Penton Trials ID

[aartowing]

Hi everybody from a newbie. I was recently given a Penton Trials 125. I went to the old message board to try to ID the bike but it didn,t help much, so maybe one of you experienced folks can help me.
The bike has the following numbers:
Frame head: W649ST
Sachs engine side cover: Sachs 1251/6B
I do know that the motor is a Sachs 125-6B but after that I'm lost. I was told by the person I got the bike from, that the frame is a Rickman???  The tank, side covers and both fenders are all aluminum with numerous Penton decals.

Any help that can be provided to this proud new owner would be greatly appreciated.
By the way, Great site, I will definitely visit often.
Thanks in advance,
Shannon

 

[gooey]

given ?  



how come nobody ever gives ME cool bikes

Jus kiddin' ... good luck w/ your bike !!!!I think you'll find these guys here to be the best the sport has to offer !

[Paul Danik]

Welcome to the world of Wassel!!! The "W" in your serial number stands for Wassel. Ted Wassel was from England and he built those machines. They were sold in the USA as Pentons, there is a long story as to how this all came about, but for now we will stick to answering your question. I own two of those machines, W672ST and W644ST. I think that the ST portion of the number could indicate  machines that went to the "states", or that it was a Sachs powered Trials machine. Both of those thoughts are just guesses. Most of the machines had the Sachs "A" engine in them.  The "A" engine had heavier flywheels and had a little more bottom end power. The "B" engine had lighter flywheels and was more of a race engine.  Either way those trials machines are quite desireable and are fun to ride. If you can post a picture of your machine we can tell your more about any particulars of your bike. Hope this helps!!! Paul Danik


 

[Paul Danik]

If you want to see and read about Penton Trials machines try doing the following. Go to the main page of this site and click on links, scroll to AHRMA and click, scroll down to the AHRMA links and click again, you now scroll down to Barry Ely"s Penton page and click again. WHEW!!! Now click on Penton-KTM photos and articles and you will find some Penton trials pictures and writeups. If you get to where I hope you do you will find a wealth of info.  Good luck and happy clicking!! Paul Danik

 

[aartowing]

Thanks for the info guys. I went to a meet here in Florida today and saw some awesome riding. So now I'm really wired to get this bike in a competion. Looking forward to more input.

Shannon

 

[Paul Danik]

Were you at the AHRMA motocross today by chance? They ran near Ocala at a new location and I was curious how this track stacked up versus the Hard Rock track that I ran on several years ago. I hope it is more vintage friendly!!!  Paul Danik

 

[aartowing]

No, I was at the FTA ( Florida Trials Assoc.) 2 day Fun in the Sun meet near Webster Fla. It is about 45 minutes south of Ocala near Bushnell. The Vintage Trials is at Marion Park tomorrow. I will be there too. This park is supposed to be very vintage friendly. By the way, the meet today was a very well put together affair. The area is around an old phosphate pit, and it has a great assortment of rocks, hills and switchbacks. The FTA put on a first class event. Kudos to those guys.

Shannon

 

[Dennis Jones]

Paul & Shannon

Just got back from Florida AHRMA trial & mx. the mx track was great for both the vintage & post vintage. I have never been to Hard Rock but every thing I heard was the new location is better.
  Unfortunatly the trials terrain was not so good. The only thing they had to work with was the mx track but Bob Ginder & Company still laid out 8 challenging sections. They got even more difficult with the monsoon that arrived Sunday morning. I managed to get a first place in Classic Int on my Wassell (they don't call them Mud Larks for nothing)
  Shannon I have 4 of these bikes and love to ride them. I also have a few different printed articles I would be happy to send you copy's of. Hope to se you at some trials.


Dennis Jones

[Paul Danik]

Dennis,
  Great job of keeping those Pentons in the winners circle!!! Could you please post the frame serial numbers of your machines. I am trying to gather a little info on the number of those machines that made it to the USA. Are all of your machines in trials trim or do you have some of the "altered" machines, such as the Woodsman or Cafe Moto Cross.  Thanks and good luck!  Paul Danik

 

[Bob Gilman]

Hey Paul,My 2 Bikes have the serial numbers W732ST and W701ST,Funny the first is suppose to be a 72 and the second a 73 but it has a lower serial number.Whats up with that?

[aartowing]

Congrads Dennis, I glad to that the vintage meet didn't get rained out. I should have made the trip myself but it really rained hard here all day and I'm not that far from the site so I didn't go. I would be very interested in any info you can provide about my Wassel. I would very much like to determine the year and I also need a good picture of the seat as mine is missing and I would like to fab one as close to original as possible. Thanx in advance for your help.
Shannon

 

[Paul Danik]

Bob,
There is no year code in the Wassel serial numbers. We have 5 serial numbers here, the low one is W644ST and the high one is W732ST. As far as the production year at Wassel I think these bikes are all about the same. Penton did the " updates" on the machines to get them out of the warehouse. Some of them arrived in the states with the alloy cylinder and head engines while the Pentons were coming in with old style cast iron barrels.  Penton did a little switching of the engines to put more of the newer engines in their machines. Hence the first Wassels out had a cast iron topend 5A engine and the latter ones had the alloy top end 5A engine. The Woodsman and the Cafe-MX were invented by Penton to move a few more of the machines out of the warehouse.  I have a guy in Warren, Ohio who has 2 more Wassels sending me his serial numbers and Dennis Jones is going to post his two serial numbers. I am curious to see how close they are all bunched. Shannon, look at what you started!!!! THANKS, this is fun and fills in some blanks in the history of the Penton/Wassel trials saga.  Paul Danik


 

[Dennis Jones]

Paul,  All of my Wassells are in trial trim. I saw my first Woodsman at Mid-Ohio last year . I have never saw or heard of a cafe before? Here are my serial numbers.
W663ST-1255A  
W245ST-1256A
W220ST-1256A
W430ST-1256B
As you can see they are all over place. Shannon you can email  or call me with your address. [email protected] or 800-333-0438. I am always looking for parts or parts bikes if anyone has anything lying around.

Dennis Jones

[Paul Danik]

Now we have a range of serial numbers from W220ST to W732ST. Any other Poggers with a Penton/Wassel trials machine please join in and post you frame numbers and if your machine is in trials trim, Woodsman, or cafe Moto-cross. The "point of discussion" topic at the next POG meeting is the Penton/Wassel trials machine so please feel free to post any info that you may have. Thanks, Paul

 

[chkitout]

I have a bike in trials setup Frame #W328ST and it has the A engine. I have very little info on this bike and when I went to Barry Elys website it says it is no longer available. I know the fenders are not orginal but not sure what the orginals were I have a photo in black and white and they appear to be the metal type. Any help with information about this bike would be appreciated.
Walt