1971 Penton 6 Day

[fullchoke]

Hello,
I think I've been on this message board before, a few years ago, but had trouble getting back. Seems to be working now.
The question, I had was it a practice by a dealer to install Preston Petty fenders? I bought my bike from a guy that swore it was bought new that way. I doubted him, and he became rather upset, saying how positive he was about it. I think he actually believed what he was telling me to be true. I paid a premium for it(at the time) because I liked it, and now considering getting repro fenders to bring back the original factory look. According to him I'm the 3rd owner, but like everything he said, I'm taking that with a grain of salt too.

Thanks

[Paul Danik]

Fullchoke,

  Your question is interesting, at least to me, on several fronts. First off I wondered just when did Preston began his plastic fender revolution, the info below found on the "net" seems to indicate that his fenders were indeed available when your bike was sold, around 1971 according to your post's heading. As a side note, when we traveled to Oregon in 1973 for the Trask Mountain and Bad Rock ISDT Qualifiers we took a little field trip to Preston's operation in the Penton Cycleliner. He was making a product I think he called the "Tuff Tub " at the time and we decided to do a little "test" of it's strength by trying to pull the Cycleliner's left front wheel up onto it...Dane Leimbach was behind the wheel as Jack Penton guided him slowly up to and hopefully onto the Tuff Tub...which quickly became the Flat Tub    Sure wish I had thought to have kept it as a souvenir !!!!
               PRESTON PETTY INFO FROM THE "NET"
" It was during a race in 1969 when a broken aluminum fender on his motorcycle (and the resulting face full of mud) gave Preston the idea making fenders out of plastic. Preston Petty the off-road rider then became Preston Petty the industry."

As for your actual question about the possibility of a dealer removing the factory installed aluminum fenders and installing the Preston Petty fenders, it sounds quite logical to me.  

 I think a shop "updating" a Steel Tanker with Preston Petty fenders was actually doing the new owner a favor. I still remember riding a Mud Run at the Sunset Riders Club in Butler, PA on cold winter day and bending my front fender down just in front of its front mount and reaching out to straighten it only to have it break off in my hand. Yes, I sure would have liked to have had one of Preston's fenders on that Steel Tanker.

As for you wanting to return the Steel Tanker it it's Factory original look, sounds like a great plan as they sure look great with those aluminum fenders, BUT,  you might want to hang onto those Preston Petty jobs as you may get the itch to put that Tanker through it's paces at a vintage event sometime.

Good luck and have fun.
Paul

[fullchoke]

Thanks for your interesting thoughts and history. I said my bike was a 1971, but maybe it is considered a 1972, because it is date coded as October, or November 1971. I don't think it is considered a "tanker" as it's tank is not steel, but probably fiberglass. It was an Enduro model, with the lights. The rubber mounting for the rear tail light has disintegrated, and I'm not sure if it was original equipment or not? I don't see many pictures of the enduros. Were they dealer added items?

[Paul Danik]

Fullchoke,

    I had made the assumption that it was a Steel Tanker, incorrect assumption obviously. The Chrome Moly Frame ( CMF ) machines were the next generation of Pentons after the Steel Tankers and the early ones came with the aluminum fenders just as did the Steel Tankers. My thinking is the same for your CMF machine in that the dealer felt, and rightfully so, that putting the Preston Petty fenders on the bike was a wise upgrade. Possibly he tucked the original ones away and made a fair return on his storing them for many, many years as original aluminum fenders, especially unused ones, can fetch a pretty penny.

   Penton sold Enduro Kits through their dealers that included lights, different rear sprocket, speedometer with mounting bracket and few other items that converted the off the floor Factory built machines into an enduro ready machine, for the most part. Possibly your lights are from an Enduro Kit.

   The first CMF machines have a build date of June of 1971, which would be an 061 prefix on the steering head serial number. If your machine has a 101 prefix it was an October build, 111 would be a November build. First two numbers are the month and the third is the year.

Paul

[fullchoke]

I forgot to add..... The Trask is where my friends and I rode every weekend that was reasonably dry for many years back in the late 70's. We rode the marked trails of the ISDT and others. When we thought we knew every trail out there we would find more. One of the guys rode in the Trask Mtn, so we probably discovered a few trails that way. It was a trail riding paradise out there. Some trails were difficult to go fast on and some became impassible when wet, but that was part of the fun. Sadly Weyerhouser bought the land from Willamette Ind. and gated most everything we liked the most. I have a cabin south of the Trask now and am starting to discover some good riding areas, as I try to get back to enjoying trail riding again.
I've been to Hodaka Days too where they run a portion of Bad Rock ISDT. The last time I was there Tom Penton was a featured guest. Not sure what year that was. Preston Petty was there too. I'd like to do that again also.

[fullchoke]

1105 are the 1st 4 numbers. It must have that enduro kit, because it has the front light, speedo, and rear light. Not sure about the sprocket.

Thanks

[Paul Danik]

I gave incorrect information as for reading the serial number / date code, must be an age related issue  The FIRST number is the year and second & third are the month. Your first three digits 110 would indicate 1971 as the year and the 10th month, October.  

As for Bad Rock, I am sure you know they made a really cool film from the 1973 event. Peter Starr was The Man behind creating the film. A little Bad Rock Movie trailer    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxPDWNWMvlo

Paul

[fullchoke]

I haven't been able to find any good pictures yet of the enduro kit that Penton supplied to compare my bike to. Especially the rear tail light mount. I think the headlight and speedo are correct. If this info is documented somewhere that would be great to see. I will try to get a picture of mine on here tomorrow.

Thanks

[Bob Gilman]

The pictures are in the spare parts manual 002 if you have one,Al Buehner sells them,you should have one anyway.Hi-Point sold them in a kit,send me your address and I will send you some pic's.

[fullchoke]

Bob, I tried to send you my email, but I get a "500 server error" message. Maybe I'm not allowed to send messages. Possibly you can send me yours, and I will respond to it. It's probably not the best idea to post my email here.

Thanks

[Bob Gilman]

Greg,I got the same thing,call me at 301-8435695.If no answer leave message and I will call you back.

[fullchoke]

Here are a couple pictures of what I understand is a Hi-Point enduro kit. Many thanks to Bob Gilman for his help and Penton knowledge. It was difficult for me to accurately describe some of the parts, especially the tail light, hence the pictures. What I'm going to need is the rubber piece that the tail light attaches too, as it has deteriorated and I would risk losing the light if I ride it the way it is very much. I'm wondering if there are different rubber mounts for the different versions of tail lights.
What I'm learning is that those Green Preston Petty fenders may very well have been on the bike when bought new, like the prior owner insisted, as he bought the bike from the original owner who he said he knew. The one thing I do know, is that he was sure of that fact.

Thanks

https://imgur.com/a/SNECV3n

[Tom Penton]

Greg from Tualatin (fullchoke). Forgive me for not remembering ... were you at the Hodaka days at Yamhill this year?

I remember the Hodaka Days you're referring to ... Preston and I had a great few hours talking about the good old days. He and I think alike in many ways.

Tom Penton

[fullchoke]

Hello Tom, No I wasn't at Yamhill this year. I didn't know there was an event there. I noticed that the Athena Hodaka Days was cancelled, and thought I would have to wait until next year. Yamhill is knocking on the door to Trask Mtn. There used to be incredible riding out there when the ISDT was held there in the 70's. I'm only minutes from Yamhill, I'm bummed I missed it. Will Yamhill be a yearly event?

Thanks,
Greg

[Timothy Walls]

So a good picture of the Enduro Kit can be found on the back cover of Issue 92 Summer 2021 of Still....Keeping Track !

Timothy Walls