The Mettco Story

[FMF MX]

Hi Everyone-
Several people have e-mailed me asking what a "Mettco" Penton was, and what makes it special. So instead of individual replies, heres the answer in my words, which may not be all that correct. But, its what I remember..Back in 72-73, I was racing night mx in so.cal. at Irwindale raceway. Like most night tracks, it was short, tight, flat, and sandy. "Mettco" pentons just dominated the 125 pro class. Nothing could run with one. Corner to corner, they were very quick. The owner, Fred Hayes, ran his "team" like a drill sargeant. He kept tight control of his riders and their bikes. He wasn't overly friendly. Tried to be very professional. The bikes stood out with their red/wht paint. They had portwork, (unknown spec) bored carbs, (29mm I think) and shortened "torque" type pipes. Mine has such a pipe. Its real quick from 0-30 mph, then it signs off. They were perfect for the night tracks. I don't recall them doing all that well on the longer day courses though. Anyway, thats what I recall about them. If anyone else knows anything about them, let me know.

Bart Carrigan

[FMF MX]

I almost forgot..Mettco was a fabrication and machine shop in Compton, Ca. Fred Hayes apparently was very good at experimenting with sachs engine modifications, as some of them made it into the penton service manual.

Bart Carrigan

[OUCWBOY]

Bart,
You may want to tell a little history about some of the Mettco riders too!
Donny

[FMF MX]

Ok, heres what I recall about the riders...
The team had Bruce MacDougal, Chuck Bower, and Danny LaPorte on the red/wht bikes, and two other guys on green/grey bikes. As I'm sure you recognize at least two of the names, these guys all went on to various degrees of mx success. Honda hired the team en masse at the end of '73 to race the elsinore 125. That was the end of the mettco team..But for that two year period, these three riders dominated 125 mx in so.cal. The other unique thing about a mettco penton. Only 8 of them were ever produced/modified by mettco for use by the team. Hayes never did sell the parts or bikes as far as I know..They were just no longer around by 74. Mine came from the San Diego area, but I have no idea who had it. Danny LaPorte saw it and said it was one of the two backup bikes..

Bart Carrigan