Messages

Great Larry.Mike and I look forward to seeing at the York event this weekend! I would love to see you having some fun with the Hodaka. Let's talk about it this Sunday.
Just received word the fenders have just arrived to the warehouse near York.Really exciting stuff.

Larry Ward,
Thank you for the privilege to talk to you on air last night about Preston Petty Products!! It is always an honor to speak with you and especially to be on your show.
See you in a couple days!
Thanks
Paul

Larry P I hope that Mike and I have answered your question about why we did not make the MX rear fender. If you need to speak to me I am happy to discuss any of this with you over the phone 802-375-2665 is the Preston Petty Products phone number. Call me we can talk about this.I will be gone Friday to head to the York show.

Ted the majority of the tools were lost. Some are still out there in the possession of some folks that like to have a part of history. I do not blame them at all. So we have to start from scratch. It is a process but so is life. Fun doing this with Mike and with Preston.
It is very cool to be working with Preston!
Paul

Speedy heard the truth from Mike Murphy about Franco's involvement. It is really a great story. When I visited Franco and the good folks at Acerbis in Italy a few months ago there were two specific things there related to the Preston Petty connection.
There is an original yellow Preston Petty Muder on the front counter when you enter enter the building. This is autographed by many famous people and is always there.
Also in Franco's office is the original wooden Preston Petty sign from Newburg Oregon. It is 8ft long and 4 ft tall and hangs in Franco's office. Still a huge connection between Preston and Franco.

Larry Ward asked me to speak a little about Preston Petty products tonight on the Two Wheel Power Hour. Thank you Larry! Preston Petty Products my favorite subject.
Paul

Hi Dan,
Cool that you are working in an injection molding facility. There is a lot to learn for sure.The materials that Preston used back in the day were the best available at that time. He purchased them from Shell Chemical.Today's materials have come leaps and bounds do to technology advance's.Our material today is still polypropylene but it is lighter,stronger, more flexible and more UV resistant than materials from the 70's.
The YouTube video shows Preston whacking the frozen fender. He really was trying to break it!That is why we have no worries about continuing the "guaranteed Unbreakable 1 year warranty" like Preston had.
Success is the achievement of your goals and thanks Dan I think we have done just that. Preston is happy and involved. We are remaking Preston Petty Products with Preston, the plant that originally made these with him (Medway)is again making them.We have Franco Acerbis also involved in working with us.Franco started as Preston's distributor in all of Europe. He too has come full circle as Acerbis will be the EU distributor for Preston Petty Products.
Hard work, long hours, great people = long term success  :-)
See you at York Dan

Paul thank you!! As a valued trusted friend we have had many discussions over the years.None as gratifying as working with Preston and Mike. Just yesterday a long phone conversation with Preston over what materials we should use for the new taillight lenses.
It looks like our friends at Acerbis in Italy will be making these for us along with the IB Muder front and the IT rear fender.
Acerbis would like to change to a new material that is less "harsh" on the tool as what we were currently using and what Preston used back in the 70's. This new material was not available to Preston back in the day and the cost is less than what we are using.
Preston fired a few questions back such as what are the optical properties of this new material versus the old material?? Material cost is not an issue to Pres but the quality is!
Mike and I are borrowing Preston's name and we do not take this lightly. I had asked Preston twelve years ago when I first started if he would be willing to be a spokesman for the company. I also said to him only if he feels that the product is good enough quality to bear his name. He agreed and the video shows what has taken us twelve years to achieve.It is great fun and enjoyment for both of us to work with him and I believe he likes working with Mike and I also.

Larry to answer your question why we have not yet made the MX rear fender is because of tooling costs.The 3D design work to build the tool is already done and ready to start but we need to sell a lot of the MX Front fenders to help pay for the tooling for the MX rear fender. To do it right is not cheap but it will also be an exact copy of the original once completed. It is next up to produce.
Thanks guys
Paul

Wow thanks Dale for the post!!
Mike and I are having a blast working with Preston on all these new projects.It's exciting , fun and you wear a different hat everyday around here with the Preston Petty Products.

Here is a slightly different updated YouTube video we have just finished.This shows Preston trying to deliberately break one of the new fenders. The "Preston test" consists of freezing the fender to what I am told is -20c. Preston takes this frozen fender and lays on a concrete floor and tries to shatter or break the fender with a hammer. All through this process he instilled one major point to us. He said "quality MUST be #1".
Thanks again Dale
https://youtu.be/Nh9QcbJTP2Q

What a great letter!So very neat to read Dane's thoughts.
Franco Acerbis holds the Penton and Leimbach families in the absolute highest regards to this day.

See you there Paul.
Be sure not to leave your booth unattended for long again this year :-)

Dan I will be there with VMX magazines along with the latest issue # 64 that Ken is sending to us soon.
Also we will be bringing all of our Preston Petty products including the new Preston Petty MX Front fender and oval numberplates.

The best part is that Jack and hopefully Barbara from Penton Racing will be set up with us to offer the PVL and Power Dynamo ignitions.
Should be a great fun event!!
See you soon

Still jet lagged. Did not see a thing :-)

Dave I have been out of the country and am just seeing this very sad news. I am very sorry to you and your family for your loss! Please give your family my condolences.
Sincerely
Paul

Al and Dale I am sorry for your loss! I am just reading this post now. It sounds like your father was a very special guy !!
Sincerely
Paul

Tom I see it is all worked out perfectly for next weekend. Thank you and Danny for taking the time to come and enjoy the event!
Sorry I cannot see you and Danny there this year but there is always next year. Still trying to convince Jack, Paul D and Jeff DeBell to try and make the trip too. Maybe you and Carl Cranke can put a bug in their ears :-)
Carl please do not show Tom that "special" creek crossing spot. You and Denny please take good care of Danny and Tom :-)
Have fun guys sorry I cannot make the trip.
Paul

Tom if you have a chance can you call me or shoot me an email as I do not have your contact information sorry. I cannot make Hodaka Days this year but have an idea for you and your son Danny.
802-375-0212  or [email protected]

Thanks
Paul