Messages

Hank,

Yes, I grew up in Parkersburg and was racing with Rod when they lived near downtown P-burg on Julianna(?) street. Don Bush was still working at the phone company, and we were all racing very modified Honda SL-100's. My brother-in-law, Dan Willis and I were working for Honda of Parkersburg then.

Badlands was a great track! We all had a hand in building the track in the beginning, and it was only the second time I ever beat Rod in a race!

It was in 1975, we were running in the 250 class. At that point, Dan and I had gone to work for Wolfe's Sport Cycles in Belpre.

At that race at Badlands, Dan won the race on a RM-250 Suzuki, I got 2nd on a Can-Am 250 GP, and Rod was third on an orange-tanked 250 Penton. It was the first one of those I saw, and it was beautiful!

The last time I saw Rod was the summer prior to his mom dying, and Rod, Sherrie, Robbie, and Rod's daughter came to Charlotte to visit his brother Randy, who had moved here about 15 years earlier. I hadn't seen him for years, although i did keep in touch with him over the years.

We moved to Colorado Springs in 1982, and I had a job at Academy Sport Cycles, a Kawasaki / KTM dealership as service manager. Rod and I talked quite a bit whilst I worked there.

We opened a Ducati / Husqvarna / Gas Gas dealership there in 1986, and sort of lost contact with the Bush's for a bit. It wasn't until we closed the shop and moved to NC in 1992 that i ran into Randy Bush again, and was able to keep up with the Bush's again so to speak.

They were a great family, and Don was a huge influence on my me in my early days as a bike mechanic. He was about the most detail-oriented person I knew at the time, and it really helped me in my race prep.

I have nothing but great memories from that time period, and I'm not embarrassed to say that i have teared up a little bit writing this, I really miss those guys, and that time in our lives.

Thanks for the reply!

Where is the best place to look for parts? Is anyone re-manufacturing any of them, or tend to carry a lot of parts in stock?

I know one solution is Ebay, Craigslist, etc.

Thanking you all in advance!

We had a lot of fun back in the day as you said.
Rod's older brother Randy used to drive us to the races (both motocross and hare scrambles)before we were old enough to drive.

The Bike Shop was their Penton / Husky shop about a mile from my house.

Unfortunately, all of the Bush's have passed away except for the oldest brother Rick, who really never was interested in the bike stuff.

Appalachia Lake was a great track track, owned by the Coomb's, and was the predecessor of High Point Raceway.

Yes, I did know Joe Barker, but have not maintained any contact with him for many years.

That's what i'm afraid of, I have 22 "projects" in the works now, so what difference should a couple of Pentons make! Wahoo!

I live in Concord, NC, just north of Charlotte.

Thank you very much!

Yes, I have drooled all over my keyboard already looking at some of the pictures, what great motorcycles!

Rod Bush and I grew up riding together, and I always liked his Pentons.

Hey, new to the forum, please forgive me if it takes me a bit to navigate around here properly.

I am looking for a restoration project to start, preferably a 125 ~ 175 Penton in the 1974 or so vintage.

Is there a particular year(s) or model(s) that parts are easier to come by? Is there a year or model to stay away from for the same reason??

Thanking you all in advance for any and all help!