The Penton Day meeting is coming up fast, I have provided some information about the meeting below, if you have any other questions please send me an email or post the question.
[email protected] Also below is an interview that Ed Youngblood of Motohistory did with our very special guest Kalman Cseh.
Date Saturday February 2, 2008
Location Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, Pickerington, Ohio
Where to stay and map. http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/about/hours.asp
GPS coordinates
N39 56'02.67" W82 46'58.52" LAT/LONG
Museum opens at 9am, meeting starts at 10am.
Lunch Provided on site by Buehner Supply
Special guest Kalman Cseh
The information and interview below is provided by Motohistory.
Thanks
Paul
Motohistory exclusive interview:
Kalman Cseh on the
origin of the Penton
(12/23/2007)
Editor's Note: On February 2, 2008, the Penton Owners Group will hold its Annual Meeting at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio, kicking off a year of celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Penton motorcycle and the 10th anniversary of the POG. Kalman Cseh, a long-time employee of KTM who was significantly involved in the birth of the Penton, will be a special guest at the meeting. Mr. Cseh kindly granted Motohistory an interview prior to his upcoming visit to the United States. Here's what he told us about the origin and impact of the Penton motorcycle.
Motohistory: Mr. Cseh, everyone who loves Pentons is very excited about your plan to attend the annual meeting of the Penton Owners Group, coming up in February. Motohistory is very pleased for the opportunity to learn more about you in anticipation of that meeting. First, tell us a little about your life, education, and business experience prior to the time you joined KTM.
Mr. Cseh: I was born in 1944 and raised in Mattighofen, Austria, where I also spent my first eight years of basic school education. I left school when I was just about 18 years old when I graduated from commercial high school – what we called "Handelsakademie" - in Salzburg in June 1962.
During the period from summer, 1962 until November, 1965 I worked in the travel agency business, first in Austria until April, 1964 and then in London, England, from May, 1964 until October, 1965. During my stay in London I met my wife, Renate, fell in love, and planned to get married, which we did in November, 1965. We both planned to return to Austria, and so I started to work for KTM in Mattighofen on December 1, 1965. KTM was looking for someone who had the knowledge of foreign languages, and for that they put me in charge of export sales, which was not very well developed at that time.
MH: What was KTM like when you joined the company?
Mr. Cseh: At that time, KTM was producing bicycles and mopeds, mainly for Austria, Germany and Switzerland. However, already in these days KTM had a small sports department which was involved in the national and European enduro championships, what was then known as "Gelaendesport." They were competing in the 50cc, 100cc and 125cc categories, using Sachs engines, and were quite successful in the national racing scene. As far as I remember, KTM had about 180 people employed at that time.
MH: Tell us about your first meeting with John Penton. What were your first impressions of the man?
Mr. Cseh: The first time I met John Penton was in fall of 1967 at the International Motorcycle Show in Milano, and as far as I can remember, he was returning from the International Six Days' Trial in Zakopane, Poland. He visited our booth at the show. Apparently, he was talking to one of our riders, Sigi Stuhlberger, who was also involved on a KTM 50cc bike at the Six Days event in Zakopane, who told him that we would be in Milano at the show and he could meet us there. I remember very well that day when John showed up at our booth, wearing a blue jacket with a U.S.A. badge. I am not sure if Erich Trunkenpolz was involved in this first meeting we had at the booth or not; however, we did have a meeting in Milano with Mr. Trunkenpolz, John, and myself, during which John explained what he was looking for.
I had the impression that John knew exactly what he was talking about when he explaining to us in detail what type of motorcycles he was looking for and how these motorcycles should perform. He was talking about 100cc and 125cc off-road bikes for enduro and motocross use. He was so convincing that Erich Trunkenpolz promised to prepare a prototype of such a bike by the end of the year. I think it was around the Christmas holidays of 1967 when John came to visit us at the factory to have a look at the prototype.
MH: Mr. Penton gives you enormous credit for the creation of the Penton motorcycle. He says you traveled with him in Europe and opened many doors for him as he began to develop his business. Can you tell us some of the things you and John did together to bring about the birth of the Penton?
Mr. Cseh: Sure, I was involved from the beginning in my function as the sales coordinator for all our exports, including the new contact with Penton Imports. Due to the fact that I was one of the few people who spoke English in these days at KTM, I was involved in all matters John had to discuss with Erich Trunkenpolz, the technicians in R&D, or whoever else was involved. John had other contacts in Europe at that time which all had to do with the Penton motorcycles or other products for his business. For example, the Fichtel & Sachs company in Schweinfurt, Germany at that time was the engine suppliers, and we visited them regularly to complain about problems like the extensive wear of the shifting key, or the insufficient clutch, or the Bosch ignitions, just to name a few. Other suppliers we visited frequently were Ceriani for the front forks, Marzocchi for the rear shock absorbers, or Alpine Stars, who produced the Hi-Point boots. Especially with the suspension companies, John always had things to propose to improve the quality, reliability, and functionality of the products.
MH: Clearly, forty years ago, no one could have envisioned the big player KTM would become in the global motorcycle industry. Now that it is a big company that has built up its own great traditions, do you think people at KTM remember the Penton? Do you think there is a spirit in the company and the product today that can be traced directly back to the Penton?
Mr. Cseh: As a matter of fact, there are very few people still in the company who knew or ever worked with John Penton personally; however, the involvement and the growing enthusiasm for motorsports in general surely has its roots in these early days when KTM and John Penton were developing sport motorcycles for the U.S. market. This enthusiasm became a general ingredient of KTM's company philosophy, and has been continuously developed to the present day. John's advertising slogan back in 1968 was "Built for Champions," and Stefan Pierer's slogan today is "Ready to Race," so one can clearly see that John Penton's original spirit has never been given up, but definitely has been maintained for the benefit of the brand image and the commercial success of the company.
MH: Finally, what is going through your head as you prepare to come to America to help John Penton and the Penton Owners Group celebrate the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Penton?
Mr. Cseh: First of all, I consider it as a great honor to be invited to this anniversary, and I am very much looking forward to meeting again with John himself and people around him, of whom I may know quite a few. Looking through our archives, I have sorted out photographs from these early days, and I have prepared a DVD with which I will make a historical presentation, starting with the Six Days' Enduro in San Pellegrino, Italy in 1968. I hope this presentation will stimulate a lot of discussion about the history of the Penton and how it has contributed to motorcycling.
Editor's Postscript: The Annual Meeting of the Penton Owners Group has become a very popular winter fixture at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. Mr. Cseh's presence, his presentation, and the opportunity to have him and John Penton – and other original Penton Imports employees – together to discuss the history of the Penton motorcycle will surely make this meeting a landmark event. In addition, it will be a final opportunity to see the Motocross America Exhibit, since it is scheduled to be taken down by March, 2008.
(12/22/2007)
Just a few more notes.
I just made a room reservation and they still have rooms at this location for $ 69.00 per night plus tax for two doubble beds. This hotel is only about a mile from the Museum. Tell them you are with the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum for the special rate.
Country Inn & Suites
Columbus-East
2806 Taylor Road
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
(614) 861-8888
fax (614) 861-6381
It would be nice to have a display of bikes in the circle just outside the Museum door. Any and all models are encouraged, it would be neat for Kalman to see a nice display of various models. Please don't be shy about displaying your Penton warrior along with any and all restorations, barn fresh finds, ect. If the weather is ugly and you wish to protect your bike, by all means place it in the sheltered area.
Dave,
Glad to hear you are coming, how about the rest of your clan?
Thanks
Paul
I can't wait to see all our P.O.G. family this weekend !!
It is so exciting that we are being honored with the visit from Mr.Cseh. Gary and I will again be bringing cake for everyone to enjoy after awesome Al's pizza. I am not going to tell "what" or "who" will be on this year's cake-everyone will just have to show up and see (or eat)for themselves....See you all Sat. morning!
Pog Gal
Toni[:X]
I just spoke with the POG shirtmaster Scott Brogan. The good news is that he has just picked up the anniversary year shirts and they will be available at the meeting on Saturday.
The bad news part is that Scott will not make the meeting as he is a member of the National Guard and he has some Guard duties to attend to this weekend.
Thanks Scott for your hard work each year on the shirts and also a heart felt Thanks for your dedication to our National Guard.
Paul
It has taken more than a year to get this to happen, but it now looks like we will have three very, very low serial number Steel Tank Pentons together again on Saturday for the first time in possibly 39+ years. I won't say what the serial numbers are at this time, but I will state that these three machines were part of the very first Penton team that headed south for the Stone Mountain and Alligator enduros back in 1968.
To shed a little more light upon this, it is important to realize that only the first 10 serial production machines were flown over from the KTM factory in time for the trip south and the first outing for the Penton.
There are a number of folks who are helping to make this happen and I for one wish to thank them for their time and efforts.
It also looks like several more very important former employees of Penton Brothers and Penton Imports will be making the meeting. These folks were with John almost from day 1 and it will be great to see them again and to hear of their experiances at Penton Brothers and Penton Imports.
Paul