Response to Larry Perkins' post from 250 on ebay

[Chris Brown]

Boy, that thread is up to 2 pages now, and I don't want to argue about that poor guys bike anymore, so here's a new thread.

I too raced a 72 Penton 6 Days in about 74 when the other kids all had new Elsinores. They were light and fast and cheap. It seems to me they were 183 pounds, were pipey as hell, and you could buy one for $675.

The Penton just had an allure to me that I never realized anyone else may also have had until your description, Larry.

I was 17 or 18 and most of the fastest kids were younger. I remember them looking at that bike and then jocking their bars ahead of mine since they were so sure they'd hole-shot me. Well, did I have a surprise for them. Turns out one of the kids in the neighborhood was a real gear head and cooked up (machined) a reed-valve manifold that made that old Sachs really wind up. I hole-shotted them guys everytime. Problem was, I just was never that good and would fall down about every third corner. Sure was fun though.

In another race, two or three of them kids fell off half way down the straight, right in front of me, and I just had to ride right over the top of their bikes. That was funny.

My favorite riding was trails and cross-country type exploring. We rode at a fast clip but not trying to race. Poker runs were popular and a lot of fun too. I still have a nice trophy from a poker run.

The guys I rode with all had Euro bikes they tinkered with, in fact everyone really liked tinkering to make them faster and more reliable. There was an Ossa, someone else rode a Husky 125. The guy with the Ossa ended up puting a Ducati engine in it and rode that!

Dirt Bike Magazine was the best, and it's fun to still read Super Hunky on the net. I can post a link if the guys haven't found him or are interested.

Anyway, that business about being 17 again is what hit home with me. We just got back from a New Years weekend trip to Jawbone Canyon in the western Mojave Desert. I made a 55 mile loop with a guy and his boys on my old 400 and it was a blast. It rejuvinates and excites like nothing else. I really feel like a kid again. My wife is so pleased with my attitude when I'm doing bikes she's all for it. She just couldn't wait for me to get another project. And everytime we go out we meet other families and camp out with them. I have about a dozen parties we keep in touch by email with now, and we exchange info on upcoming outings. This weekend there were 15 rigs in one camp, about 30 bikes and atv's, and at least a dozen and a half kids. Everyone had a great time.

Thanks for the inspiring post Larry,
Chris Brown.

 

[DKWRACER]

Funny how that dammed Sachs just kept running !!! I grew up in SoCal and vividly remember our outings to the desert, especially running the "Funky Pumpkin" enduro on a Dalesman, two 35 mile loops in Lucerne Valley, actually finished!!! Then going to Holiday Hills and running my boinger DKW off a cliff, climbing down, restarting and riding out. Testament to the reliability of a Sachs, or a snot nosed kid with ambition. g-day mates
DKWRACER