With two doctors (one neurosurgeon and one general practitioner) as uncles on my dad's side of the family, getting a motorcycle was a real challenge, even with my uncle being John Penton. (Mom is one of John's two sisters.) But through enough badgering, getting merit and honor roll grades, and working my tail off on the farm, October of 1969 was my month of destiny.
I had spent two months the previous summer, living at the home of Mr. Eric Trunkenpolz (the T in KTM) and working at the KTM factory, so I guess that after that experience, my mom finally convinced my dad that it was time that I was allowed to get my own bike.
I really don't even remember all the events of the purchase, but it seems like all of a sudden, there is was. 100cc Berkshire frame #545. I had ridden my cousin's bikes numerous times, but now that I had my own, I was in heaven. I spent much of the first few weeks riding the bike around the farm at breakneck speeds, until in November, I finally entered my first race. The story of that event has already been told in the "Inauspicious Beginnings" post.
My mechanical knowledge of motorcycles or any kind of motorized vehicle, was rather limited, but by watching and listening while around the cousins, I learned stuff little by little. One of the first things I learned about, was jetting. I learned that by having the right main jet in the bike, the power band would rev lots higher than if it was a size or two or three lean. I think when I got it, the jet was a 95, but when I finally got a 115 in it, it really woke up. Thank god for loose tolerances of an air cooled engine.
Probably the next modification, was the sunburst head. I can't really remember when or how I came by it, but it certainly looked cool, so on it went. The compression was higher, so again, the performance of the bike jumped up. If I'd only had some idea of what porting was all about, that thing would probably really have cooked.
The next really signifigant modification that I can remember, was the pipe. Since I wasn't racing much woods stuff at the time, but rather mostly motocross, I thought that a down pipe looked a lot cooler than the up pipe. Since I didn't have enough money to buy one, and since I had access to some sheet metal working equipment in the school shop, I decided to make my own.
After carefully measuring the stock pipe, I set about cutting out the cone sections of the pipe. The stinger was going to be easy, as all it had to be was a piece of EMT. The head pipe on the other hand, was another task. How was I going to bend the pipe without kinking it or having the depressions that an exhaust bender would put in it?
After speaking to some rather innovative gentlemen, I decided to do what one of them had suggested. I took a piece of tubing, welded a plate on one end, filled the tube with dry sand, packed it down, and then welded another plate on the other end. Now, I basically had a solid bar that wouldn't kink.
Next was the bending part. I took a torch, and heated the pipe, section by section, and put the necessary bend in it. I'd bend it, check it, bend it some more, and check it again, until I had the bend that I wanted.
Once that process was completed, I cut off the ends, cleaned out the sand, and then cut the pipe to the length that I wanted. All I had left now, was to roll up the cones, weld them together, and build some mounts. When I was done, I have to say, that the pipe was really trick. It may not have been any better than the stock pipe, but at least I'd accomplished what I started out to do.
Eventually, once I started riding more of the woods events, I took the down pipe off and went back to the up pipe.
I had that bike until I got my bike back from my first ISDT in the fall of '71. I don't know whatever happened to the bike, but it certainly served it's purpose.
Dane
Hello Dane, great story! Wow I bet that was a great experince to get to stay with MR.Trunkenpolz and work at the KTM factory,let alone to have John Penton as an uncle. I just bought an old Dec. "73" Motorcyclist magazine off of ebay with the story of the 1973 ISDT held in Dalton, Mass. and your picture is in there a couple of times and your "lookin good"! Its a good artical on the "73" ISDT and your story here made me think of it. It had to be cool to be around and involved in the Penton world first hand. To me thats the stuff dreams are made of! :D Crash Carden - GO TEAM PENTON!
Sometime, I'll have to relate the story of my trip to Austria. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I had the stones to take it.
Dane
Dane, Great story, As a kid I did not have anyone in my family that had even owned a Motorcycle but one of the guys down the street, His step dad raced dirt track and TT's That became the fuel that launched me into having and then racing bike of my own. It was almost unheard of but both of my parents worked. So did I and most of the money that I made on a very successful and large paper route went to family. It was hard and every year there was 3-4 months were dad had no work. By the time I was a junior in Highschool things had let up a bit and I was able to spend some of the money that I made on things I wanted. My younger brother had a friend that had been given a bike for Christmas and he did not take care of it and with only a few hours on the bike.. it was broke and there is sat. My brother being the kind of guy he is, struck up a bargin and the two of us bought that Suzuki 90. I had never worked on much of anything but with Dad's help we got the top end off and found that all we really needed to do is get the cylinder honed and a new piston and we would have a bike. We rode the wheels off that thing. We took turns, one day I would have it the next my brother would ride. I came accross that bike several years after I had sold it and convinced the owner to let me ride it... just for old time sake... I could not believe how slow it was and when I got to the rough stuff... Wow... it was all that I could do to keep it from tank swapping. I have only owned a couple bike from that Island in asia and it did not take me long to remember why. By the way, the cost of the Piston was 4 bucks. why should I remember that... I have no idea but it sure makes you wonder about the cost of things now...
Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)
78' 400 MC5
Thank you, it was much fun to read your story. I just ran across this site. I do not own a Penton yet, but I Am one. My name is Bruce Penton.
My end of the Penton Family Name is from the South, there's a whole bunch of us in Louisiana. My Dad, Boyd "Sonny" Penton built stock cars and stunt cars for many years out here in California. The Penton name is known in West Coast auto racing as we won championships at Saugus Speedway back in the day, and beat the pants off of guys like Ron Hornaday in the 70's and 80's. Ah, the good old days.
Dad ALWAYS talked about Penton Bikes. I've just began to find Penton information, and a few printed items and such on Ebay, etc. I just sent him a fannypack for Christmas.
I wish to know more about Penton Bikes, and I wish to purchase Penton related items that are copyright kosher.
Thanks for yur story, it reminds me of working in my Dad's shop as a young man.
I am still involved in auto racing, I live about a mile from Irwindale Speedway, and have served several seasons as a Late Model Crew Cheif ("retired", for a while).
Incidentally, I named my son John. He is a a college student (Cal Poly). He has a very popular Christian Hardcore Band called CONFIDE (MySpace.com/Music/Confide). See how a Penton kicks butt playing drums.
I'd love to collect true Penton memorabilia, can't afford a bike right now, but maybe something good will happen.
THANK YOU FOR THIS SITE
I Am Sincerely,
Bruce Penton
Hi Bruce and welcome to the Penton Owners group website!!. If you'd like a true piece of Penton memorabillia, Email Dane and he may have somethiing of interest from the 48th ISDT [8D].
My first bike was a 1973 Jackpiner I bought the day after high school graduation in the Summer of 74. I raced it in a few Enduro's back then and a lotof trail rides.
I sold it in 1980 cause of the lack of available parts. It sat in a hew barn some hippy owned for 22 years till I bought it back in November of 2002.
Now its sitting in my cellar looking "almost as new" as the day I bought it. That was the 2nd time I rebuilt it, and I was smart enough to use never seize on some critical components back in 1978.
Funny thing about these Pentons up here in the North east, very few people knew about them "back in the day", and until you mention KTM's grandpa, very few people still never heard of them today !!
Raymond
Down East Pentons
WOW.. cool story.. I'm sure I remember checking you thru checkpoints at the ISDT qualifiers in michigan in the mid seventies... here we are again.. all these years later