1968 penton 175 prototype found

[goliath]

thanks for the input so it is a penton cylinder kit now the rear drive hub got me baffled if someone bought this kit in 1970 when it was introduced and put it on a 1968 bike why would you not replace the 4 bolt wheel hub i am a tool and die maker to make the hub a lathe and a mill with rotatory table would have been required and the work this part takes to make you would have been able to buy 2 new wheels so it was made when nothing else was available in 68 i bet so why would my bike need such a heavy drive hub in 1968 only one reason had big motor now having penton cylinder kit on bike wouldn't that kit be the exact same as the bike they tested it on , the copper color bike fist prototype 152 made early 1969 was not the test bike someone had to test the concept first so they most certainly put some top ends on bikes and beat the crap out of them lol to see if it would work wouldn't you agree this bike has way to many red flags what dummy would paint a first year penton frame yellow this was done to make it look different

[brian kirby]

From what I see in your pictures the hub appears stock and its the sprocket carrier that is modified/fabricated? The 4 bolt hubs/carrier broke with the stock 125 engine so its not necessarily from having a big bore engine that it broke and needed to be modified. Maybe the owner was a machinist or owned a machine shop and it was easier/cheaper to fabricate a sprocket carrier? Who knows. You see all kinds of inexplicable modifications on these old bikes, many times they do not make any sense to us now but to the person at the time it was perfectly logical.

Brian

[t20sl]

A more probable explanation is early Pentons  were not thought to be valuable by anyone back in 1971-1975.  At that time they were just old, and many were wore out, dirt bikes.  Guys who could not afford a new modern bike fixed up what they found.  Tried to make it competitive with current offerings.  All the welding and repairing (crude) done to the frame was not of the type Penton Bros would have ever done.  Not meaning to rain on your thoughts Goliath but this is a more logical conclusion than this being the "first" 152.
Ted

[brian kirby]

I mentioned the crude welding also, I know for a fact that welds like that would not be allowed on a bike built in house at Penton.

Brian

[goliath]

the crude welding is on the repairs those back plates welded to rear of frame are cut to the exact contour of tubes out of a single sheet of plate steal and as you can see those welds are good this was no armature job a racer would have cut 3 pieces of 3/4 bar then welded them in then the 2 extra tabs on the outside rear top motor mount were added also the bike was then painted yellow i have scraped the impossible to get at spots to see if it has any silver and no trace and the yellow paint is a real professional job and i can tell that it was done very early prob 69-70 then the yellow was covered up with gray primer and white paint this is a amateur paint job you would expect as first paint job over factory paint then the motor i can not tell you when it was built i can only tell you it is a penton 152 on its 3rd piton cylinder not fixable skirt cracked and bored to max    
guys i am an expert at this i been building my own cars and bikes and restoring rare vehicles for 30 years and compete in vintage expert trials i am #2 plate in my area check out my other pictures http://s624.photobucket.com/user/goliath99/library/?sort=3&page=4

[goliath]

And i appreciate your help see these fist year bikes are rare and the history is worth more than the value not often you find a raced modified 1968 alloy rimed big bore penton wouldent you guys agree
Thanks Udo

[goliath]

I just finished talking to Helmut Clasen what a nice guy turns out we are from same area in Germany and he moved to the exact city in canada when we came here lol he invited me to come visit he also thinks it was a custom paint job and he dos not remember it so guys ready to paint frame any suggestions on how i should put this bike back together
Thanks Udo

[thrownchain]

Back to stock would be the way to go

[t20sl]

Personally I would wait for a GOOD frame to show up of the right vintage and if you have original paperwork showing V335 or a title I would weld over the serial number, finish smooth, re-stamp with your number and put everything back to stock.  If you have no paperwork leave new frame number alone and rebuild with your parts.  Might find a frame here if you ask, if your lucky.  Your frame is pretty far gone to mess with in my opinion.  By the way, with a torch you can form bar stock exactly like yours was.  No need to cut out of plate and it would still be one piece.  Personally I would never gusset down tubes that way because of what it looks like when finished.  

Also your crankshaft had a steel rod I believe and that dates your 152 to at least late 1969.  If the crank was a1968 it would be aluminum rod.  My 152 engine was a 1969 with aluminum rod. Ted

[firstturn]

I agree with thrownchain.  Stock is what will help preserve history.  I have probably owned 10 1968/69 that were modified and I always tried to bring them back to original.  You own it and  it is your choice.  Do you live in SoCal?

Ron Carbaugh

[johnborn]

My '70 Berkshire had an aluminum con rod,until it broke into a bazillion pieces and grenaded the entire bottom end.(v2420)

[goliath]

When i fist saw frame first thing i said about the rear braces what retard tried to make a slay out of it lol then what dummy paints a fist year penton frame yellow  i think i will cut the braces off the rear since they are stupid anyway lol then will powder coat frame back to silver , motor i already have a replacement 48mm cast cylinder and a standard bore yamaha 305 piston and rings on way , i am going to keep the 152 now since this bike was apart some parts got lost and mixed up it was bought 30 years ago with bunch of other bikes an parts it had a bultaco top tree missing original one the forks are 1971 they put the wrong ones in pile seat is a metal pan and i need a front fender mount rear fender and center stand other than that it is complete i want to put bike back together proper like it was
Thank Udo

[Paul Danik]

I just took a look at the rear sprocket carrier, that is very interesting, as are all the other modifications.

Personally, I like all of the "character" of your Steel Tanker. I feel it tells a story of how someone tried to make the old Penton keep on going when possibly others would have set it aside.

Over the years, possibly because of a lack of funds, or possibly just being the type of person who was going to make do with what he had, someone put their imagination and time into those modifications/repairs.

I would give much thought to possibly carefully reconstructing the Penton as it is. So the welds are rough, in my mind I can picture a person doing the very best they could with what they had, both in skills and tools/machinery, and hats off to them for their Yankee ingenuity.

I would be proud to reconstruct and show V 335 at any event, and I will guarantee you that if you do you will draw a crowd as that machine has character and personality. It would be much fun to just sit and talk with folks who would try to figure the whys and hows of that machine, and most likely they would be reminded of some of the things they did to their long ago forgotten machines to keep them going.

And you Golith, with all you are learning with such enthusiasm, you will be a great ambassador for Penton and will know what has been modified, and what would have been "correct" from the factory.

Having a 1968 Penton Steel Tanker with such a low serial number and much character, that is a Great find !

Paul

[Richard]

well said, Paul Danik  

[Richard Colahan]

Another Richard agrees with Paul...

Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA