My Best Penton Crash

[tomale]

Ok, I guess I will jump in, I have crashed a number of times and I am sure that I have forgotten most of them. Two of them come to mind, The first one was on my first bike... a suzuki 90  We were riding at clear creek, We had been on a long ride and The dunes tend to all look the same. Bob stopped at the top of this hill, I did not understand why and this was my shot to impress him, so I went flynn by, To my dismay, I was not where I though I was. The trail was steep and it wound throught the sticker bushes. I panicked and stomped on my brakes.... I did some violent tank swapping. I let off on the brakes but I was still going too fast. I down shifted and lightly touched the rear brakes... ( this helped) I continued this sequences and by the time I got to the bottom I did managed to stopped just short of the creek at the bottom. I realize that it is not techically a crash because I never actually hit the ground. I came so close I should have. It was just dumb luck I did not. I was shaking from head to toe and I slowly rode back to camp down the fireroad that followed the creek.
The second is a Penton story, I went through a time in my life when I believed what others were saying about me. I thought I was cool!
I was out on my very new Penton, the bike I have still have. I was out riding on my day off. The land that I was riding on had been cleared for a future college and it was flat, flat, flat. I decided to open it up and see just how fast this thing would go. once I got up to speed I started looking around to see who was looking and to my disappointment no one was, I was alone. When suddenly in front of me was a large block of cement. I was going way too fast to avoid it and I strained at the bars to lighten the front end. I hit that thing and the front end came up into my face, then the rear wheel and I was on the edge of a endo, still hanging on... somehow I managed to slide the bike to a stop. I had crushed both wheels. but to my amazement I did not damage the hubs only the rims. I looked around and that block of cement that I hit was the only one there was not even so much as a small rock anywhere to be found. I stood there and said...OK God you have my attention. NO bruise, no breaks and only a small road rash.  The bike was so bad off that I could not even roll it back to the truck and I walked back half mile and got the truck to get the bike. I pulled the bike into the back and went home. I have to watch that pride stuff, Pride really does come before a fall. [8D]

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

[OUCWBOY]

In 1972 I bought a new Jackpiner. My friends and I would hit the open fields and chase rabbits. We didn't catch them, just chased them. It was great practice for Enduros. These rabbits were know for really quick turns and it was always a game to try to anticipate there next turn. Anyway, there were four of us out that day had we kept going further to the West and getting into some areas where we had never been before. I'm on the tail of this one rabbit and going along in 4th at almost full throtle when the rabbit goes up this long slope of an embankment and then suddenly turns hard left. This rabbit had a pattern of making a hard left and then quickly truning back to the right again. I thought to myself, OK, I'll just keep going straight because I knew that this one woud just turn back to the right again and I would cut him off. So I cranked the throtle all the way open and hit 5th. I topped that embankment and that's when I realized that the rabbit had turned left for a reason. It took me a month to get all that Pond water out of the Jackpiner. Another two months for my broken collar bone to heal. Rabbits=1 Donny=0

Donny Smith

[john durrill]

You Folks have me topped but ill still put mine down.
 A bunch of us from Tallahassee and Rick G and Herman ( out of Ricks Pensacola Shop) went to a 2 day enduro on the 4th of July weekend in southern AL or Miss. I cant remmeber which ( the reason for my memory laps will come out in a min).
 It was hot , upper 90's and a bright sun both days. The first day about half way through the course the trail led into a creek. The creek was not deep but had a hard stone bottom and was covered with a thick layer of sliper moss . Well it was just deep enough and slippery that you had to paddel not ride the 400 yards down stream to get out.
 The high 90's temp combined with the steam coming off the engine and haveing to paddel to keep the bike upright got me about the time we came out of the creek. Guess it was heat prostration , never had that happen to me befor. Got the bike out of the creek and off the trail put the kickstand down and headed back into the creek. Stayed there about 10 min neck deep chuckle chuckle.
 Feeling better  i said ok  Now we are very late!!! lets see if we can get back on time. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!
 About 5 miles farther down the trail we ( the little Penton 100 and I ) we runnig 100 % and at leats 20 % over our heads chuckle chuckle !
 We came up on a nice sandy Jeep trail sweeper. Could not see all the way around it but the trail was good . We entered in 6th gear down shifted to 5th ,  taped the rear brake and set up a nice controled feet up drift and pegged the throttle .
 What to my supprise to find but a Honda SL 125 ( the fellow on it had decided he had had enough fun for one day. Figure he would ride back the trail he came in on and head home) in the blind spot of the corner coming at me at about 25 mph. All i saw was a snapshot in my mind of the him and the bike lol.
 Next thing i knew i was in the trail on my back looking at the clear blue sky. The Gentlman on the Honda was sitting with his back against a tree bleeding from the knee and my shoulder and left knee did not seem to work quite right.  
 Bikes were buzzing buy my head so , I tried to get up and off the Jeep trail. For some unknown reason I was haveing some trouble getting things to move *grin*.
 The Honda rider got up with a look of astonishment on his face and hobbled over to help me off the trail. I wondered why he was  getting up when i realized that there was a string of verbal abuse comeing out of my mouth directed at him that would have put a DI at Paris Island to shame chuckle chuckle.
 We got off the trail and while we waited for the clean up truck we got to know one another and acesss the damage to the bikes. I had a badly bent set of fork tubes and a dent in the pipe ( thats all we could see from where we sat). The poor little Honda had not faired as well. The entire font fork and tripple trees had been ripped off his bike along with the gas tank.
 My knee we bothering me but the jeans were not torn and and there was a small spot of blood at the knee so i figured no worries .
 We got back to the start and Rick G said lets have a look at it. Well when the jeans came off we found 3 inch slice under the knee cap that went deep. Off the the local hospital we went . Some how one of the ball ends of the levers had contacted the knee in the crash and done that much damage with out tearing the jeans.
  7 stiches and some work on my shoulder and they let me go.
The moral to this story is NEVER , Never Run more that 80 % on unknown trails unless its life or death Chuckle chuckle!!!!!
 Or you could meet one of those * Nicests People on a Honda* they use to advertise about so much* GRIN *
John D.
 

[Mick Milakovic]

Rocket,
When is the Roselawn run?  I'm only about an hour from there and if I'm not already committed (my wife says I am) I might come and watch.  That's my hometown stomping grounds; it's been a while, but I used to ride all those trails around Shelby, Thayer, Schneider, Burr Oak, etc. just for fun. Does that run still go over into Illinois, too?

[Rocket]

Mick
The spring run is April 18th.  This one starts about 3-4 miles south of Nakid City.  Different club runs the spring run.  The Summer Bummer starts west of Roselawn at the "City".
If you are coming you might as well bring your M/C and ride.  I'm sure Ted Del Solar will be there riding.
Rocket

[Tony Price]

Here in Dallas we have a "Roselawn" cemetary.  So far I've managed to not send in my entry, lol.

My "best" crashes (still not sure those exist) somehow seem to elude me, although several witnesses have scored max points for degree of difficulty, and one international judge once awarded me bonus points for orginalty for my patented signature Inverted Superman No-Hander Lander Sterilizer........with a back flip.

Funny, all I remember is realizing a paramedic was trying to get me to lay still:)

I didn't earn the nickname "Kamrad Krash" fur nuthin' ya know!

These kids today think they inveted Free-Style.  PA-LEEEEEZE!!!!!!!!!!

Tony

[Mick Milakovic]

Rocket,
Unfortunately thats the same day as the CC national in Marion, Illinois and I'm planning on being there.  Good luck and bring home the gold!

[Speedy]

Sorry guys.Love all your stories but cant help you with one of my own because never had a PENTON CRASH
Cheers,Speedy------>>>>
But then,...on some other bike makes,...o boy,.....[B)][}:)]

Helmut Clasen KTM
162 Hillcrest Ave
L9H 4Y3
Dundas Ontario Canada
Ph.905-627-5349
[email protected]
http://speedy_c.tripod.com
Sachs GP-GS 250-7A reeds
Zuendapp 125 GS ISDT repl.73
KTM 450 EXC Auto.03
Duke spec.Edit,1996
Adventurer 02

[Rain Man]

Back in the summer of 1975, I use to work evenings at this little drive in restaurant and would use my Jackpiner to commute on. There was this High Schools atheletic field about a 1/4 mile long directly across the street and the trail started at the end of the field and ran off through the woods. All summer long, I crossed the field at night and into the woods.  Late  August just before school started, I was heading home one night on the Piner when I slammed into this wooden bench they just put in the middle of the Atheletic field. Never hit the brakes, Mister, that bench didn't even budge an inch.
Not Surprised, The bike took the hit better than I did. I think they still use that bench at the School!!

[LynnCamp]

For better or for worse, my past is mostly a blur... however, I do remember some of the details of one of my favorite moments.  

I came up on a spectator point in a National Enduro and the steep, slippery hill was full of stalled riders.  Of course, you are dead if you wait for traffic to clear, so I headed off to the left of the mob and was gassing my way up the hill through some thick brush.  Next thing I knew I was on the ground and my bike had gone airborne and the front wheel got stuck on a low lying limb of a tree (I swear it is true).  But the best part was when some spectators worked their way over to me on the ground and some little old lady (she looked ancient to me at the time.. but she was probably 40) yelled "Henry, Henry, oh my God it's a girl, Henry".  With the help of Henry and a few others (is that legal?), I got my bike down and managed to get up the hill and finished on my hour.