Fun fact for the day (month?)

[TGTech]

IN THE BEGINNING..... (sounds awesome, doesn't it?) KTM just produced "PENTON" branded machines, but after a fairly short while, they became KTM/PENTON's, until such time, as KTM decided to drop the PENTON name from bikes marketed in countries other than the US.

In asking Franz about the numbering systems, I also asked him if anyone knew exactly (or about) how many PENTON branded machines there were. He spoke to Kalman Cseh, who had been the "Export Manager" at KTM when the whole Penton thing got going, and in his hand written notes, he has noted, that there were a total of (drum roll please) 29,245 bikes that were branded only as PENTON's.

Dane

[Rocket]

Wow!  I need to start digging in some more barns, I'm sure I have missed some now.
Rocket

[firstturn]

Dane,
  I will be waiting for this answer to come up on Jeopardy.  Incredible how many times this question has been ask.  Thanks as always Dane and I hope to see you in a couple of weeks(that will give you time to hide)[)].

Ron Carbaugh

[Lew Mayer]

Now for the hard part. How many came to the USA? We'll know how many to look for over here.

Lew Mayer

[farmer58za]

Hi Dane
That's a whole lot of bikes. Can you tell us what the Penton sales figure is as a percentage of the total KTM dirt bike output for the same period?



Regards

David ('75 KTM GS400)

[TGTech]

David,

   Those figures might be available, but I haven't asked that question. In this time period though, the only other machines that KTM was building, were mopeds and small displacement street machines.

   One other question that I haven't asked, is the total number of machines (Penton, Penton/KTM, and KTM) that were built and shipped.

Dane

[Doug Wilford]

In answer to Lews question   There was only one Penton Importer, you guess the answer.   []

[rob w]

Dane, This is great stuff, thanks for getting and sharing this information.
 In Ed's book it says, "The Penton-created motorcycle, also manufactured under the KTM brand in Europe as early as 1970..."

 Is that what you're also calling "Penton branded machines", the bikes built before 1970 when the brand name changed for countries other than the U.S?

Thanks
Bob

[TGTech]

When John went to KTM in the fall of '66, KTM was not making any production off road machinery, but rather just a few prototype machines for competition. Sigfried Stuhlberger was the guy doing all the "manufacturing" on these bikes, and they were truly "one offs".

The prototype of the Penton 125 Six Day, was completed in December of '67, and the first 10 "production" machines, were delivered in February of '68, just prior to Stone Mountain and The Alligator.

So, to answer your question directly, the Penton motorcycles, were KTM's entry into the world of off road production motorcycles.

Dane