Messages

Kurt, you missed a good ride. I am sure Noble Woods was fun, but the riding in Don's neck of the woods is excellent. So many miles click off without as much as a road crossing. The whole 80 miles took us past less than 10 homes, and most of those were where we gassed up and had lunch at the White Elephant in Strong. Good food too.

We also had as much white hair under the helmets as a beauty salon on the saturday before Easter.

I see why you guys ride with Raymond all of the time. He is entertaining as can be and a good rider. It is nice when you have a group of self sufficient riders.

Next time...and maybe I will show you my bikes on the way through Minot...

Thanks for the insight, Jeff. I didn't know about the trials background, but it is evident in his riding style. Don told us about an enduro in which he rode a trials bike and finished on top.
Don is pretty reserved, but likes to talk about the old days...after the ride. When you ride with Don, you go to ride. He is dressed and ready when you arrive and it is all about hitting the trail. Social time is the half hour afterward, getting ready to leave and hanging out in the shop. Kind of hard to walk around his workshop without seeing something really special. I should be taking pictures... The 1973 Ossa poster of Dave Latham, Charlie Vincent, and Don at the ISDT is on one wall and a recent photo of the three of them is on another wall. Cool and easy to break into conversations. It got Don talking about Yankee 500 and his feelings regarding the Yankee at the qualifier. Two flats and bent rims were part of it. Pretty sure he didn't like it....yup, I am positive.

I had the privilege of following Don for a lot of miles and saw no bobbles. Always on the pegs and smooth is all I can say. I know he held the pace back out to accomodate our group. He is riding a Yamaha WR250F now, but he has quite a few Ossas and other historical goldmines in the shop.

Bill

I was supposed to purchase this bike and Chad was good enough to understand why I didn't. I was shocked that it didn't get snapped up at $1000, and under different circumstances, it would be mine. It leads me to believe that nothing is selling when it comes to middle class toys and non-essentials. I am sitting on nearly 20 Pentons in various stages of undress. Some mint, some not. I would hate to have to sell anything right now....amd wish I could buy some of the treasures I am passing by.
I watched the Barrett-Jackson Auction on Speed last night. Some of the nicest muscle cars I have ever seen, selling for prices that seem like they are half of 6 years ago.
Chad, so sorry to screw up your return from your Honeymoon. Hope it sells for you.

Ray, have you asked Bruce Myrick? He has some DKW stuff that he got from Taylor's wife, and it included two or three bikes...

Well I finally heard from the Berkshire owner. He assumed the bike wasn't going to sell as there were no bids, and left on his honeymoon without checking the auction. For many reasons,I am not going to buy this steel tank, so if anyone here wants it for the $1000 winning bid, let me know. He seems to be a regular guy, and is hoping to complete the transaction, but understands if I just say no.
Joe, thank you for your offer to help. Much appreciated.

The bike is in Coralville, IA. I am not sure if this auction was a scam. I have sent two emails for an address and info, I have not heard from the seller at all. There was no feedback, and little seller info on the auction page. I have not paid for it yet, and have contacted ebay for his contact info. Could be a newbie, but I am suspicious. Thanks for the offer and feedback. I will keep everyone posted.
Bill

I went to watch the Sunday's event and wish now that I had gone down on Saturday. Next year... Pretty cool to watch. I spoke to a woman walking near a spectator site. She invited my son and I to her property up the road for a different perspective. It was the farm where the trials event was held. So friendly. North Berwick seemed to welcome the event.

Not that this has any value to you, but I have bought a few bikes over the past ten years, mostly Pentons. I am not a 250 guy and have just one, but if I was thinking of buying a bike like yours, I would do a little research and set a price in my mind that I wouldn't go over. I hope I don't offend you, but that would be around $700 to $1000. I could be way off, and now I don't want to post this....

I can't find the Jackpiner anywhere on craigslist. I would be interested if it isn't already gone.

I remember when Larry had a batch for sale. Probably 7 or 8 years ago. I bought four sets as well as two sets of number plates/side covers. "I needed them" was what I told my wife when she asked about yet another debit card transaction showing up. They are still in the plastic wrap in my shop today, so I guess the $200 I spent was a good investment. I still need them though..

I was able to buy a complete used set for mine, years ago. I had posted an inquiry on the KTM Talk web site. It came from  So. Africa of all places. I bought my bike used, and the original plastic had never and has never been used. It had the current years orange and black, and I thought if I could find a set, I would buy it. I have been told that at the time of purchase, you could buy one additional set. I think it may be very hard to find.
I noticed in the pics of the ebay bike that the Ohlin spring is white, mine is yellow. I didn't look too closely, but I have seen one other bike that was being sold as a Jackpiner, but wasn't.

That Jackpiner would have been mine if I hadn't tried to steal it for $1300. I hope it is as nice as it looked..Next time I won't try to save the money.

Kevin, if your in-laws are in So. Paris, maybe you, Raymond, and I could do a JP ride near my house. I live in Minot, about 6 miles from the center of So. Paris. I would have to have Raymond prod me to get one running though..

I sure would like to have the Jackpiner and live in Maine. I would like to have both of the bikes you had listed, but you probably sold the 125 as it isn't mentioned here. Maybe a silly question, but any chance you would consider a trade?

my first real motorcycle was a blue '72 Honda SL125. What color is your and how much do you want for it? I have a bunch of Pentons and parts if there might be something you need that we could trade with.