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Where were you in September of 1968, chances are that a number of you folks reading this were not even born yet. The 11 men in the photo below were in San Pelligrino, Italy, ready ride the 1968 ISDT on their newly created Penton Sportcycles with John Penton leading the way.

Just as it is hard to believe that the photo below was taken over 57 years ago, it is also hard to believe that it is almost time for the June meeting of the Penton Owners Group. The June meeting of the POG will take place on Thursday June 4th and will be held in the Jackpiner room of the KTM office building located just west of beautiful downtown Amherst, Ohio. POG President Rick Bennett will wave the green flag at 7 PM getting the meeting underway.

The 11 riders in the photo from left to right are John Penton, Tom Penton, Dave Mungenast, Basil Butler, Wolf Jackson, Larry Cooper, Les Peckham, Leroy Winters, Dan Richards, Rick Spangler and Tim Hoffman. We all know the stories of a few of these riders, but at least to me, a number of them are a mystery. However, there is one thing that I am most certain of, each and everyone of them was proud to have had John Penton select them to help represent the United States on his Penton Sportcycles in northern Italy in September of 1968.

Word has it that Penton riders and enthusiasts from near and far are heading to the Ohio Valley BSA Owners Club's event this weekend in Toronto, Ohio. Be sure to visit the Penton Owners Group's display area and feel free to make the mini Pentonville your home away from home while at the event.

If you are riding a Penton in any of the weekend's events, POG President Rick Bennett will have a "goodie box" with him that will contain some awesome Penton / POG related items that you can choose from as a token of appreciation for your efforts. If you are riding, be sure to visit the POG display area and choose an item from Rick's "goodie box ". If Rick is feeling generous, maybe he will let anyone who brings a Penton to display choose an item as well.

The POG raffle bike will be on display at the event, be sure to check out this awesome little KTM and if you know of a youngster who would love to own it pick up some raffle tickets and help to support the POG in its efforts.

Whether you're going to get them dirty or show them off, load up a Penton or two and head to Toronto, Ohio this weekend and help support the Penton Owners Group and the Ohio Valey BSA Owners Club.
P.S. If you hear a little plane circling the club grounds with a Penton strapped to it, clear the lane into the club grounds as Austin will be looking to set'er down.

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Yesterday, in another post, I asked a John Penton trivia question that no one has yet to answer.

The question was, Who was Sadie Dick? I also provided the following clue. The trivia question is quite appropriate given that Memorial Day was at hand.

Sadie Dick was the local draft board Chairwomen who decided that John's time spent in the Merchant Marine Maritime Service aboard a freighter hauling bombs and war supplies across the Atlantic with German U-boats looking to sink them did not count as military service. John then joined the Navy and attained the rank of Chief Motor Machinist's Mate during his enlistment.

Many a time I heard John tell that story and he would always end with the statement., " Sadie Dick, I will never forget her name. "

If you turn to page 26 in your John Penton book the entire story is told starting in the last paragraph of that page and then on pages 27 and 28.
Thanks, John !!

I came across this photo and thought that some of you might enjoy seeing it. The photo was taken in John Penton's yard as we gathered around one of John's favorite wellstones from his wellstone collection.

From the left in front of the stone are Barbara Penton, Dane Leimbach, Jack Penton, Al Born, Doug Wilford and John Penton, I am peeking out from behind the stone.

John Penton loved showing visitors around hs yard and telling them of the rich history that it contained. John's wellstone collection was just one example of his extensive knowledge and interest in many subjects.
Across the road and to the right is what was at the time the Penton Farm Market. On my first trip to Pentonville, after John personally performed some shifter adjustments on my first Penton, I helped with the storing of a container load of Steel Tankers into the loft of the farm market. My highly critical job was inserting the packet of information that went with each new Penton into the crate.

OK you John Penton trivia fans, who was Sadie Dick ?


The photo of John is from the year 2000 when Penton was Featured Marque and John Penton was Grand Marshall at both VMD West and VMD East. The photo is from VMD West which was held at what was then Sears Point Raceway as John was waiting to ride his Lap of Honor as Grand Marshall. That is Al Born giving John instructions, no wonder John got lost on the Sears Point Road race track during his lap !


If I am not mistaken, that is John's Dodge diesel pickup just above John and Al's heads. John, Al Born and I drove to Sears Point in that pickup pulling JP's Hi-Point trailer, both the truck and the trailer were loaded down pretty good, but that Dodge diesel with a manual tranny pulled the mountains with ease.


I will give you folks a hint as to the answer of who Sadie Dick was, that trivia question is quite appropriate given that tomorrow is Memorial Day.....

There were many point of sale pieces such as this created by Matt Weisman at Penton Imports.  Most of these I have seen were in the packet of information that came with a new bike from the dealer. Possibly having one of these hanging from the handlebar of a new bike on display in a showroom would have scared a few potential customers away, but then again, there are those who would have instantly taken up the challenge !

" HATS OFF " to Larry Decker for taking his Pentons and Hodaka to a local car show in his area.  Nice signage Larry !   Check out the youngsters !  What a GREAT way to get young folks involved.
 


Entered the Super Rat and two of my Pentons in a local car show. Got way more questions about Hodaka than the other two. It was a crowd favorite. Unfortunately, it didn't win. My 1975 Penton Berkshire did though.

It is hard to believe that over 20 years have passed since the Penton Owners Group, at the request of KTM American President Rod Bush, created a display of Penton Sportcycles and memorabilia at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum Campus for the Annual KTM Dealer gathering. POG members from far and wide sure outdid themselves for this display, if you are reading this, possibly you were one of many, many folks who contributed to this fine display that coincided with John Penton's 80th. birthday.

If you would like to revisit the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum Campus, or if you have not been there as of yet, this Saturday May 16th. might be a good time to plan your visit as the first Bike Night of 2026 will be taking place. The festivity is called Bike Night, but rest assured there are activities going on pretty much all day.

POG Treasurer Jim Reed is heading up a Penton display for the Bike Night festivities that takes place from 4 - 8 pm. There is a bike show as well if you wish to enter your Penton. Jim's Penton display is open to any and all Pentons and related cycles. Barn fresh to perfect restorations, and everything in between are welcome. There are some various forms of racing/ competition taking place on the AMA campus during the day as well and Jim with be there with the POG raffle bike. Head to the AMA Campus early and spend the day with Jim and help to represent the brand of cycles that John Penton created.

Just click on the link below to see the day's full schedule of event.
https://motorcyclemuseum.org/events-experiences/bike-night/

It is Mother's Day 2026, and as we all think of our own Mom, I would like to mention a few very special Moms that most of us Penton enthusiasts have in common.

The first lady and Mom of all things Penton is most certainly Mrs. John Penton. As one can image, with John often traveling far and wide Mrs. Penton most certainly had her hands full being Mom to all of those Penton children. I will never forget the time when John, Al Born and I traveled to California in 2000 for VMD west. On returning to John's place after the event, I was at the wheel and John was riding shotgun. I had barely stopped the truck when John opened his door and off he went up into the yard where a smiling Donna was standing and the two of them embraced like two newlyweds.

Numerous "Back in the day" Penton dealerships are referred to as Mom-and-Pop dealerships. Most of us only met the Pop of those Mom and Pop operations, but most certainly the Moms were the ones that kept the place running while Pop was doing his thing.

Today, the Penton Owners Group has its own very special Mom who takes time away from her own family to help keep the POG on the straight and narrow, and what a special gal Samatha is. Samatha, THANK YOU, for all that you do, and Happy Mother's day !

" Y'all need to visit the Texas Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Johnson City while you are here, it is really an awesome place." Having taken Laurie's advice, Judy and I headed to Johnson City the next morning and were pleasantly surprised to see that the Museum occupied a corner of the main intersection of Johnson City, Texas. The building was very impressive from the outside, which ended up being an indication as to what was inside.

Museum owner Gordon Massie greeted us and gave us a history lesson of not only the Museum, but also of the building itself, which was all quite interesting. I had some Penton Sportcycle memorabilia and posters and 1973 ISDT items with me and gave them to Gordon, which led to Gordon asking quite a few questions about John Penton and his motorcycles. Soon there were others milling around the Museum entry and Gordon set us off on our self-guided tour of the Museum.

To say that Gordon's Museum is impressive is quite an understatement, as my photos and the linked video attest to. The Museum has well over 100 motorcycles from the 50s, 60s and 70s on display, but there was not a Penton amongst them. In due time I made my way back to the front counter and found Gordon already hard at work framing up some of the Penton posters. " If I had a Penton here, I would do a Penton display with these items", I replied to Gordon that if I didn't live 1,500 miles away, I would have one here in a heartbeat.

So, the invitation is open to any of you fine folks who might like to lend Gordon a Penton, or maybe even a couple for his Museum. A Steel Tanker, and maybe one of the later versions would really help to tell the Penton story. Gordon Massie is a really great person with an awesome Museum, if you can help him out that would be great and very much appreciated, and if you are ever in the area be sure to stop by and spend an hour or two at the Texas Vintage Motorcycle Museum.

https://www.texasvintagemotorcyclemuseum.com/

MUST WATCH VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emIaz7sIRaA

The mailman delivered the latest issue of Still....Keeping Track yesterday along with the 2026 Penton Owners Group membership Directory, both put together by the hard working Alan Buehner.
This issue of the Penton Owners Group newsletter is issue # 111, one hundred and eleven newsletters with there being 4 per year, that is almost 28 years worth of newsletters !!!!! AND, I am sure that with issue # 111 put to bed that Alan has issue # 112 on his mind. Talk about dedication. THANK YOU Alan Buehner.........

If you are a POG member, THANK YOU for your support.

If you are not a member and wish to join, just click on the link below and rest assured you WILL be glad you joined when the newsletter arrives in the mail, and rest assured that your support will be greatly appreciated.
https://www.pentonusa.org/join/

It is time to put the lawn mower away and head to Amherst, Ohio for the May Penton Owners Group meeting. The meeting will take place on Thursday May 7th in the Jackpiner room of the KTM office building, located just west of beautiful downtown Amherst, Ohio. POG President Rick Bennett will drop the green flag for the meeting to begin at 7 pm.

The gentleman in the photo is none other than Dave Sanders. At the 40th. anniversary of the Penton Sportcycle extravaganza a few years back, Old Dave must have had his trailer over loaded with items from his Penton Museum when he arrived in Amherst as his display was jam packed with hard to find one off items that sure drew a crowd the entire time. Old Dave has more Penton stories than pretty much anyone I have ever met, as one would expect as Old Dave was a Penton Dealer and racer, and quite successful at both ! I do have a question for Old Dave when I next talk with him, " what gear are you in ? "

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Just as the folks in the photo seem to be having a great time, the Penton Owners Group would like for you to join with them for a great time on Saturday May 16th. at the first AMA Bike Night of the year being held at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Campus.

Although the event is called Bike Night, there are activities going on for most of the day as the schedule of events on the Bike Night information page attests to. The vintage trials gets underway at 1 oclock with the Bike Night Bike Show running from 4 - 8 PM. The POG ringmaster for this event is Jim Reed, Jim says he plans on arriving early to set up the POG EZ-UP and spending most of the day there.

https://motorcyclemuseum.org/events-experiences/bike-night/

SO, dust off your Penton and bring it along to display and enter it in the bike show if you wish. OR, ride your Wassell in the vintage trials and show them folks how it is done. BUT, no matter what, make plans to join with the POG on May 16th and maybe Jack Penton will photo-bomb you too !


PS The POG raffle bike will be on display at the event and raffle tickets will be available. If you can't make the event, and wish to get some raffle tickets, just click on the link below.

https://www.pentonusa.org/shop/

It took all of maybe 3 minutes to commit to a one week, 3,000 plus mile road trip to the Hill Country of Texas once I saw the pictures of Laurie Shelton's 100cc Penton Berkshire and spoke with her about the bike. Laurie described her Berkie as an " absolutely ripping little bike that handled really, really well ". She said it was the last of her Pentons, and her favorite one as well !  Laurie's barn is equally divided between her two passions, half of it is devoted to the one on two wheels while the other half is devoted to the one on four hoofs, and I soon learned that she is very highly respected in both worlds !

    As the miles clicked by, I became more and more intrigued not only about the bike, but also about Laurie and her story. Once Judy and I arrived at Laurie and Denman's ranch it only took a few minutes to feel comfortable enough to ask her about her story. She said that her father was a mechanic and that she learned her mechanical skills from him. A little Honda was her first bike and soon enough a Hodaka came up for sale, and she entered the world of Hodakas, in due time she attended several Hodaka Days and raced mainly at Diamond Don's and Reo Bravo. Laurie went on to say that she was intrigued by the heritage of the Penton brand as well as few others such as CZ  which over the years she acquired and raced. The Berkie had started out as a 125cc Six-Day, but she liked running in the 100cc class, fellow Hill Country resident and Penton expert Ron Carbaugh had a 100cc top end that Laurie acquired and installed.  If you want to see just how good of a mechanic Laurie is click on the video link below.

  Laurie last raced the Berkie some years back and stated that it may need a going through, which will be a pleasure. I am excited to get the Berkie fired up and throw some dirt with it as well, and hope to display it in some of the upcoming 60th. anniversary of the Penton events. Laurie mentioned that at one of the Texas events that she raced in Lyle Lovett came up and told her how much he liked her Berkie and took some photos of it. I am sure that John Penton himself would have been in awe at what Laurie has done with one of his Penton Sportcycles, especially given that she personally did the work with the skills that her father passed along to her.

[Hodaka Ace 90 Build](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYosjCkczPU)

53 years ago today was day 1 of the first ISDT Qualifier for 1973. The Fort Hood, Texas Two Days Trial was held on March 31 and April 1st of 1973. Interest in the 1973 ISDT Qualifier Series was quite high as the 1973 ISDT was going to be held in the United States. Many riders, myself included, had never even dreamed of having the opportunity to ride in an ISDT until the event came to the USA, thanks to John Penton, Al Eames and surely many others.

It is quite interesting to note that Malcolm Smith on a 250cc Husky won the Fort Hood event overall with Jack Penton taking second place on a 175cc Penton. Incredibly, the 3rd and 4th place overall finishers were both riding 100cc Pentons, Dane Leimbach took 3rd. with Billy Uhl taking 4th.


As the mental cobwebs have slowly cleared away a number of memories have surfaced from the Fort Hood event, as well as the Busted Piston Two Days Trial which was held in Potosi, Missouri the following weekend of April 7 & 8. Over the next week or so I will try to provide a glimpse into what it was like to travel in the Cycleliner with Jack, Dane and a few others as we rode both of those events in one trip.

The opportunities afforded to myself and surely many others by John Penton can never be fully conveyed, but hopefully my upcoming memories will provide you with a glimpse into those incredible times.

Thanks John !