Husted
Edited by - rd400pi on 05/10/2003 06:41:28 AM
Custom orders like those "steel tank" pipes from Aircone require alot more time than you might think. For one they are not slaves, they are busy doing what they need to do every day to earn a living and the custom jobs are not their bread-and-butter. A bunch of hours go into the preparation and set-up of making a custom part for the first time. You're either going to pay a thousand dollars or more for a pipe, or wait until it conveniently fits into their schedule from time to time. That's also why the maker needs to build 10 or so to an order, they're trying to recoup some money on the quanities after it get's rolling, so they can make a little off of it.
I started to make some 70-71 pipes last fall, first off I knew they would have to be almost undetectable from the originals, because most all "steel tank" bikes fall in the hands of restorers and collectors, not racers, so form was more important than function. There's about 17 seperate parts that make up a pipe like that. After I added up the cost of the materials (from Aircone, McNichols and Karl) and my labor, I fiqured that if I made five at first, the cost would have to be $520.00 each. But there again, you get what you pay for. That project was put aside for later days.
I spoke to the racer at Budds Creek that has a new Jemco pipe on his "75" Penton 250. He probably does not want this to leak out because of his competetive nature, but I heard rave reviews!!, I think the words "unreal" and "great" were used. That does'nt mean they're going to build a pipe for everyone tomorrow, but if you're riding a "75" 250 it sounds like this could be your ticket.
I still beleive that if we're going to get together on hiring someone to ful-fill a need for riders/racers pipes, the people to do it would be FMF.
Thanks
Bob
I think the 6 Day /Berkshire pipe is a priority. A nice down pipe for MX bikes would be a good seller as well. Most european bike and car clubs get organized and have parts made for thier bikes or cars. We have been blessed with good parts supplies here in the states but this wil soon be a thing of the past. The days of the $50 barn fresh Penton are gone and the days of the $50 pipe are coming to an end. To get good repro parts like pipes we are going to have to spend some $$ and support craftsmen and small companies that can make up the parts we need. That means banding together and placing large enough orders for parts so these guys can make a buck. The hobby is entering a new era. Gentlmen get out your wallets.
I had a Jemco pipe and silencer on my 74 that I called The Rocket. I thought the pipe was very "Works" looking and the bike wailed. I won and holeshotted at Mid-Ohio in Over 40 class in 2001 with it. If I build a 250 racer it would be my first choice. Though I had wind there were some Carl Cranke pipes being built on spec by an individual and that would require a look if it surfaces.
I found an interesting pipe, hopefully I'll get it soon, the transaction is'nt moving along that quickly at the moment.
It is a NOS down pipe for a "steel tanker" made long ago by "Volumetric Efficiency" in Selma, Ala. It utilizes the stock baffle and end cap from an original Penton pipe. Sounds cool eh? That should retain the original sound too. I'll let you know when I'm (if) in possession.
Has anyone ever heard of one of these?
Thanks!
From all this all this talk of rocketship 250s, how bad can I expect to get beat at Mid-Ohio if I run my first ever motocross on a Jackpiner. Sounds like pretty bad.
Lewis A Mayer
Rob W,
Lest anybody get the wrong idea, I don't think by asking why a pipe would take a year that it would indicate that I thought these guys were slaves. I thought you gave a good explaination to us "laymen" about the pipe business. There is no insult or put-down intended in any of this discussion. I also fully understand that these guys would need to make a certain number of pipes as a minimum in order to turn a profit. If it's going to require over $500 for a pipe before it's worth it to the builder then, I think it's fairly undoable, unfortunately.
Mike Husted
Wow, it's now become evident, maybe this is not the best forum for me to express my thoughts. I'll admit that I'm not overly cautious about how I write sometimes, but I'm usually not expecting it to be examined word for word in the literal sense. I was expecting that communicating with others in this manner would get easier after a while, just by getting to know each others character. But, I'm learning it does'nt matter how long you know someone, there's still the chance they're going to get all up-tight and touchy over a few words. I don't need that, I think I'm just going to take my ball and go home.
Long live Penton pride, be happy!
Did I miss something? Rob, what's up?
Bob.....I hope we don't lose you as a contributor. Your knowledge of Pentons is very valuable and your insight is refreshing.
Edited by - steve minor on 05/12/2003 4:30:03 PM
Hey, Bob, you need to go bash some berms. It always seems to work for me. You need to blow off some steam before Byron, or else I'm staying away from you during practice!!
Glenn
Rob W: If you need a road trip you always have a rack out here in Seattle. We have enough bike parts in my garage to make anything we want and two BMWs in the drive way if speed is what you need. Good luck and hang in there, we need you.
......so anyway, about those pipes........?
,
......hey, some jerk stole my password.....
Seriously, I'm okay...I think, other than feeling like an idiot right now, I should make a full recovery back to my normal weirdness. I can attribute all of that to some insomnia, and that I need glasses real bad.
One thing for sure, you people here are absolutely the greatest guys in the world, I should be so blessed to know you and consider you my friend, thanks for trying to understand my non-sense. I do need to go riding, that would definetly revive me.
Thank you!
We Love You Too! Let's ride.