Dane Leimbach remembered

[Paul Danik]

Greetings,

    It is hard to believe, but on Wednesday November 16th. it will be 5 years that Dane has been gone. Probably about a week or so ago I started to think about wanting to post something here to just let you folks know how fast the years have slipped by, and to take some time to reflect upon what a wonderful person Dane was.

     Dane's contributions to the success of his Uncle John's motorcycle were immeasurable, but those contributions pale in comparison to what a fine person Dane was.

    I did a Google search and found an article that was written in the local paper when Dane passed away. The article was called The Dash Between, the article follows below in its entirety. If I remember correctly Dane's Mom recommended to the gal writing the article to give me a call for some information and that is why I am quoted in the article. Please feel free to post other items, comments and remembrances of Dane as you wish.

The Dash Between: About this feature

The dates of birth and death that appear like bookends on a tombstone do not matter as much as the dash between those dates.

Award-winning writer Alana Baranick has made her living writing about the dash between. She's focusing on Lorain and Medina counties and those who have made our area the unique and interesting place it is. Look for her stories on alternating Sundays and visit //www.chroniclet.com to find additional photographs.

Today, Alana Baranick examines the Dash Between Sept. 18, 1951, when Dane Penton Leimbach was born in Lorain, and Nov. 16, 2011, when the Brownhelm Township resident died of complications from Lou Gehrig's disease at age 60.

As a teenager, Dane Leimbach raised and sold pumpkins to earn enough money to buy his first dirt bike — a 1969 100cc Penton Berkshire, one of the lightweight off-road motorcycles designed by his famous uncle, John Penton.

Dane, who died Nov. 16, 2011, at age 60, went on to compete successfully in national and international off-road racing events and have a career in the technical and business aspect of motorcycles.

"Dane was very focused," said Paul Danik, who was on the Penton racing team with Dane and his cousins, Jack, Jeff and Tom Penton — John Penton's sons. "The type of racing — long-distance, cross-country, off-road racing — 200, 250 miles in a day — on trails you've never seen before.

"You maintain your own motorcycle. He was a mechanical genius. In his mind, he could evaluate mechanical functions. He could understand his motorcycle the way a jockey understands his horse."

Dane won five gold medals and a bronze while competing in the 1970s on U.S. teams in the International Six Days Trials (ISDT) in Europe, referred to as the Olympics of motorcycle racing.

"You have to qualify within your own country to represent your country," Danik said. "The Penton team was the top team representing the United States. Dane rode (a bike with) one of the smaller-sized engines. The smaller the engine, the more skill is required to ride the mountains. He was very adept at that."

In the ISDT held on the Isle of Man in 1971, Dane became the highest-placing American rider, finishing eighth in the 100cc class. He dominated the 100cc class for so many years, he became known as "Mr. 100."

Dane Penton Leimbach was born Sept. 18, 1951, to Pat Leimbach, who penned "The Country Wife" columns for the Chronicle-Telegram from 1965 to 2003, and prominent potato farmer Paul Leimbach.

Dane and his younger brothers, Ted and Orrin, grew up in Brownhelm Township.

He, his Penton cousins and later his brothers honed their off-road biking talents on the Leimbach farm, where Dane also developed his farming skills and work ethic.

"We ran a vegetable farm and raised a lot of potatoes," his mother said. "Dane worked hard every day of his life here."

At 14, he supervised crews of kids, who picked beans and corn. He also worked on tractors and learned precision machine-tool making from his uncles Erik and Ted in the Penton machine shop.

"He learned about farm machinery from the time he was born," Pat said. "He was a quiet kid, a private person. He had friends, but he wasn't a 'party boy' type. He was always working in his shop from the time he got into motorcycles."

Dane spent most weekends racing on the Amherst Meadowlarks Motorcycle Club's ever-changing off-road courses or traveling across the country to compete or work on pit crews in national races.

The 1970 Firelands High School graduate enrolled at Wilmington College with intentions of specializing in mechanical arts.

"He thought about teaching, but it interfered with his races," his mom said. "He couldn't keep up with the racing and the college at same time."

He stepped back from racing after his 21-year-old brother, Ted, died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Their dad died of stroke complications in 1992.

Dane worked in various capacities for the Penton motorcycle businesses over the years. He spent a year in the early 1980s in Grand Rapids, Mich., building a Kawasaki racing team. For the last 24 years, he and his cousin Barb ran Penton Racing Products.

In 1991, Dane made his first bid for a spot on the Brownhelm Township Board of Trustees. He lost by two votes.

Two years later, he tried again and became the top vote-getter among four candidates vying for two trustees seats. He served as a township trustee for 16 years.

"Anything Dane did, he didn't do it just to do it," said Danik, president of the Penton Owners Group. "Whatever Dane did, he made a difference."

Eighteen months ago, Dane was diagnosed as having amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. The disease didn't affect his mobility. Instead, it took away his ability to speak and diminished his comprehension of language.

Until a month before his death, Dane walked two miles or more each day on the family farm. His endurance at the end of his life was reminiscent of his racing days.

"You had to extract as much as you could out of your own body, and you also had to do the same with the motorcycle," Danik said. "He was very good at that."

He was not one to heap praise on a person simply because it was expected.

"When Dane came up and shook your hand (in congratulations), you knew you did good," Danik said. "Dane was quiet, intense. When he did speak, what he said was factual and to the point.

"He was well-respected, not only throughout the United States. He was respected by European riders he competed against over the years."

Paul

[Kip Kern]

Awesome tribute to an amazing person Paul, well said.  I sure miss Dane and owe him a lot for all he taught me about the Penton brand mostly engine stuff (he and Jeff taught me to change a shift key with the engine in the frame).  I always enjoyed stopping by Amherst and visiting with him even if it was just a short period of time as I would always leave having learned something important.  Great man, excellent friend, is truly missed indeed!

[paul a. busick]

I miss my friend. P.A.B

[firstturn]

A Dear Friend.....RIP Dane.

Ron Carbaugh

[BobJones]

I remember Dane from the ISDE at Zinc in 1994. My brother & I volunteered to run a pit for Kawasaki (Dane was team manager) we had been dealers since 1977 & had run pits for Team Green in Baja since 91. Dane went out of his way to make us have a memorable week. He was 1 of a kind. Bob & Jim Jones

Bob Jones
Show-me state
(2)74 Harescramblers,72 Jackpiner,68/69 6-Day,73 Harescrambler.

[jeff greenberg]

Although I was not an enduro rider, I did get to race with Dane in serveral MX races around Ohio in 1973. The 100 class at Mid-Ohio comes to mind. As all of you know, and as I witnessed first hand, Dane was smooth and fast. The last time that I saw Dane, I,was sitting next to him at a POG meeting maybe 7 years ago. A real first class guy.
Jeff

[Paul Danik]

The photo of Dane above, which Bill and Karen were kind enough to insert for me, was taken during the POG 40/10 extravaganza in Amherst. We had hired large buses to transport the attendees to various locations that played a part in the Penton Imports operation "back in the day".

Dane took on the roll of tour guide for that bus, and given his extensive firsthand knowledge of all things Penton, the folks on the bus surely were treated to an abundance of interesting Penton history.

Paul