Vintage 1000 part 2 the mountain ride

[Rick Bennett]

I have no idea why my Six Days still likes me. For eleven days on this ride I asked it to run harder and faster than you would think it would hold up to. At any time I expected the piston and rod to explode into scrap. Instead, it would sing along at outrageous RPMs, howling for hours and hours. John Penton sure knew what he was doing when he put these Sportcycles into production. As for the bad rap the Sachs transmission gets, it does not deserve it. Yes, I missed shifts, but less than one percent out of thousands and when it happened it was all my fault. Usually, I was distracted by something else and not holding the lever long enough. I left the key in from the last ride even though it showed some wear. Part of my goal on these rides is to find out the limits on wear items. Other than being down on power when hot, the motor and transmission work just like the day I left. I will tear down the motor when I get a chance to inspect completely.

The first four days of this ride were a carbon copy of the last one.

[Rick Bennett]

The only difference was the weather. Warm and dry this time, a welcome change. I followed the same route south, stopping each night in the same places. It really doesn't take three days to travel 700 miles, but I travel at an easy pace to make sure I make the start.

The Monday evening riders meeting gives the first look at the other riders and their machines. Twenty entries plus three extras make up the group. Most are in their 30s, and riding bikes in all states of repair, up to 1000cc Harley Sportsters. We cut out and prepare our roll charts and try to put names to the faces. We need to be at the start at 7am, gassed and ready to go. Riding groups are assigned for the first day only to pair experienced riders and mechanics with newbies.

[Rick Bennett]

Day 1
I arrive at The Bitter Alibi just after 7:00am, have breakfast and pick up my packed lunch. I am in the second group to head out.
The first day is planned a bit short to allow for new riders to get used to the ride. It also gets some of the breakdowns out of the way. Matt on a 360 Honda Scrambler led the way since he knows the area. He has ridden several 1000s so we stay on course. Once out of the city we run on country roads, then some gravel. Breakdowns this day are few. I think most riders are doing a better job getting ready after hearing all the stories from past events. All the groups reach camp by early evening at Doll Mountain, GA. I jump on getting my bike maintenance done while some go swimming in the lake. Later they have to work in the dark. I tighten the rear two motor bolts, adjust and lube the chain. Only other item is changing out the days roll chart.

[Rick Bennett]

Day 2
The weather is good and I break camp dry. I stayed in bed an extra 15 as it is still dark. The days are shorter than the last ride. After breakfast I choose to ride with group 3. This includes the Ural with side car. At the riders meeting we learn that today will be longer, tougher and include the first water crossing. We head out only to find out that the Ural doesn't run as well as it should. It runs down hill but slows way down in the climbs. Half way thru the day we come across a closed road. We are supposed to be on it so we go around the blockade. It should be 9.3 miles to the next turn. At 9.1 we find the reason. A large pit with no road and we can't get across. 9.1 back to where we started and out come the maps to find a detour. Our planned gas stop was supposed to be at the end of the last road. We find our way but when we get to the other end of the closed road the gas truck is nowhere to be found. A few miles down the trail there it is. Don't know why they moved, but we are glad to get gassed up. The detour and slow running is costing daylight. The trail is getting steeper when we reach the river crossing. Everyone does well except for the Ural U boat. It gets 3/4 across and drowns out. After a tow onto dry land we remove the plugs and crank it over. Water shoots out hitting Adam making him look like he wet his pants. We all get a good laugh out of this one. Next the carbs come apart for a good cleaning. By this time it is getting dark. Once the carbs are back on we realize there is a fuel leak. Back off with the carbs to find the problem. The left carb just needed the drain tightened but the right one has a hole in the float bowl. Corrosion from the inside just happened to let go. Out comes the steel stick epoxy and we are back in business. We get moving only to find a deep water hole. You guessed it...The U boat takes another dive. At least we know how to pump her out and disassemble the carbs. Now it is pitch black and we still have 50 miles to camp. We get running and Wes exclaims he has never been so happy to hear 1.5 cylinders firing. Just as we get going we find a LONG downhill full of large rocks. What a bunch of fun in the dark. When we finally hit pavement and find a gas station Adam gives us a chance to take a direct route to camp and he will follow the Ural in. None of us would take this option. We decide to stick together and finish the ride the right way. It is 11:20 when we reach camp. Our chef has saved us dinner and it tastes great. By the time I pitch my tent and catch a shower it's 1:00am. I get five hours of sleep.

[Rick Bennett]

Looking back on this day, we had problems from the start. We had to stop twice before even getting out the campground road. The 650 Triumph quit running half a dozen times about a quarter mile apart. Electrical gremlins kept turning off his spark. Eventually Calvin figures out the key switch is to blame. Each time it backfires and the motor dies he would reach back and fiddle the key and off we would go. The days are long enough without problems. The trick is to keep moving, no matter how slow.

[Rick Bennett]

Day 3
I pack up as quickly as I can and look over my Penton. A nagging problem is the two rear motor mount bolts. The lower one is hard to reach and needs a quarter turn each day. This bike came with stainless Allen bolts and I can't keep them tight. The lower left nut is hard to reach an oily from my leaking kicker shaft. I check the oil level and it is ok. I had put 800cc in before leaving Ohio. The Oring has always leaked on this bike. After breakfast the groups form up. I like to mix up who I ride with but fill in as needed to make up five riders. I end up in group 3 with two SL 350s, a XL 250 and a CB 125 that has joined the ride late. Again we don't make it out the camp road. The CB 125 keeps quitting. It will restart after a few minutes rest but the problem persists. Finally I tell him to loosen the cap the next time and this cures the problem. We begin moving steadily and the little Honda does surprisingly well. Nearing the first gas stop I run dry and my motor quits. The others have stopped at a light so I pull in the clutch and coast around them and off down a side road. I figured that would get their attention, but no. The light turns green and off they go. I carry a 30 oz. bottle of spare fuel and pour it in. It takes a few minutes to restart and get back on the main road. Now, I pass them going the other way. They had filled up at a station so I wave but know one notices. I find the fuel stop and am filling up when in rolls group 4 with Adam following. I tell him my tale and he says, "I guess you're in group 4 now".

[Rick Bennett]

The Ural takes this day off to change all fluids and rejet the carbs leaner. This day finds us on mostly gravel roads, and ending the day on the Blue Ridge Pkwy for about 40 miles. The scenery is spectacular with lookout stops we stop at. The days ride is shorter and it is nice to get into camp at a reasonable time. Briar Bottom Campground is the nights stop. I get my machine looked over, eat and pitch camp. Off to bed at dark to catch up on my sleep. I can hear the others drinking beer and going over the days events. It doesn't keep me up. 1318 miles since leaving home. My Penton is running great and NO rain.

[Rick Bennett]

Oh yea...forgot one thing...
The CB125 lost a connecting rod, smashing the spark plug shut and is on the trailer.
The rider is on the spare 400 Honda twin road bike for the duration.

[Rick Bennett]

Day 4
Ever since I learned about the two Harley Sportsters coming on the 1000 I want to ride with them. Each morning as the groups begin to form up you can see a pattern. The faster guys want to run in a pack and so do the slower ones. This leaves two groups of average medium speed riders. This doesn't mean they will finish the day in order. The slowest may come in first if they have no problems on the trail. When I announce my intention to go out with the big bikes, Adam tries to talk me out of it. This will be a 200 mile day with a lot of road miles mixed in. He isn't sure I can keep the pace. He should know better by now than to throw down a challenge. Also in this group will be a 500 Honda, 650 Triumph and 500 Yamaha.
Off we go finding some of the best scenery of the trip. Mountain top views mixed in with rocky river valleys make keeping your eyes on the road tough. The problem is, these guys are good at really moving. The gravel roads vary greatly from almost dirt to deep 3" stuff. Sometimes I stand for miles at a time because it's easier to control me bike. It really moves around on the bigger stuff. On the paved mountain roads the switch backs are VERY tight and never ending. Right..left...right..left, with elevation change and lots of shifting. I hold my own except for a couple climbs where I loose a few bike lengths before reaching the top. My motor is screaming, but doesn't skip a beat. Gas stops find me burning about the same amount of fuel as the big bikes. I am doing it at two or three times their RPMs.
Around the half day point we find a long, steep, gravel climb that gets worse the farther up you go. Half way up we come across a Toyota Camery with a family inside. I have no idea how he got that far or how he planned to get down. I was trying to take this in second but had to drop to first with a bike in front. The rocks get bigger the higher we climb. Like Paul Danik said, "It's ok if you wait at the top", and the XT 500 and I did. I tried to call my brother to tell him not to let Linda climb the hill, but with no cell coverage, he didn't get the message.
Around 2:00pm a planned stop is the Wheels Through Time museum. If you ever get the chance, stop here, unless you hate Harley's. Tons of machines going as far back as the early 1900s. We could only take an hour or two and stay on schedule of making camp before dark.
More Blue Ridge Parkway, fantastic views and gravel and we made camp in good shape. I think my little Penton did ok.

[Rick Bennett]

The Ural is back up to speed. He has two wheel drive and motored right up the nasty hill. Linda tipped on the hill and sprained her ankle. She doesn't ride the last day. She rode well on a Honda SL350K0 without much dirt experience.
Another good dinner from Jason, our chef, hot shower and maintenance finish out the day. My sleeping bag feels good and I am out for the night.

[Rick Bennett]

Day 5
Since about the third day you could notice a change in the way the bikes start up each morning. More of them are balky and smoking a bit. Some require a push down the parking lot. I turn on my fuel tap, hold down the tickler for five seconds and jab the kicker. It fires first kick and I look up to see Adam watching. He just shakes his head.
This is the last day of the 1000 and will find us back in Chattanooga. Today I was going to ride in the last group to follow everyone in, but group three is short riders. The XL250 and CL72 in this group are not running well. Randy is also riding, I haven't seen him much this week. Linda's ankle is not doing well so she opts out.
This will be a shorter day with more pavement the closer we get to the city. Some long gravel stretches in the woods come first. All through this ride there have been butterflies in the woods. Sometimes in groups you couldn't miss hitting. I have nerves seen so many.
Adam warns us at the morning meeting that we have more water to cross. Half way through the day we find it. A stream, maybe fifty feet across, rock bottom, with grooves and slippery. Matt, a CL360 driver, has crashed here every ride. Check out the video on Instagram. The right side is shallower but bigger grooves. The XL250 in front of me takes this and I wait until he is almost through before entering. He crashes just after getting out of the water and I squeeze by with just a little water in my left boot. About this time the Harley riders group shows up. This ought to be entertaining.
Jake on the 1970 Ironhead goes first. No, he doesn't  take the shallow side but plows right in up to the carburetor on the left. I don't know how but it doesn't stall even after coming to a stop in the middle. Next comes the 1997 Sportster. Not to be outdone, he takes the same approach, getting stuck in the deep part and then powering out. Gotta love Harley's with knobby tires. Worth the price of admission. After this the rest of the day is pretty uneventful and we arrive at Jason's restaurant. One group is already there but the final one comes in a couple hours later. I didn't hear what happened but Wes and the Ural came through the water just fine. Everyone orders food and a beer while telling tales of the trail. Another great adventure over, I still have 700 miles to get home.

[Rick Bennett]

The ride home
Luckily the weather for the 1000 left me dry. Coming back into Chattanooga it threatened but I only saw a sprinkle. After the evenings party I did laundry and packed for the trip home. My Penton was in good shape and only needed the normal maintenance. I called home and asked Donna to see what the weather report would be for the next three days. She reported good weather for two and then rain. I have wanted to try this trip in two days so I left at 7:00am Sunday morning. I picked up some fog for an hour or two until the sun burned it off. Heading north on 127 I made good time. Coming down, my route took me on route 200 near the Kentucky line. This road was due to be closed so I skipped it and saved some time. I passed by my Burnside State Park stop around noon. No sense in stopping so kept up the pace. It was good weather, low humidity and not much traffic. Kentucky rolled be with just gas and lunch stops. I hit the Ohio line around 5:00 and started thinking about where to stop. I picked Cowen State Park and headed that direction, only to find the road closed and a detour. The detour was long enough I gave up and continued north. My next choice was my friend Russ Turner's airfield in Jamestown. A quick call found him home and stopping would be ok. For a minute I thought about trying for home but it would take until midnight. Besides, I enjoy morning riding when it is cool and southern Ohio farm country is beautiful. Russ wanted to talk about getting some cowlings made for his Sopwith Camel project and a Nieuportpilot 12. Winter projects to keep me busy. It had been an eleven hour ride to go 425 miles.
Up at dawn and back on the road, it was a bit chilly riding but a perfect day to be on a Penton. I tried to find a breakfast spot but no luck at first. I try to find the "Mom and Pop" places instead of fast food. I finally find a good one in Butler and remember Randy and I stopped here last time. Good coffee and service. The rest of the ride is just following the map north and east. I make a small detour to find a horse rescue farm. I had to bury my second one the day before leaving on this trip. They are not open so I will come back another time. Thirty miles from home wet roads force me to put on my rain pants. I roll in my driveway after eleven days and 2370 miles.
What I learned on this trip...
Start with new tires and brakes. Both took a beating.
I don't mind riding alone.
I need to do better truing the wheels.
Take less stuff...take less stuff!
You can't kill a properly prepared Penton 125.
It doesn't matter what you ride, go have an adventure.

[Richard Colahan]

Well done!!!

Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA

[Pat Oshaughnessy]

Thanks for your reports on your ride. I really enjoyed it! For your next great adventure go to //www.akrider,com  My sons & I did this a few yrs. ago. I highly recomend it![]

[JCHubbard]

Great read/ride report!  Congrats, Rick.