WANTED-Dead or Alive -Reward paid either way

[Paul Danik]

Greetings,

   Please indulge me with my little story, and then my request for assistance.

   Kupec Cycle Sales in Butler, Pa was the first local Penton dealer "back in the day". My motorcycling mentor, Bob Augustine, stopped by the Nursery one evening and asked if I wanted to ride with him to visit the service manager of Kupec Cycles at his home, as he had taken one of the brand new Pentons home to try out, of course I went along.

   Tony John was the service manager, we pulled up the drive to Tony's place and there he was on the Penton, doing little wheelies in his yard with that incredible ring-a-ding-ding sound of the Penton filling the air. We looked at the Penton and Augie and Tony exchanged their opinions and comments about the bike, and then Augie and I went home. Not to long later I bought my first Penton from Kupec's, and my personal Penton adventure began, and still is on going today

   I keep in touch with Tony who now lives in Maryland, one evening a number of years ago during a phone chat, I mentioned to him that I would love to know the serial number of that Penton he had taken home back in 1968...the first Penton that I ever saw.  To my surprise Tony replied, "it was serial number 200 and I still have the paperwork from it", I was dumbfounded. Tony asked for my address and a few days later an envelope appeared from Tony.

  Inside were the original Manufacture's Statement Of Origin, as well as the original tag that was put on the handlebar of the Penton during assembly at KTM, and was on the bike when Tony un-crated it at Kupecs, as was customary. The tag has Kontrollschein as the heading on it, and has the serial number as V 0200 and Motor number 5389184, there are also some initials on the tag.

  So here is my request for assistance, I would love to reunite this paperwork with the motorcycle that it came on. I do not care if it just the steering head with the V 200, or if it is a restoration, or whatever. Please, if you have frames in the junk pile, or see a Steel Tanker at a swapmeet, take a second and peek at the V number, possibly it will show up somewhere. The Statement of Origin is dated June 25, 1968, soon it will be 1/2 of a century since the tag was on that bike....

Thank you for your assistance, I sure do appreciate it  

Paul

PS  My first Penton had the later version of the early style airbox, the shorter one. I was racing some flat track and scrambles with the Penton as well as trail riding, ect. Augie mentioned how a Filtron sock style air cleaner installed instead of that heavy airbox would save a lot of weight for the scrambles and flat track events, so we took off the airbox and installed the Filtron. The airbox was hung on a nail in the shop at the Nursery.

About 30 years later I had met Norm Miller and we became friends. Norm located and acquired Penton serial number V 001 and was bringing it back to life. One evening on the phone he told me how he had a NOS engine for it and told of all the progress he was making on the early Penton, John Penton's racer from "back in the day". Norm said his issue was an airbox, he could not locate one, I told Norm that if it wasn't him, or for V 001, my airbox would not leave that nail in my shop, but I offered it to Norm and sent it on it's way to Amherst.

Although it is not the "correct" airbox, it should be the longer version, I am still very proud of the fact that the airbox from my first Penton is on V 001.

I am very thankful to have folks such as you to tell this to, as I know that many of you, if not all of you, can understand what all of this means to me.....

[Daniel P. McEntee]

Nuts abd bolts stuff on the forums is interesting, but I like the historical stuff also. Love to hear stories also. Stories are history. Good way to pass some time during a long cold winter also! (hint!)
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee