Messages

Just heard the sad news that our dear friend and longtime POG member Ron Carbaugh passed away last evening. Ron touched many of us in the Penton Owners Group with his friendship, knowledge and generosity. He was never too busy to advise on a project, locate hard to find parts or share a story from his many years in Motorsports as a racer and a business executive. Ron is survived by his wife Chris. Rest in Peace our friend!

I think I have one. Will be back to my shop by December 12th. I'll do some digging and let you know.

Just to build on Dale's feedback a little, one of the bikes I restored was frame W 185 ST. It had a Sachs B motor on it that appeared to be original to the bike. Some of the components like the chain oiler and foot pegs were slightly different than the later bikes. Frame #185 is the earliest one I've see so far.

I've read up quite a bit on the Wassell's having owned and restored five so far. Also had some discussions with Ted Wassell's grandson Tyler about his grandfather's trials adventure. From what I gathered the Wassell Trials were made in one production run spanning from 1972 to early 1973. About 1000 bikes were made with about 700 sold in the US, 200 in Canada and 100 in the UK. All of the bikes originally came with the Sachs Alloy 6 speed B motors until the infamous article in I believe Dirt Bike which criticized Mr Penton's Trials Bike with its MX engine. At that point several bikes were converted to the Sach A cast iron cylinder motors and their hard to get Sachs B motors used on Penton Six Day bikes. They are definitely interesting bikes and beautiful to look at making them highly desired in today's collectors world.

Still cleaning out the shop. I have a set of front and rear gently used Sun shoulder less rims for Penton 36 spoke concentric hubs. They are the gold anodized version that were all the rage 20 years ago. They were taken off of an older trailer queen restoration and other than having some minor dings from mounting and un mounting they are almost new in very good condition. Asking $100 plus shipping for them. E-mail me if interested and I'll send photos. Thanks for looking.

Pipe has been sold.

Pipe is still available, this is an MX configuration which was more common on the West Coast MX bikes. Gary is looking for the Megaphone version.

Cleaning out the shop, I have a nice reconditioned pipe for a 74-76 Mint 400. It has an MX style Wintech Silencer nicely integrated in place of the original silencer. A few small dings in the header area but otherwise a very clean pipe for your rider or restoration project. Asking $250 plus shipping. If interested email me through the website and I'll send you some photos. Thanks for looking!

Hi Gary,
I run a 26mm Mikuni on one of my Six Day riders. Starts, idles and runs very clean. I use a 190 main jet and run the needle one notch to the lean as most of our riding out this way is at altitude. Otherwise the setup is as Kevin has outlined for the 28mm.
Hope this helps - Cal

Nice work! Al has been out of stock for a while and I'm in need of a couple.

Al B. should have them in stock. I bought a set about six months ago for a project.

Try using a scotch brite circular pad for a pneumatic rotary sander. The pads are sold at auto body supply stores. It makes the job of prepping a pipe easy. Cuts through the paint, scale, rust and crud quickly. Then sand it lightly by hand prior to painting.

Lee, I saw a 1976 MC-5 400cc on eBay today. Its in New Jersey. Looked like a nice complete survivor. Was tempted to go after it myself but I have too many bikes already. Best of Luck!

- Cal

Quality Plating Co. Phone number 801-355-7424 ask for the Zinc Plating Division.

The plater I've been using for the last 7 or 8 bikes offers a clear zinc finish that gives you more of a shine. The guy I had used previously had a duller clear zinc finish.
I've found that a good prep also changes the look of the part giving you a brighter or shiny finish. Thanks for the tip on the brass wheel, I'll give it a try.