I got out some of the old mags from back in the day and remembered what bikes rocked the market during my first ten years racing [mx mainly]. In 1972 it was the Pentons, 125 and 175. These were THE bikes to have that year and are what got me hooked on Pentons. In 73 you have to say it was the Elsinores. 74 saw three bikes step up to the long travel challenge, Yamaha with its monoshock design, Maico with its moved up shocks, and of course Penton with its six different shock positions! I actually remember feeling sorry for anyone who wasnt on a Penton {or Maico] that year. And I still felt sorry for the guys on 250 Maicos. I think my 72 Jackpiner would have still out pulled one of those! In 75 it was the RM's. The first real total redesign for a long travel bike. IN 76 it was the Penton/KTM MC-5's. This took the RM idea and design one long step forward. They were awesome bikes for their day,ten pounds lighter than the 75 model and nine inches of travel at each end! In 77 I guess Id have to give it to the 77 AW Maicos [although I feel the MC-5's were still a better bike]. 78 had to be the Honda CR 250. It didnt handle very well, but boy did it look pretty! KTM also Made the prettiest bike they ever have [in my opnion] that year. In fact I have both a 78 250 Honda and a 78 400 KTM in my shed. Had to have one of both of them again! In 79 I feel it was the KTM 420. I also have one of these today and it is an awesome machine that can still run with modern bikes. I Had a dealership at that point and my customers named this bike "the cheater bike". If you wanted to try and win in the open class in 1979, you had a much better chance on one of these! In 1980 Id have to give it to Yamaha with its 465. The Motor wars were on! Ktm also made its first really competive 125 in years. A great bike! IN 81 KTM answered Yamaha with the Mighty 495. To date the fastest open two stroke made,However it also had a powerband of a 125. This bike is too much for me, Ill take my 420. Honda actually stole the show that year with the debout of its Pro Link single shock bikes. After 81 I kept racing but it seems to me all the bikes got pretty good and none really stand out. Is it just me?
Man, Mike, have you opened up a can of worms!
Mick Milakovic
Delphi, IN
765-268-2570
Mike, that sounds about right. IN 72-73 I owned a bultaco then bought elsinor that rocked and then bought a 400 maico. I followed the breako with the 76 250 Penton. I bought it because it was the only bike you could ride out of the box at the Pro level. I watched to see what the 250 support riders were riding and if they were privateers more than likely they were on a Penton. The four bike companies from that island country made some pretty good stuff but you had to work on them constantly. The Maico was fast and It handled like no other but I spent as much time working on it as I did riding. Not a fair trade I thought. So I bit the bullet and bought the Penton. It was the most expensive bike you could by but it was sure worth it.
Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.
Cool topic. Its funny for me..I'm 35 and my recollections are the same. Saw my first mx in 72 at the age of 4. This was in central Louisiana. I remember Huskys, Bultacos, Maicos and of course the Pentons. The next year (summer) I went to see my father (1973)
I remember the 250 elsinores-and that was a big deal (a huge deal). I may remember wrong but it seems that it was not until 1974 that the 125 elsinore was out. At least that is the year that everyone had one. I still recall vividly stuffing two of them into the Ambrose' motorhome from the dealer in Alexandria. 1975 seemed to be the year of the YZ monoshock. Did the RM perhaps come out later in the year (mid year?)-well that's how I recall it. In 1976 I met my neighbor who motocrossed. He talked me into wrestling on his team by taking me to the races. He had a 76 cr250 that we modified nearly everything on. Laid down the shocks-added Betor forks aftermaket pipe porting etc. Jack was always telling me how it handled terribly with the longer leading axle forks. He raced it into 1977. I still have a picture of us with it. He was always saying that he should have just bought a Penton to begin with. So, while I have 77 Maico I recall the mc5 Penton in somewhat greater numbers-at least in Texas. Dad raced a yz 125 in 77. I didn't get to go to ant races in 78. I did still talk to Jack. He had a 78 Rm 250-and claimed Kawasaki had a real serious bike that year ( I didn't beleive it at the time). 79 was when Dad had that CR 125 with the HUGE front wheel. I think everyone but him had put on a 21". The Hondas were pretty tough that year. (though years later I read what a toad the 79 125 was). 1980 was the first KTM I saw I didn't understand that it was a Penton-or what happened to Penton..but mostly Yamahas that year. 1981 was the year of the 490 Maico. It was also the first year I got a bike (XR 75 then 79 yz 80), I didn't get to race but could always play ride close to home. Dad had bought Hondas again in 81. It didnt seem like they had the bugs worked out very well that year. 82 was the "pro-lever" 495 KTM. I saw a few more at the tracks than in 81.
The RMs were also very popular in 81-82 with the Full Floater.. After that I was 15..traded my yz80 for a guitar and amp-started chasing girls and didn't ride again til 89 . Thanks for stirring up some great memories with this topic. I am now even more enthusiastic to get ready for racing this fall.. James
I have bike parts in the kitchen cabinets where most people have dishes..
I never did see too many Pentons in the Bay area of calif. were I did most of my racing. I sure remember seeing the first MC 5 though. It was soo cool. There was these two guys that came into my buddies pipe shop. They were wanting a custom aftermarket pipe for there new bikes. They had two of them and It was love at first site. I finally did buy one a few months later. The MC5's I did see were mostly being ridden by the pro's I never did see too many at the local track. I remember going to this sand track that had not been used in 4 or five years. It had been used when the Europeans had come to town but house had been built near by the they had to get special permission to ride there again. I came in on my new 250 MC5 sporting a new Grand Prix Cycles jersey and several of the guys thought that I managed to get sponsored by them. Nope, but I did have a friend that worked there and He was sponsored by them on a CZ and he had given me one of the shops jerseys, which I still have. I use to be able to put my shoulder pads underneath them but not anylonger. I can still get it on but that is all. I guess I have built in padding now. Trouble is that it moved. " I have fallen and I can't get up"
James I thought that the first 125 Elsinor in 73 I wanted a 250 but had to wait until they offered on. that was in Jan. of 74 I was so pumped about my new bike that I took it to a friends house from the shop the day I got it and I rode in the orchards behind his house. I looped it and snapped off the rear fender. I was so upset. My buddy just laughed he thought it was so funny. I went down to the dealer ship to get another fender but the bike was so new that they did not even have replacement parts yet. I had to wait 3-or 4 weeks for a new fender. I was 23 and thought I was the coolest thing on two wheels. Little things have away of bring you down to earth...hee,hee
Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.
Man, you guys are bringing back some sweet memories! You know, I'm 45(if years mean anything) and I still remember standing in front of Beckley Sport Cycles in West Va. and looking at my first (of 9) Penton. That '73 Six day was the bike to have in my area. Next year you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a guy on an Elsinor. You're right, James. The first RM I saw was a 125 that came out mid-year in '75. Didn't matter much because Yamahas ruled my area then. '76 and '77 were RM years. A bunch of guys(me included) wanted Penton MCs but I think the dealer went out of business. All I saw at the track were Japanese bikes. I wish I'd had a 420 in '79, but I rode a Husky 390 instead.
20 something years later and I've come back where I started....Pentons. Even now I am amazed at the innovative thinking that went into these machines. John did it right. I just hope he's not too mad at me for straying once or twice.
Im my area Pentons and later KTM's were never the most abundant bikes at the track. By "rocked" I meant the best in innovation or preformance that year,not popularity[at least in my viev]. Getting into the stock market when it is at its peak levels is popular, but not the best move to make. But I did forget to include the 81 490 Maico!
Thom and Dave, did you ever ride a 74 or 75 YZ mono? I did and wanted back on my Penton real quick!
I keep thinking of things. I also should have included the limited production 731/2 YZ's. Those were the trickest bikes ever sold in production, everything drilled,bolt heads dished out,ect,ect,ect. And they cost a couple hundred more than a Penton! My cousin bought one. Didnt handle very well though and was made obsolete in nine months by the Mono YZ,Maico and Penton long travel bikes!
Yeah Mike,
I rode a '75 YZ 250 and the '75 400 MXB. I liked the power but they felt heavy and the mono was stiff. I don't know why, but they were sure popular in my area at that time. It's funny, 'cause EVERYBODY had Pentons prior to that but I only saw one or two after '75. I do remember looking at the '75 Mint and thinking "Oh My GOD". It was awesome, and I wanted one ever since.
Mike, I never did a ride a yamaha, I never wanted to, I still don't . Sorry guys I was on a maico in 75 and never wanted anything else. Until I broke 3 tranmissions in 3 weeks....That was the end of my maico and the begining of my affection for Pentons. In my defense almost everyone I knew owned a Maico. The small company i worked for there was 5 guys that rode dirtbikes. 4 of them owned Maico's The other guy had a yamaha.
Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.
I can sum up the way Jap bikes handled with just this one "Suzuki TM 400" WOW! What a rocketship! but, I think a stock Triumph 650 Twin handled better!
I was always around Maicos in the early 70's. That's what my two older brothers rode (I was 13 and didn't get my first bike, a 1971 CT-175 Yamaha set up for enduroes, until '72). It seemed it was either Maico or Husky here in the Midwest at that time. Ride one or get beat by one (at least in the big-bore classes). It was the same at the Inter-Am races of the day. I know, factory bikes then were different, but the saying USED to hold true: Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.
But my brothers were never successful until Tom bought a brand-new '73 Jackpiner. He immediately started placing and even winning in his class in MX and enduroes! Pentons ruled the woods! Bruce then bought a '75 250 Harescrambler. Both bikes sat in my Mom's basement for 25 years until I pulled them up two falls ago and began restoration. Tom now has his Jackpiner back and I bought the 250 and will soon (2-4 weeks) have it done.
Mick Milakovic
Delphi, IN
765-268-2570
I agree with OUCWBOY on TM 400, but you could sure impress you friends with the ease of wheellies. The 250 Elsinore came out in 1973 1/2 and the 125 Elsinore in in 1974 when Willie Tokishi snagged a young man off a Monark(Marty Smith) to ride the new Honda and the rest is history. The first YZ's where a work of art, but unfortunitly had short wheel base with inferior suspention which doomed them from the beginning. The Mono's (125's) hit the trak with immediate success except for the airbox/rod failure problems - exacerbated by Yamaha's parts problem of no replacement rods. The early Suzuki Rm was release to selected riders in eary 1975. This was the slowest 125 I every rode , but I won a lot races because of RM's wonderful suspention. Suzuki immediately came out with a "GetKit" which helped the horse power some, but we had already adapted a Honda cylinder arangement my Suzuki that addressed the horsepower. But I will still never forget the day I bought the 100 Berkshire and had it clocked at 72 mph - that was the best. One other note on the 1979 Honda 125 Elsinore - that was a 23 inch front wheel that had a Moto X designed TM name called Claw Action - a different, but immpressive ride. Thanks for the memories. James what part of Texas did you ride.
Ron Carbaugh
Reading my post reveals that i'm 35. I did not ride vintage the first time around. The tracks I watched at were Oak Hill, Mosier valley, Rabbit Run and one somewhere in Kenedale near where Village Creek is now.
My fist moto wasn't until 89 on Mosier Valley's night track. I knew immediatley that I had been born too late.
The Jack I spoke of was Jack Nelson. He was my wrestling coach. Somewhat of a legend in those circles. Had a tournamaent named after him. Sadly, He passed away some years back.
His children had all raced-and lost interest by 76. Jack was glad to see how intrigued I was with motocross. I did get my first bike from him-a really trick 1974 xr75.
I then got a 79 yz80 in the fall of 81.
I was suprised that I was allowed to buy these bikes then. But was not allowed near a motocross track with a bike.
So my first vintage mx race was in 92-again at Mosier Valley but on the excellent day track.
James
I have bike parts in the kitchen cabinets where most people have dishes..
Thanks James for the profile and some great tracks to remember. I have raced at all of them except Rabbit Run and Mossier's Nite Track. While working for Honda I was living in Grapevine for a while and it was a treat to drive back out to the tracks of the 70's. I did not know your coach personnally, but knew of him through his ties with wrestling at TCU. Thanks again - Tomale I bought a brand new 1974 Honda elsinore several years ago with the only damage was the broken rear fender - this person had bought the bike not knowing of its remendous horsepower to weight ratio. Quite a surprise how they bought it, rode it one time and parked it. Thanks again for the memories.
Ron Carbaugh
Mike -
Yeeup, back in the "day", summer of '73...Irwindale Raceway, So. Cal.. the "mettco" pentons ruled night mx with McDougal, LaPorte,& Chuck Bower on them..
Awesome looking bikes..very fast..not even the elsinores could keep up with them...
It was quite a time to be 14 and racing 125 int. on a husky, and have them lap you when the classes were run together..
Those were the Friday nites I remember best.
Bart Carrigan
Hello again gang!
Bart, how are you doing? Long time! Hope all is well.
Ron, I once bought my young bride a 1973 TM125 Suzuki for her to paly on in the pits when we went racing. That was a fast bike, but it too handled like it's bigger brother the 400. She would let the guy I was tunning for(another Ex Monark factory rider) ride it in the 125 class and he would smoke everyone on it. In 73 the 250 Elsinore was just plain fast and was one of the most race ready 250's on the market at that time. Stan's Honda out of Duncan OK was our sponsor and other than jetting and changing the shocks and gearing it was ready to go. We beat a lot of factory riders on that Honda. Steve Wise, Steve Stackable, Kent Howerton, Tony Wynn, just to name a few. We owned Lake Whitney and Mosier Valley that year. I still say it was more the rider than the bike. After all, he won the 125cc Tri-State Chanpionship in Amarillo in 72 riding a 71 Montesa 125 and let me tell you that the boys from Penton Central hated that.
Donny Smith
Edited by - oucwboy on 08/22/2003 11:58:12 PM
The first race I ever won was on that 73'Elsinor. I was sick that day. The first moto I kept having a problem with the red on of switch. I kept hitting it and the motor would die. That was so frustrating. between moto's I took that thing off and found that by the end of race I was leading.... how did that happen? I had managed to place in the top ten a few times on that taco of mine but that Elsinor was really fast and easy to ride and unlike the taco it shifted without hesitation. The only thing close to that was my Penton. I remember pulling the top end off my Penton after riding it that first season. The rings were still within factory specs of being new. I realized that I had found a bike that would finally hold up year after year.
Thanks for the Memories
Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.