To our Penton friends: Please take a moment to read The Penton Owners Group's "Mission Statement", which appears on the Home Page of this website. The first four words: "DEDICATED TO THE PRESERVATION . . .", really says it all, in regard to what this group is about. The recent passing of both Dave Mungenast and Jim Pomeroy have made it all the more clear how important it is for us to gather and record YOUR STORIES. Think about this: Without you owners and riders, with your knowledge, experiences, and stories, the Penton motorcycles (as cool as they are), are merely static pieces of machinery. Without the adventures you experienced on board these machines, they have no stories of their own to tell. Let's hear it from you guys out there. Pipe up with your favorite Penton story, riding/racing experience, or adventure. No matter how big or small your story, please share it. Post it on this topic, or e-mail me. POG wishes to record everything and anything you have to say. We are compiling this material for ever greater efforts to PRESERVE all that is Penton - and your help is absolutely essential! We want to hear from EVERY Penton owner past or present. Please help us.
Ted Guthrie
Penton Owners Group Historian
OK guys, Ted is looking to create a data base of Penton stories and your help is appreciated. None of us are getting any younger, please help Ted's project along and supply him with your story. It can be about a memorable trailride or you winning the state championship, it doessn't matter. Actually, I have heard a couple of good stories about when the bike fell off the stand in the workshop and pinned the owner to the floor.
Ted, you better have a lot of paper in your printer as I have heard a lot of stories from some of these guys around the campfire.
Thanks guys for your help, and thanks to Ted for his dedication to preserving the lore of the Penton.
Paul
OK guys, Ted is looking to create a data base of Penton stories and your help is appreciated. None of us are getting any younger, please help Ted's project along and supply him with your story. It can be about a memorable trailride or you winning the state championship, it doessn't matter. Actually, I have heard a couple of good stories about when the bike fell off the stand in the workshop and pinned the owner to the floor.
Ted, you better have a lot of paper in your printer as I have heard a lot of stories from some of these guys around the campfire.
Thanks guys for your help, and thanks to Ted for his dedication to preserving the lore of the Penton.
Paul
I had a great conversation the other night with POG member, Gavin Housh. Gavin is out in California and had a great story to tell, which included collection and preservation of numerous Penton motorcycles. Not only did our discussion provide us with his story, but also reafirmed for Gavin, his place as an essential and much appreciated part of the Penton Owners Group - as are we all. Let's hear it from you other guys. Here's how it works: Drop me a line, and we'll set up a date and time for me to call you. It's on my nickel, and we just bs about your experiences involving Penton motorcycles, as well as your motorcycling experiences in general. I'm a good listener, and nothing we discuss will go immediately to print. You have the final say-so on what, if anything, ends up in the POG archives or publications. Let's hear from you guys! Without your stories, priceless Penton information could be lost forever. This is surely a vital part of the Penton Future Project. Let's not allow our favorite brand of motorcycle to be relegated to a footnote in history.
Ted,Is this going to be combined with the "Steel Tanker" book?
Thomas Carmichael
1970 125 Six Day
1976 250 Hare Scrambler
Hello, Tom. Thank you for asking. That is a good question. Although the minutes of each month's POG meetings are published in Still Keeping Track, too often those of us fortunate enough to attend the meetings forget that the information acquired there is not immediately or plainly made clear to the rest of you. As one of the members who are helping to work on the upcoming Steel Tanker book, I can report that this project is definitely underway. The member's stories which we have been accumulating may be used in this publication, or they may be reserved for yet another book. That is as yet undecided. Regardless, please remember that your experiences are vital to the Penton Owners Group. We cannot stress that enough. I do a lot of reading in regard to motorcyle and automotive business history, and you would not believe how many manufacturers have come and gone, having left hardly a ripple. Some of these companies were big, heavy hitters, and made a real impact on the world during the time they existed. However, most them are now almost entirely forgotten. We are determined that the Penton motorcycle not suffer this same fate. So, that leads us right back to the need for all this archiving. Please provide us your stories. Send those motor and frame numbers in to Bill Smith. Let's write our own history, 'cause noone else is going to do it for us. Thanks to one and all. You guys are the greatest group of enthusiasts I've ever been involved with.
Hi Ted,
I am a new member on the forum, only a couple of weeks, and I plan on sending in my POG membership application next week. I want that news letter. I have had my Piner for almost 34 years and have some great memories, but I am in Texas and all my riding was in the local enduro's and hare scrambles, and I had thought that folks way up north would'nt be interested in just the local stuff. But it sounds like you are wanting any kind of story from anywhere. So I will give it a try...I read a moment ago where you said to send our motor and frame #s to Bill Smith, what is that about?..Thanks for the info. I am really enjoying reading all the inputs on the forum. Even though most of the events are a long way from where I am, I hope next year to make at least one event, and meeting a bunch of the Penton lovers. Thanks for listening!
Jim Palmer
Jim, Thank you very much for writing in. The Penton Owners Group ABSOLUTELY wants to hear your story. One of the great strengths of POG is that we have members all over the world, with every one of them contributing to the preservation of the Penton motorcycle. I've just been corresponding with POG member, Jon McLean, who is up in the Pacific NW, and described to him that it is very interesting for all of us to know what it was like, and IS like, to ride in different parts of the country. While some guys have traveled, ridden, and raced, in various states, many of us have no idea what your tracks or trails are like. Let's hear it! You must have a wealth of stories from those 34 years. Write to me direct, or let me know if you want me to call you, and we'll take it from there. As far as reporting the serial numbers to Bill, he is using them to create a Penton-production database. By matching equipment information - specifics of how your bike was equipped from the factory - Bill is generating a year by year, and number by number format of what was built, and when. Please contact him at
[email protected]. He is a "numbers" guy, and will be happy to hear from you. Looking forward to hearing more from you. Great to have you as part of POG.
In my life time I have never, and will probably never again know a more inspirational person, than the person I am about to write about.
I met Jeff Dorrell in 1969. He was 12 years old, and I was 13. The one thing that most all the kids in the neighborhood had in common, which brought us close together, were mini-bikes.
In the summers between 1970 and 1975 we rode together almost every single day. We progressed in our riding abilities together, and every year we all progressively got newer and better machines to ride.
Jeff started out on a Heathkit Boonie bike. In '71 he was on a Yamaha Mini-Enduro, and in '72 while myself and two other friends got our first Pentons', Jeff was riding a Rickman Zundapp.
It was hard not to catch Penton fever in our little neighborhood group, so in mid '73 Jeff joined us with his own, new, Penton Jackpiner.
Everything about those days seemed perfect. Young, free, wild, and riding our Penton's everyday, what in the world could be better.
It was a few months after Jeff had gotten the Jackpiner, that the cold had set in. I did'nt see him as much in the winter, because during the school year his family would move away from the cottage on the lake, and back into town for the winter.
I had heard Jeff was having alot of pain in his right arm while playing JV basketball, and remembered him saying something about it, and rubbing it alot the last few times we rode our bikes that previous fall.
Suddening after seeing some doctors, Jeffrey was swept away to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota - diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 15, he lost all of his right arm and shoulder.
He was gone for what seemed like months up there at Mayos, but just before his return, his father called me and said that I was the first person he wanted to see when he returned.
(I have in front of me a letter young Jeffrey wrote me during his recovery at Mayos'. It was maybe the first thing he tried to write left-handed. Among other things the letter says - "I miss the smell of Blendzall, and the feel of grease on my hands hand. But I'm sure I can moto-x with one arm. Dirt bikes forever. Pic" Which is short for Pickles, just one of his many nicknames)
After his return home from the hospital, and upon my first visitation, he made one thing clear. His exact words were, "I still want to ride my Penton, and I will ride my Penton again - would you help me". Several weeks later when he was strong enough to get around, we began.
By mounting the throttle on the left hand side of the bars, it placed the throttle housing on the outside. He said, "that's good, that'll help keep my hand from slipping off the end of the bars, and give me more control". Then we mounted both the clutch, and front brake lever next to each other on the left hand side. With the clutch lever above, and the brake lever below.
That's about all we had to change to get him going again.
Jeff was always a very athletic kid, his approach to life was not only to accomplish, but to excel at whatever he did. He not only attempted all the sports and activities that the rest of us common people with four limbs would participate in. He worked on the challenge with a ferocity until he knew, he was the very best he could be.
The learning curve to become a motocross racer was'nt the easiest task. There were times I had to close my eyes or look away, like when he was in a full-lock tank slapper going through whoop-de-doos, or landing from big jumps. I can only remember a couple times he had any really nasty crashes - and those were'nt all that long-lasting because he was such a tough guy.
As you can see in the one picture, Jeff wore knee pads because he'd grip the tank with his knees so hard, to keep the bike more stable, or to keep from falling off. He also rode by the motto, when in doubt gas-it. Some of the time (not all the time) that would straighten the bike out when he got in trouble as well.
He rode the woods about as well as any of us, he may have had a hiccup or two over certain obstacles, but he was always there, and you never worried about any lack of ability on his part.
I believe Jeff raced only two motocross races, and his crowning moment in motocross came at the one race we went together to. The track was called Whole Earth, and it was in Big Rapids, MI. He rode the 175cc class, and got a fourth overall, out of nine riders in the class. (that was the day the lower picture was taken) All nine in that class finished, so he trophied and beat more than half the guys with two arms. He worked so hard to beat those guys. It was a happy and proud day for both of us, and one day I'll never forget. I know I was so thrilled to see him carry a trophy home.
Sorry for dragging this out. I don't have many minutes of free time these days, the finale comes next time I stop in. For a year now, I've wanted to get this out. Thanks Ted, I really appreciate it, it does me good to think about my old friend, and express myself.
Thank you very much to the Penton Owners Group.
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g8/BobWardlow/jeff2.jpg)
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g8/BobWardlow/jeff3.jpg)
Thanks Bob. And we think we have it bad with daily problems. I am inspired and the pictures tell it all....where there is a Will there is a Way.
Ron Carbaugh
Bob, Thanks for the reality check and inspiration. Young Jeff had "no quit" in him.
"I used to have the blues,
Because I had no shoes.
Until upon the street,
I met a man who had no feet!"
Gentlemen, always remember to count your blessings ...
Ernie P.
Chattanooga, TN
Bob,
The pictures that you showed of the one armed rider reminded me of when Jack, Jeff, and I used to motocross locally. There was a rider down here, who did not have a left hand and he had a ring clamped to his handlebars and he'd put his "wrist" in the ring.
I don't think that he ever beat one of us, but he was right on our tails. We would chat after the races and more than once, he made the comment that he just couldn't understand how we could hang onto our bikes with both hands because his one hand would get so tired.
Dane
That's a great story Bob. Thanks for firing up your new scanner and sharing the photos as well.
Kent
In my life time I have never, and will probably never again know a more inspirational person, than the person I am about to write about.
I met Jeff Dorrell in 1969. He was 12 years old, and I was 13. The one thing that most all the kids in the neighborhood had in common, which brought us close together, were mini-bikes.
In the summers between 1970 and 1975 we rode together almost every single day. We progressed in our riding abilities together, and every year we all progressively got newer and better machines to ride.
Jeff started out on a Heathkit Boonie bike. In '71 he was on a Yamaha Mini-Enduro, and in '72 while myself and two other friends got our first Pentons', Jeff was riding a Rickman Zundapp.
It was hard not to catch Penton fever in our little neighborhood group, so in mid '73 Jeff joined us with his own, new, Penton Jackpiner.
Everything about those days seemed perfect. Young, free, wild, and riding our Penton's everyday, what in the world could be better.
It was a few months after Jeff had gotten the Jackpiner, that the cold had set in. I did'nt see him as much in the winter, because during the school year his family would move away from the cottage on the lake, and back into town for the winter.
I had heard Jeff was having alot of pain in his right arm while playing JV basketball, and remembered him saying something about it, and rubbing it alot the last few times we rode our bikes that previous fall.
Suddening after seeing some doctors, Jeffrey was swept away to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota - diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 15, he lost all of his right arm and shoulder.
He was gone for what seemed like months up there at Mayos, but just before his return, his father called me and said that I was the first person he wanted to see when he returned.
(I have in front of me a letter young Jeffrey wrote me during his recovery at Mayos'. It was maybe the first thing he tried to write left-handed. Among other things the letter says - "I miss the smell of Blendzall, and the feel of grease on my hands hand. But I'm sure I can moto-x with one arm. Dirt bikes forever. Pic" Which is short for Pickles, just one of his many nicknames)
After his return home from the hospital, and upon my first visitation, he made one thing clear. His exact words were, "I still want to ride my Penton, and I will ride my Penton again - would you help me". Several weeks later when he was strong enough to get around, we began.
By mounting the throttle on the left hand side of the bars, it placed the throttle housing on the outside. He said, "that's good, that'll help keep my hand from slipping off the end of the bars, and give me more control". Then we mounted both the clutch, and front brake lever next to each other on the left hand side. With the clutch lever above, and the brake lever below.
That's about all we had to change to get him going again.
Jeff was always a very athletic kid, his approach to life was not only to accomplish, but to excel at whatever he did. He not only attempted all the sports and activities that the rest of us common people with four limbs would participate in. He worked on the challenge with a ferocity until he knew, he was the very best he could be.
The learning curve to become a motocross racer was'nt the easiest task. There were times I had to close my eyes or look away, like when he was in a full-lock tank slapper going through whoop-de-doos, or landing from big jumps. I can only remember a couple times he had any really nasty crashes - and those were'nt all that long-lasting because he was such a tough guy.
As you can see in the one picture, Jeff wore knee pads because he'd grip the tank with his knees so hard, to keep the bike more stable, or to keep from falling off. He also rode by the motto, when in doubt gas-it. Some of the time (not all the time) that would straighten the bike out when he got in trouble as well.
He rode the woods about as well as any of us, he may have had a hiccup or two over certain obstacles, but he was always there, and you never worried about any lack of ability on his part.
I believe Jeff raced only two motocross races, and his crowning moment in motocross came at the one race we went together to. The track was called Whole Earth, and it was in Big Rapids, MI. He rode the 175cc class, and got a fourth overall, out of nine riders in the class. (that was the day the lower picture was taken) All nine in that class finished, so he trophied and beat more than half the guys with two arms. He worked so hard to beat those guys. It was a happy and proud day for both of us, and one day I'll never forget. I know I was so thrilled to see him carry a trophy home.
Sorry for dragging this out. I don't have many minutes of free time these days, the finale comes next time I stop in. For a year now, I've wanted to get this out. Thanks Ted, I really appreciate it, it does me good to think about my old friend, and express myself.
Thank you very much to the Penton Owners Group.
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g8/BobWardlow/jeff2.jpg)
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g8/BobWardlow/jeff3.jpg)
Thanks Bob. And we think we have it bad with daily problems. I am inspired and the pictures tell it all....where there is a Will there is a Way.
Ron Carbaugh
Bob, Thanks for the reality check and inspiration. Young Jeff had "no quit" in him.
"I used to have the blues,
Because I had no shoes.
Until upon the street,
I met a man who had no feet!"
Gentlemen, always remember to count your blessings ...
Ernie P.
Chattanooga, TN
Bob,
The pictures that you showed of the one armed rider reminded me of when Jack, Jeff, and I used to motocross locally. There was a rider down here, who did not have a left hand and he had a ring clamped to his handlebars and he'd put his "wrist" in the ring.
I don't think that he ever beat one of us, but he was right on our tails. We would chat after the races and more than once, he made the comment that he just couldn't understand how we could hang onto our bikes with both hands because his one hand would get so tired.
Dane
That's a great story Bob. Thanks for firing up your new scanner and sharing the photos as well.
Kent
Some folks just can't be beat. Great story.
Rod Whitman
Omaha, Nebraska
1972 Six Day (Rider)
1972 Six Day (Project)
Inspirational story. Thanks Bob.
Lew Mayer
Bob, I am not sure of the guys name but there is a guy flat tracking now in AHRMA that has one arm. I saw him ride and he gets the job done!!
Thomas Carmichael
1970 125 Six Day
1976 250 Hare Scrambler
Thank you all for your comments, and allowing me to share this.
Bob
Bob and Everyone,
As we travel through life we begin to realize that what we have done is a lot of times interesting to others we touch in our everyday lives. Bob's story of his Friend Jeff is so touching and such a success story that it is hard to top, but the fact that his Friend also has touched so many people over 30 years later is important. I for one feel we need to keep this going and be in touch with Ted on stories that are serious, funny or life changing and keep this thread going even if you add a new threads. Also you can send your stories directly to Ted.
Thanks again Bob and as I mentor young people who are not doing well in life you can bet I will use Jeff's success story to make the point that nothing comes easy without the effort. I will step down from the soapbox and hope that others will add to this important thread.
Ron Carbaugh
dane,i recall the rider with one hand i belive his mane is larry schidale live here in ashtabula oh i remember him at austenburg race track
dennis l.brown
Dennis,
Austinburg was one of my favorite motocross tracks in northern Ohio. Many years ago, when my son was racing at Dirt World and Holeshot in that "neighborhood", I took him by the location of the old track to show where the place was.
Dane
Well this certainly isn't near as moving of a story as that of Jeff Dorrell, but I have one testimony about how the toughness & reliabilty of the Penton motorcycle helped to win races.
In 1977 I was 22 years old and racing a 1976 Jackpiner in SERA enduros. It was the new long travel lay down shock model with silky smooth suspension. The envy of all riders in that era.
That summer there was a points paying run in North Little Rock that was in some serious hills (they looked like mountains to me...).
In the first few miles just before the first possible check I got ahead of my row, realized I was a little hot, and pulled over to let time & my row catch up with me.
As I was slowing down I looked over my shoulder to see where my pals were. We were riding in little fist sized rocks that were piled up like gravel - well needless to say I fell over going about a half mph.
I jumped up as quickly as I could - fired up the bike and hopped on before my friends could see me and razz me big time - here they came - just ease it into first & take off.
But there was only a one inch stub where the gear shift lever was supposed to be (High Point folding shifters were only a weld on accessory then).
I quickly used the heel of my boot to jam it into first gear, but had no idea how to up-shift. Ahhh - I'll attach my vice grips - after them coming off 4 or 5 times while shifting & having to chase them down the trail I gave up on that idea - only to use my trusty Penton riders wrench to reach down, hook the stub, and upshift.
Now - downshifting became the real problem - nothing like coming into a corner being a gear too high - then looking down at the footpeg, finding the lever, and jumping up and putting all your weight on one heel hoping to downshift. You missed about 9 times for each successful shift.
90 miles later I finished the event - and honestly I probably gave one of the more thrilling Kodak moments of the day at the spectator hill - it was long, steep, and had a crown in the middle so you couldn't see the top from the bottom.
I hit the bottom in 3rd gear about 20 mph TOOO FAST, jumped the crown, and then ended up frying the clutch all the way to the top, finally running alongside the bike and pushing the last few yards.
Those Pentons had bronze clutch plates, and I ended up in 2nd or 3rd gear that whole day just wailing on the clutch. Well it never complained, never faded, and didn't even need adjustment after the race.
I ended up in the top 40 that day, but couldn't tell you where. I did get 3rd place in the 175 B class, and it was my last year in the B class, and last year on a Penton until 2008.
I will never forget how that little bike saved my day. The reliability and toughness of the Pentons won many events where other bikes would have failed.
Clark A. Gristina
Covington, LA
1979 SERA Louisiana State Champ
Austinburg was one of the first tracks I raced, I remember my Dad driving us from Lorain to Ashtabula in his 1972 Ranchero with me and 3 buddies and the 4 of us cramped in the Ranchero with 4 bikes in the back.
I raced a Kawasaki 100, my friend Rick Belsole on his brand new 1972 Penton 100 Berkshire, and my other buddies on a Suzuki 100 and a Yamaha 100, other than the Penton, ours were enduro models with mx "kits" ie, Hooker header pipes, etc...I even only had enduro tires...a little slippery !
It was a muddy Ohio Fall day and I got the bug from there.....one of my favorites tracks also.
Ravenna, Ohio track was a very fun, natural track, too...anyone remember that one ?
Victor Monz
Victor,
OIR (Ohio International Raceway) at Ravenna, is still around and is actually run with a better group of people today. The Hand family runs the track and they always get 4 to 6 hundred entries at their events.
Dane
Me and a friend of mine took a motocross vacation one summer and visited several tracks from Indianapolis to New York. We took two weeks and visited about 6 tracks, camping at the tracks for a couple of days and practicing, racing on the weekends. Two I remember were Ravenna and Moreley's Motocross Park in Southeastern New York (we tried to get into Unadilla, but it was locked up tighter than Fort Knox!).
Anyway, Morley's was a family-owned, personal-property track that was located behind the house of the owners. The lady of the house was really nice and said go ahead and ride and when you're done come back to the house and wash your bikes. Wow, and I thought Southern hospitality was nice! [8D] We rode a beautiful track and went to wash our bikes. The lady came out again, talking to us and telling us about her daughter's wedding. We were starting to feel a little uneasy when she invited us into her house to look at the pictures [:0] When we went in there were pictures on the mantle, and the groom was Cheeh Marin! The "Wedding Album" had tons more and we were blown away! Of course, being a Cheech and Chong fan didn't hurt! I really miss those days, 20 years old with no responsibilities, but this forum helps re-capture them. Thanks for letting me share a story with you all,
Mick
i live only a few miles austenburg mx track, i was riding a lot of enduros and hare scrambles back then and did not ride mx, but a lot of my friends did. when i could i'd go to watch them. and it never failed ,in would come the what they called the penton gang.often jack, jeff,tom, and dane, still have on there lights and tool bags on the rear fender,then beat every one there it really tore up the mx racers that enduro riders could do that!. it was fun to watch
dennis l.brown
Mick,
Great story as I always know it is time for me to leave when the vacation or wedding pictures come out. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Ron Carbaugh