Insult to Injury

[Dennis Jones]

My RR started out great on Saturday with my 77 250 GS6 firing off on the first kick and away I went. Things went south pretty quickly from there by fouling a plug as I came to the line for the 1st test. Whew 5 more feet and I would have been on the clock. Started the 2nd test, big fun 6 gear pinned down a long straight fire road duck into the woods and BLAAAAAHHH, fouled plug. The end of that test was by a road and my bike looks like a mosquito fogger and I am out of plugs (this bike has never fouled plugs) so I take the safe route back in.
At this point I decide to impound my Jackpiner for day 2. I should have stuck to this plan. I tinkered with the 250 and rode it around quite a bit and it seemed OK so I decided to try it again.
Day 2 starded off great with the 250 firing on the first kick again and away I went. The trail is great today and I am having big fun when about 9 miles in BLAAAAHH, fouled plug. This time it will not restart so after a 200 yard push through the sand I come to the entrance road, that was lucky. After about 5 minute another Penton rider/POG member (who will remain nameless unless they want to fess up to this) pulled up with a locked up tranny in his Jackpiner. While we are waiting for a lift, stopping traffic for the racers and cheering them on who would be the worst person to drive by? No it's not your wife wondering how you can spend so much money on bikes and not finish a race.
IT'S JOHN and JACK PENTON!
How embarrassing [V]
I hope they don't kick us out of the group.
[V]

Dennis Jones

[tmc3c]

Dennis,As you know I didn't do as good as you,water and kill switches don't mix and chains jumping off during a special test is a sure death without tools.The part I want you to tell is the conversation with the Highway Patrol![]


Even though I didn't make it out the second day I did however get a class on removal of a original pipe on a 1975 Penton by Ron Carbaugh!!
Thank You Ron for all that you do for POG!!!


Thomas Carmichael


1970 125 Six Day
1976 250 Hare Scrambler

[Dennis Jones]

The officer saw I had a plate on my bike and I might have stretched the truth a bit when he ask me if it was street legal. It's a good thing the license plate was covered in mud as the 1988 on it might have been a giveaway.
Actually he was very nice and followed along to make sure I made it back. At least that's what he said.

Dennis Jones

[lksseven]

ok, as I sit here in pain from cracked ribs suffered in the first 200 yards Saturday, here is my Insult to Injury story ...

I had a front fork brace on my Jackpiner that I was soooooo proud of finding, having welded to fix cracks, painted and installed ... ahhhhh, it looked so good.

My bike starts right up on Sat morning, and away I go, a hero in the making.  200 yards later, just past the hairpin turn in the sand before entering the woods, I strangely hear my voice screaming "Oh God! Oh God!" as I wait for the pain to come from my massive lowside crash on my shoulder.  I wait, but no pain (yet).  I am relieved, but also confused as to why I'm holding my throttle grip in my right hand, which is no where near the handlebars.  Then I realize I had ripped the grip off the throttle housing when I crashed.  I jam it back on, kick the bike started (no problems there - yea!) and off I go, diving in the woods to make  -   up   -   for   -   lost    -   time (haha).  After about a half mile, I can't make forward progress - my throttle grip is slipping on the housing, and I weirdly can't steer or move forward.  Someone kindly points to my front end, and when I look, I see what appears to be a football attached to each front fork, wedged between the fork, the fork brace, and the front tire.  I dismount, kick off the mud goiters that are zealously trying to stay attached to my forks, and go slipping and sliding again to the first special test (this is only the 'first' one?  God help me!).  I zoom over the berm, into the mouth of the beast in the woods.  After a little ways in, sliding, falling, gouging mud out of my front fork brace and tire, I am dogpaddling through ruts as slippery as oiled ice, wimpering that I can't lift my feet anymore because the mud on my boots has anchored them to the ground, when suddenly I realize I'm in real danger of either 1) having a heart attack, or 2) throwing up.  The vision of throwing up in my helmet makes me forget about the fear of having a heart attack (at that point, I'm thinking "Even so, Jesus, come quickly").  So I pull over, park, pull off my helmet, sit down and start sucking in great big breaths to fight off spewing Rosener Inn's gourmet breakfast buffet dark and deep all over the woods, dark and deep enough already.  While I'm sitting there waiting to see if I will actually have to throw up (mindful that I'm in the middle of a special test, although at this point I'm revising my goals as to what will constitute a successful outcome), I decide to do something useful and take that hated, stupid, what-was-I-thinking! confounded fork brace off my front forks.  While doing so, a couple of trail helpers are there - young guys - to help riders up through a really nasty creekbed and hillside.  One of them walks over and asks if I'm ok.  I said I had to stop to throw up, and decided to take the brace off my forks, but I'm not injured, if that's what he means.   He asks me if I'm tired, and I reply "You're g**%$*ed right I'm tired.  Don't I LOOK tired?!"  He sneaks a glance at his buddy, winks, then looks at me with just the barest hint of a grin and remarks "Well, yeah, but I thought maybe you old guys looked like that all the time."
         I laughed so hard I started snorting, and then made him ride my bike for me up the creekbed for being such a Don Rickles.  You just never know how things will turn out - dogpaddling through the Hell that was Special Test #1, I could never have predicted that I shortly would be laughing my head off.  

True story.

Larry Seale
I choose to ride

[DKWRACER]

Larry, these are precious stories from the RR, I hope the rest of the Gang will report on "true lies". Thanks for the hilarious, but true stories...[8D]
Tom Brosius
aka
Phoeneas "t-bone" Whoopee

[slvrbrdfxr]

Okay...I'll fess up. I was the one with the broken tranny stranded along the trail with Dennis. It's true...we were consoling each other when John and Jack Penton drove past in their van. Sure was embarrasing !! I'm just glad they didn't stop to ask how it was going because I probably would have had to tell them a lie and say something like " My friend is riding a Yamaha and we were so far out in front we decided to wait here for him ". Still had a great time even with the DNF and vow to do better next year.
Dave McCullough

[DKWRACER]

Dave, gag me Forever, there is "no Force" on Earth that will equal the relationship between a man and his motorcycle, I presume, that it is better on a "Penton" Tom.....

[G Ellis]

Okay here is mine.  On Sunday my 1978 GS6 175 started fine. After a great Saturday, yes I like the mud. At the special test I noticed that my air but from the carb to the cylinder was cracked. I took off anyway with a high reving motor. I just hope it would make the finish point of the special test. I stopped to look at it,at the end of the spicial test section. It was bad, made a bandaid fix on it, hope it holds for ten more miles. Made it back to the pits, took it apart to see if I could fix it.The boot was split real bad, couldn't find one to replace it with. Dave Withrow looked at it and said I've never saw a intake boott that bad on a running bike. Then Dennis helped me out with some good tape. Dennis asked do you think it will hold. It only has to hold for 4 laps. Thanks Dennis for the tape, I wouldn't have finished without your help.  Gary Ellis

[454MRW]

As a first time event rider, Saturday was a great undertaking and the fact that I finished at all is nothing short of a miracle and my MX-6 250's great torque curve. My riding skills, on the other hand, definitely need improving. I tried my best to stay out of the way of the faster riders that were passing me and I found myself at the bottom of a short hill deciding at the last instant to take the center path which had only one track straight up vs. the right side which was well travelled and obviously deep, or the far left which was noticably shallower. I thought to myself, gun it and go and found myself buried well over the rear axle and stuck hard, After about 15 minutes of struggling and pulling and slipping in the mud, I managed to work the back end over to one side then pull the bike backward, only to lose my footing and have the bike fall over with the throttle side in the mud. Once uprighted, the throttle was stuck, then the ball end of the cable slipped out of the throttle. I was taking it apart when Jim, the trail captain came along and asked if I needed help. I told him I had it out of the hole but was working on fixing the throttle, and he held out his hand to hold throttle assembly parts while I fixed the throttle and then I was off again on the slippery path. I was sure that I had houred out and it wasn't until that evening at the banquet that I found out that it had been close...55 minutes and I still was able to wind up with a Bronze Medal with on time riding on Sunday, even though the muddy sand and water had eliminated my rear brake completely for the entire remainder of the event. I am hoping to talk my brother into bringing one of his bikes to the next one! I couldn't have had a better time even if the weather had been perfect before the event! Thanks to all for your encouragement and support. Mike

Michael R. Winter
I enjoy rebuilding and appreciating Pentons!
1974 250 HS Pentons-1980 KTM 250'S

[firstturn]

Mike,
  Great job and incredible for your first ride.  Thanks for all the HELP you gave and continue to give to everyone else.  It is people like you that form the great foundation of the Penton Owner's Group.  Thanks again.

Ron Carbaugh
Kerrville, Texas

[sixdazed]

Mike,Special thanks for getting the Herc there for me-i'll search out those parts for you this week.Even though all didn't go as well as it could have,a great time was had-once we got there!So many neat people and neat bikes in one place was kind of sensory overload (or was that the beers?!).Also-Uncle Ron thanks for bringing her home and the help as well,and Skip,Tony,John and all who helped out.The banquet was great and just getting there and being able to meet my fellow Poggers was the coolest-great,great folks.Someone asked me about Mert-he did just fine under the watchful eyes of my neighbor and Dad.Even though i dnf'ed,i had a great time-that says it all right there.Guess next year i'll have to plan a couple days ahead!Thanks for all the fun you guys!!!Sincerly,Ric

ric emmal

[Tony Price]

Hi Ric,

It was me who asked about Mert.  Very glad to hear all is well.

It was great meeting you, even if you were pushing the baby Herc at the time!


Tony