50 years ago

[Rick Bennett]

Tomorrow morning I am heading out to ride my fifth Vintage 1000. I will be riding a Penton Six Day that 50 rears ago was sold to someone else at some dealership, who knows where. In 1971, I was 15 years old and just beginning to ride motorcycles on a used Honda S90. John Penton would have been 45 years young, and right in the middle of his adventures running Penton Imports. I wonder if he ever contemplated that in 2021, someone would still be out there giving it a go on one of his Sportcycles? I hope he understands today that all us Poggers are "just having fun", because of all he did. I will try to ride 2400 miles in 11 days, including the Vintage 1000, on V4621. It is hard not to think back to these days gone by while listening to the hum of my Sachs motor. I wish you could all be there.

[Larry Perkins]

Have a fun and safe journey.

Larry P

[Daniel P. McEntee]

Have fun Rick! I love reading about your adventures. I wish I could throw a leg over one of mine and go with you. Yu have this long ride thing figured out and prove that proper planning and attention to details really pays off. One might think that JP didn't realize what he had started and how far into the future it would reach, but then, maybe he did!! That same proper planning and attention to detail has taken the Penton Sportcycle this far!
  Have a safe ride!
   Dan McEntee

[skiracer]

Best of luck on your journey!  I too was 15 in 1971, and I too started riding on a used Honda S90. I got mine at 13.  Looking forward to hearing all about your trip!

1976 250 MC5 Original Owner
1976 Penton 175 XC

[Rick Bennett]

45 miles in and stop for coffee and breakfast.

[Rick Bennett]

At 70 miles we stop for gas. I use 1.2 gallons and pour in 3.1 oz of oil. Back on the road past Hudson and on to Medina where we hit a detour and get lost for 15 minutes. We head south ad ride thru corn country until we find ice cream at 135 miles. I missed one shift so far while messing with the gps. More later.

[Rick Bennett]

Another fuel stop in Fredricktown at 155 miles. At every stop Nick replaces his lighting fuse. His AMF Harley SX250 is using fuses like eating peanut M&Ms. We pass a bank at 2:19 and the temp is 76. It is getting cloudy and I get a few drops
on my goggles just before going over route 70 on route 42. A Micky Ds is on the left and we break for lunch at 4:00pm with 220 miles in.

[Don Roth]

Curbside fix, find a smoker and peel the foil from the top of pack,
  1/4 inch wide strip ~ 2 amp, wrap around existing fuse.
Stay safe and enjoy the ride and keep the reports coming.
-don

[Rick Bennett]

End of first day. 275 miles completed and in at Cowan State Park at 6:20. Three of us left home at 8:00 this morning. Randy, my twin brother, Nick, my son in law, and myself. The three of is did this exact ride last year. No real rain yet, but tomorrow looks to be a damp one. We are going to try to get to Chattanooga by the end of the day tomorrow, about another 450 miles. Time to look over the bikes. The Indians game is on. Tome to relax.

[Rick Bennett]

Up at 6:00 and pack up. The tents are wet with dew and will stay that way the whole trip. The storm has passed by south during the night. It is clear and cool when we head out at 7:15.  Twenty miles down the road is our first of the day gas stop. We get on route 62  and find our favorite stainless diner at 8:10 for coffee and pancakes. All good except for the Harley lightning problem. The ignition is a Vape so the bike runs without lights. My Steel Tanker is running well and starts first kick. I try to keep the whining two stroke sound as quiet as possible since it is Sunday morning.

[Rick Bennett]

In Kentucky now at a has stop, 382 miles from home, all good.

[Rick Bennett]

Ice cream and gas stop in Somerset, KY. Had to get off for a rest. Penton is cooking right along.

[Rick Bennett]

Long day. Started in Ohio with corn corn corn corn and then the Ohio river. Crossed over one bridge west of the last couple years rides. Randy had entered new route tracks into the Garmins for this trip. New units as well. Turns out they don't work that well. Into Kentucky and bourbon country, then horse country with long straight parts mixed in. We are running 58-60 mph on the straight stuff. Kentucky takes longer than I remember from previous years and I am getting tired of riding. The gps has lots of way points, but some are just off the track. It wants you to pick up each one before continuing on. This leads to missed turns and waisted time. Just for fun, Randy also added some extra windy tracks which would have been ok except we were doing two days ride in one today. By the time we rolled through Tennessee and found our way to Raccoon Mountain Campground, it was 7:30. A near miss of Nick and I almost hitting Randy as he made a sudden slowdown and turn also spoiled my mood. We almost wrecked three bikes before making the start of the V1000. It didn't help that Randy and Nick had no tail lights working. Soooo, a rest day and a few repairs are the order for the day. I only have missed two shifts in 725 miles of riding. My Penton is running well.

[Rick Bennett]

Went to breakfast this morning. Nick's clutch cable snapped leaving the parking lot and his spare is a half inch too short. We remove the adjuster nits and limp to Adam's shop. I carefully cut a half inch off the outer housing and we are in business. We also search for the lighting short. Not sure it is fixed. Our riders meeting is at 7:00pm. The ride back to the cabin will be after dark. We receive our roll charts and group assignments tonight for tomorrow.

[Rick Bennett]

Went to breakfast this morning. Nick's clutch cable snapped leaving the parking lot and his spare is a half inch too short. We remove the adjuster nuts and limp to Adam's shop. I carefully cut a half inch off the outer housing and we are in business. We also search for the lighting short. Not sure it is fixed. Our riders meeting is at 7:00pm. The ride back to the cabin will be after dark. We receive our roll charts and group assignments tonight for tomorrow.