Northwest report

[tomale]

I was telling Dane (I think)  that I had a up coming race and that I was doing quite well. They had asked me to keep you all up dated, so here we go.
There are several of the Penton guys along with me that have been racing a winter series here in the Northwest. I rains most of the time but the track is a mixture of sand and loam, so the racing is always good, sometimes better than others. I have been told that the dirt for the track comes from the silt left over from when MT.St Helens blew her top May of 1980. There were literally mountains of this silt left over that was cleaned out of the rivers near by. NO rocks and the track changes each time we race. It does not even look the same. The only thing that is the same is the starting gate and of course the dirt. When the track is just right it makes for some fast racing, which is pretty often.  
Jon Mclean and Matt Sullivan have been riding their yellow 74 250 Penton scramblers and doing pretty well.
Jon did not bring out his pretty Penton this time but Matt did. (sorry Jon)Matt raced two classes but was having an off day. Last race in december if I remember right, he went over the handle bars on a fast table top. It rang his bell but he was alright. Jon usually manages to finish in the top five on the Penton in the 250 vintage intermediate class. Several times it the top Three. I am not sure how he stands in the over all points.
The series is Nine races from Sept--- April. In Jan. the race was cancelled because the whole track was under snow and It had been bitter cold and alot of trees had fallen. To add to this the cold had cause alot of limbs to fall too. This caused even more danger. This race pulls guys from as far away as 3 to 400 miles away and some of the guys have to cross mountain passes to get there. So you can see that it was best to use a bit of caution.
The racing has been great and the friendships have been great as well. It is not unusual to see racers giving each other kudos for a great race as they pull off the track. A great bunch of guys.
I have been racing two classes this year as well. 250 Evolution Am. and plus 50 Am. As it stands right now. I am leading both classes in the overall. The 250 evo class I am leading by 3 points. this does not seem like much but when 6 points is the most you can get for a single race, that is not too bad. The other class I am leading by 8 points, With 3 races to go I am in good shape for the +50 class but I will have to really watch it in the 250 class. My Mc5 has really worked well all season. The only trouble I have had was in the second round when it kept losing power. I soon figured out that the problem was varnish, it was coming loose and pluging up the petcocks. It never did have a filter inside the tank. I found my self cleaning out the junk between motos. The problem is solved and it has run great ever since. In December the track was one huge mud puddle. Everthing was under 4- 6 inches of water. Alot of bikes bit the dust. Pun intended. The only problem I had was my trottle sticking a bit but I managed to keep going. Fast was not important only staying out of trouble.
It has been a blast from the past and I am loving it. If some of you guys really want to enjoy some good old time moto cross you have got to come out to the Northwest and race with us. We need to see more PENTONS out here.

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[firstturn]

Thom,
  What town is the track close to?

Ron Carbaugh

[imported_n/a]

Thom,

Racing in the wintertime, what a concept!  

We really appreciate your reporting Penton success in the Northwest.  Good luck in the rest of the races.

Glenn (too much snow and cold here in the Midwest)

[Big Mac]

For those of you used to "Tomale's" faithful and usually long Penton ramblings, I've got to chime in to add some color background: Thom apparently discovered a new love in his old Penton about 2 years ago from what I can tell. He posted here asking about places to ride/race in the NW about this time last year. Since I'm one of about maybe 4 Pentonites (caught the bug at 2002 ISDTRR) in the entire Northwest, I saw his note and pointed him to our very cool and local vintage winter race series, run at Woodland MX Park, just north of Portland, OR.

Thom first showed up and raced his very original '76 MC5 late last Spring for the first time in... (Thom?) a whole bunch of years anyway. Now understand-- Thom is 50-something, a bit on the portly side and doesn't quite fit the stereo-typical macho studly MX racer mold (no offense Thom). Matter of fact, Thom's a minister... That's right...race on Saturday, preach on Sunday. He even kinda looks the part and is downright polite in the first corner shoving matches.

Now we're not sure if old Thom's MC5 is a killer machine, or if he was a factory prospect back in the day, or maybe with his close ties to the Man upstairs, he's just working with a better tuner than the other guys, but Thom's been kicking some SERIOUS tail in this first year back on "the circuit"! With his Evo-class bike, he's having to line up against pretty tough competition in the late '70s Honda CR's, Maicos and such, and still he's making the MC5 work! And not only in the +50 class... He's leading the points for the open-age class too! A lot of fun to see the old preacher spank the young tatooed punks on a bike they've never even heard of.

Winter racing here is often very wet and usually below 40 degrees. They cancel if the ground is frozen, or like last month, if the snow is deep (no dust though [8D]). There are usually 3-4 races in the series that require a bit of an iron-man attitude to finish --the reason I'm out of the points this year. Preacher Thom drives 3 hrs, has made every tough race, through rainstorms and mud bogs. The epitome of the devoted, right attitude, nice guy racer. Go Thom!

(btw-- Yellow tanked Pentons are '73 HS's Thom, get it right). Mac

[tomale]

Mac,
None taken. As a matter of fact I am a little more than portly. you were being nice. I have lost ten pounds though. I will keep working on that. I must say that it is fun to beat the guys half my age on a bike that they have never seen before.
As for the other, What do I say.... but thankyou for the kind words. I am not the fittest or the prettiest out there but attitude still counts when it comes to racing. It has been great fun getting to know you at the races as well as on line. Hopfully this summer we will get to do some trail riding. I am living the dream... all over again. This time it is better.
As for getting the year wrong. I am so sorry, I will be more carful in the future. please forgive this old portly man.
If I can not laugh at myself then I am in deeper trouble that I thought. Life is short no time be critical. Thanks for setting me straight.  Go Pentons!
The race track is just about 5 miles east of  Woodland Wa. It is north of Portand OR. about 25 miles. It is in the foothills and the river is accross the road. What is humorous is that there is a small active church between the track and the river. It provides a attitude chech everytime I enter through the gate.
Keep the tank side up!

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[Auto5guy]

Thom

Congrats on your win in the +50 class.  I am going to have to make more of a point to watch your races.  

I have a dad, two brothers, three nephews, one cousin and two in-laws all racing at Woodland.  Between watching them and tending to my temperamental bikes, I have a hard time following anybody else.

My trip over the bars that you referred to was in Oct and it broke my hand as well as bending my frame.  I did it in my first moto of the day.  I raced three more motos with a broken hand and ended up winning the +30 intermediate class that day.  By the end of the day my hand had swelled up like a balloon.  I now have one knuckle that's a bit shorter that it used to be.

This month, in good health I wasn't riding nearly as fast.  Go figure.  I guess we all have an off day now and then.  My bike troubles didn't help.  In two different motos I hooked my shift lever on a rut and bent it clear back against the foot peg.  

Next race in March will mark my first full year in vintage racing.  I should have a folding shift lever fabbed up by then and hope to put in a better showing.  See you there!

Matthew


WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that castor smoke can be hazardous to your health.  It is highly addictive and causes delusions of grandeur.

[tomale]

Matt,
Was that way back in Oct. Sorry to hear about the injuries and the other problems you have been having. Life goes that way sometimes. I was wondering why you had missed some races. At the Oct. race it looked like you were really on the gas. Well up until you went over the handlebars. That looked like it hurt. I was watching you this last race and it just seemed to me that you were having a bad hair day. We all have our bad days. I am shocked by my good fortune thus far.

By the way I do have an extra shifter that is of the folding type. I had bought some parts off of evil bay last year and as part of that I got a shifter with it. It is rusty but works just fine. I think it came off a 78 MC5 but it looks just like mine. Bigmac could tell us if it would fit. I know that the kichshaft on the older bikes were smaller but I am not sure about the gear shifter shaft. IF I can be of some help let me know.
IN Dec. I won all four moto's That was a first for me ever. It was also the first and only time that I won a moto in the 250 class since my return to racing. What else is cool is that when I bought my KTM I struggled to even finish a race much more win on it. It was a rough time of my life and it reflected in my racing. It is fun finally after all these years to finally win on the bike I had planned to take me to the next level of racing. But that is another story.
Hope you will be able to get it together for next months race.

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[mark nitchman]

Hello Tomale, I live in Kingston Washington and have a 78 400 MC5.  I am still working on it but it runs well enough now and has alot of potential.  I believe my racing days are over (two torn rotator cuffs) and will be actively trail riding it with my son and his CR.  I was wondering if you have ever had any problems with the Db level requirements in the Washington ORV system?  I don't have many options for quieting the bike down and I don't know what kind of reception the bike will have in public areas.  

I am slowly building a stock of 400 and 175 parts and will eventually build a 175. I have a couple of spare motors, frames, wheels and so on.  The exhaust pipe/silencer question seems to be the one I have the hardest time with.

Thanks for the NW report.      

[Auto5guy]

Thom

Your extra shift lever would most likely fit but I like a shorter shift lever that what the standard Penton/KTM lever is.  So this will be a good opportunity to hack one out more to my liking.

I missed the November race due to the broken hand.  I was at the December slop fest on my evolution elsinore.  The cases were still split on my Penton then.

Just today I found a picture of you posted on what I think is Zamo's site. I hope this works. Check this out.

http://home.comcast.net/~csehmel/mud.jpg

All of you who are jealous of us in the Pacific North Wet for being able to run a winter series you may change your tune after seeing this next one.  This is what Mac meant when he said some of the races require an ironman attitude.

http://home.comcast.net/~csehmel/muddy.jpg

Yes thats Thom under there...... I think..

Matthew

WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that castor smoke can be hazardous to your health.  It is highly addictive and causes delusions of grandeur.

[LynnCamp]

Oh my gosh!!!! That looks like fun!  But ya know, some of us pay a lot of money for a mud bath at the day spa.  You got yours for free (almost).

[firstturn]

Thom,
  Looks like a normal day in South East Texas.  Your looking great Thom and so is the Penton.  Thanks Auto5 for the picture.

Ron Carbaugh

[tomale]

Yes, those are pictures of me. I will look back on that day and smile, although it was not that fun in the middle of it. Great stuff for future benchracing though.
Thanks Ron, you all are too kind. by the way I won all four moto's that day. A first to be sure.
Mark, we should get together we do not live that far from each other. we may be of some help to each other. I live just north of seattle Wa. Things are in an uproar around my house because I am trying to build a new shop. I have been using a shed that is 10x12 and it is a struggle just to find room to work in there. soon the new shop will be finished and then I can really work on the projects that I have in mind.
Thanks all!

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[tomale]

Mark,
I have not had a problem with the noise of my bike. I am running an aftermarket pipe that I got soon after I bought the bike. I am running a sparkarrestor. Last year I was riding over by Belfair and a guy from DNR came by to check out the bike. All that he cared about was if I had a current ORV sticker and if the bike had a proper sparkarrestor, which I did and that was the last of it. He sure like my bike. I do too. There should be several places that you can find a sprararrestor that will fit. you may have to remove the stock silencer to do it though. I have my stock pipe but am not willing to butcher it to make it meet requirements. Fortunatly when I had the aftermarket pipe made I insisted that be set up so that a sparkarrestor could be fitted. I run it now all the time.
Good luck on your projects, let me know if I can be of some help even if it is just moral support.

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[tmte123]

Howdy, I am a new member and I ride with Tomale.  I went with him to the Nov. race and the next day started stripping the lights and junk off of my XL-250, and with his help, got it running for the first time in 12 years.
Tomale is not only the mild-mannered Minister with a big "P" on his chest but is also the drummer in our blues band.  I call him The Right, Rockin', Revvin', Rev.  Everytime I see him ride or ride with him, I am amazed at his speed and smoothness.  He doesn't seem to work at it as hard as others do.  When I am behind him it's everything I can do to keep him in sight and he usually has to stop every couple hundred of yards to wait for me.  If it wasn't for him I probably wouldn't be riding again. He is inspirational on so many levels, but tough to catch.  Someday I may even race, for the first time ever, but I need to ride more and watch how Thom does it.

Not a Penton owner, but I have ridden one..Tomale's MC-5.  Currently ride a '75 XL-250, '78 TT500

[tomale]

Hey Terry glad to see that you took my advice.

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.