curiosity

[TGTech]

The regular Penton Owners Group memebers that I see at the meetings each month are all familar faces to me. Because of that, I pretty much know how they became linked to the organization. But there are lots of other people out there who's backgrounds I don't know. What got you interested in the Penton motorcycles or the Penton Owners Group?

Dane

[Mick Milakovic]

Hi Dane,
I was a lad of 14, watching steel tankers glide through the woods thinking, if you want to win THATS what you ride!  Then my brother bought a '74 Jackpiner and started winning immediately.  He then bought a '75 Harescrambler from Buck Whalsworth, and that is now my bike.  Both of my brother Tom's bikes were in our mother's basement for 25 years until three years ago when I saw Kip Kern's steel tanker on the back page of the AMA magazine [8D]  That's what got me interested in restoring the bikes, visiting Mid-Ohio in the summer of '02, and ultimately AHRMA racing.  I love the vintage scene.  In one way or another, i'll be involved for the rest of my life

[Dave Withrow]

Dane,
    In 1972 I was trail riding a Yamaha 100 with my Dad and some friends.  A guy riding a Penton 175 Jackpiner met up with us on the trail.  I just could not keep my eyes off it!  I must have asked the guy about a hundred questions and told him I'd like to try racing.  He just said, "You want the best...you want a Penton".  That guy was a MX racer named Jackie Lambert.....probably the best around my area then.  Anyway, word got out and it seemed that the serious riders went to Pentons.
    My dad knew the owner of Beckley Sport Cycles and took me to look at the 125 Six Day.  Just a look was enough for me to know I wanted one.  Newspaper delivery money, grocery bagging money, lawn mowing money all went to pay for the bike.  And then there was the first race.......
    I guess finding the Penton Owner's Group helped renew a feeling I'd thought I'd lost long ago.  Remember going to your first race?  The sounds, that unmistakable smell of premix, and all the bikes.  The tightness in your stomach as you wait at the starting line.  I remember the first time I went to the POG websight.  All those memories came back and there I was.....a 13 year old kid again(just what my wife needed, right?).  The biggest bonus is an opportunity to actually meet and talk to people who were my heroes back then.  You can't imagine what a rush it was to talk to John and thank him for all he has done for the sport.
    Anyway, there you have it.  This is a GREAT group and I look forward to seeing and riding with you all next year. And the next. And so on......you get the idea.  Thanks, hope I didn't take too long.
                                           Dave
                                           GO PENTON

[DKWRACER]

Great question Dane! While at a local track, 15 something years ago, this local guy shows up at a Vintage race, I was on a pitifull Bultaco Matador. One thing noticed right away was the leather tank strap. Intrigued, I pursued to talk to this guy......To this very day, I have found a Mentor, a KTM and Penton storehouse of knowledge, within 1 month, I had a Penton. You might know him, Gary Leiker...a quiet person. Finding the POG website? The Internet and email are something of a prized possesion in of themselves. Geeze, then I saw the Hiro, about blew me away! Tom...

[cubfan1968]

When I was 13 I spent the summer of 71 in California. My cousins took me out to do some riding in the desert. I got stuck on a mini bike while my cousins had 250 Yamahas. I had a blast. At that time I thought the 250 Yamaha was the greatest motorcycle of all time, so when my cousin told me he was selling his Yamaha to buy a Penton 6 Day I was shocked. We went to see the Penton and got a look what this thing would do. I was blown away. This thing looked great performed great, it was the whole package. I told myself then and there when I bought a motorcycle it was going to be a Penton.

Little did I know there were no Penton dealers, selling new Pentons, in Omaha. So it took until 2004 to finally get one. It has been an absolute blast and very worth the wait.

Rod Whitman
1972 6 Day (Rider)
1972 6 Day (Project)

[OUCWBOY]

Dane,
I got started on Pentons back in early 1969 when my old Honda S-90 just wasn't quite made for off road. Although, I didn't do too bad. It was a much better flat tracker than a MX'er though. My local Honda dealer was also a Bultaco, Husqvarna, Triumph, American Eagle and maby some others as well, and he was also a GREAT enduro rider. I was best friends with his nephew and we visited shop often. One day while on skip school field trip (becuase of snow), we walked in and there sat the OUTSTANDING Green and White Penton Six Day. It was 1969 and I was a Junior in High School. I just had to have it, so I put on my best begging performance for my dad and sold all my spare time to do whatever Pop needed me to do. Worked two jobs to pay him back and did as many things around the house that he could think of for me to do. I have to say that it was all worth it. Later in the year, we wanted to get an extra edge, so Mike Lewis and Leroy Winters installed a 152 kit in my bike. It was awsome................... Then the CMF bikes hit the store and I had to have me a New Jackpiner, so I got a loan and bought my 2nd Penton. I rode that JP so much that within a year I was on my 2nd over bore. Kept the 69 until my ex-wife sold it in 1983 when we were getting divorced. Can't remember what happened to the JP. About 4 years ago, I was just browsing Ebay and saw a 70 Six Day listed and got bit bad by the Penton bug again.

Donny Smith

[tmc3c]

This is a question that is hard to get it all in.I started out racing a Honda Trail 90 then moved up to a 100cc Bultaco Lobito and my father was on a Bultaco 360"I think" and he has a friend that used to hang out at my dads service station in the 60s named Edward Stokes.Edward was a brick mason and could ride like the wind ,well Edward bought the Honda dealership in Charleston and this evolved into many other bike lines also.Husky and Penton came along and Edward told my dad to come check out the new bikes.Edward put my dad on a 400 Husky and my dad said it was a wheelie machine.He then rode the Penton 125 and was sold!It came to the station with him that day.I think I was about 12 or so and I would ride his Penton and loved it so my dad bought me a 100cc Penton and I had it for a while but the power difference had me so we sold the 100cc and bought a 125.Then when motocross was just starting out we went to flat tracking the 125s and that is where the Penton really shined!!! The power and handling was GREAT!! put a spool wheel on the front ,take off the front fender and get the gearing right and you are out front!Pentons are just a Quality racer that can't be beat.



Thomas Carmichael


1970 125 Six Day
1976 250 Hare Scrambler

[BrianTaylor]

Wow this is like opening up your  soul and divulging to everyone your inner feelings .. 1968 Northern Ontario Coururoy Intl Trial   saw my first Penton at 14 ...Leroy Winters , Tom Penton  just didnt get any better. My older brother was a Hodaka dealer and thats what we raced  to some successs but it was all our efforts not so much the bike. I new immeadiatly everything else out there was obsolete  and I wanted one . there were no Pentons or Pentons Dealers in Canada but I would go to Michigan and Ohio to race and they were everywhere .... and they were winning .. WE pressured my brother to get Penton in his dealership but the answer was no .... we begged ...but we new if we went around him we would be cut off of our parts sponsorship  which we all needed.....We saw so many mediocre riders buying Pentons and becoming class winners ... finaly in 74 we bought our first Pentons  and some of the first into Canada  and easily  began to win our classes in Canada ........ ah the good old days but I wasted to many years competing on an less competitive mount .... Brian T

Brian Taylor

[behindbars]

I never knew much about Pentons when I was a kid. We had a Hodaka dealer about a block from my house so my bike of choice at age 12 was a 72 Ace100. My folks would not even think about letting me race so that was not an option. They didn't even want me to ride, but after several summers of constant pestering they finally gave in. My interest in Pentons was sparked by my love for history. About 10 years ago I started collecting MX bikes and I started learning about the history of the Penton brand. The Penton brand was so influential in the early days of off road riding here in the US that it was only logical that I had to have one. It took awhile, but now I have several. I'm sitting here at the old computer looking at a ragged copy of Keeping Track that was given to me by the former owner of one of my Mints. Fortunately he saved a few Penton documents that he had over the years. Here I see a young Dane Leimback, Jack Penton, Carl Cranke, and Tom Penton pictured inside the front cover. Dane.....the beard and glasses look totally period correct.. I wondered what you would have looked like back in the day. You were listed as one of the riders who was going to compete in the 51st ISDT. It is an honor that now around 30 years later I'm able to communicate with those who have had such a profound influence on the early racing days here in the US. Man this internet sure is a cool tool. I'm new to Pentons, so I sure have a lot to learn. Thanks so much for this site as I consider it to be a priceless source for infomation on the early years of off road racing. I think it would be really great to have a section for pics of some of the influential riders and Penton employees from back in the day. Some cool hair styles would be depicted I'm sure...... [:0] For those with a strong love of history...a Penton is a must have motorcycle. Funny how back in the day those of you who were there probably never though about the history you were making. Thanks for making the past come alive for those of us who were not there.

[lksseven]

Dane,

I rode/raced Hodaka 100 and 1970 Penton 125 Steeltanker as a teenager.  Was off dirt bikes for 30 years.  A friend of mine May '05 sent me a picture of a completely restored Hodaka.  It made me gasp.  I then thought to look for Penton pics on the Internet, and when I pulled up a restored
Steeltanker, I started smiling from ear to ear, and couldn't stop grinning all day - literally.  I got to thinking, "I'm 49 and not much makes me smile all day long anymore, so maybe I should pursue this Penton thing a little bit."  I found POG on the Net, posted a question about how to take baby steps, Ron Carbaugh contacted me and helped me like a big brother, and here I am, 5 Pentons strong (3 breathing, 2 waiting for some time/effort).  

My wife says that, for me, riding/working on these Pentons is like taking a vitamin B12 shot.  I agree.   I'm happy to work on them, making/keeping them beautiful and functional, and I'm thrilled at the great people I've met through POG - dirt bike people are the best people you can know, and Penton owners are the best of the best.

Larry Seale
I choose to ride

[flattracker23]

quote:Originally posted by BrianTaylor

Wow this is like opening up your  soul and divulging to everyone your inner feelings .. 1968 Northern Ontario Coururoy Intl Trial   saw my first Penton at 14 ...Leroy Winters , Tom Penton  just didnt get any better. My older brother was a Hodaka dealer and thats what we raced  to some successs but it was all our efforts not so much the bike. I new immeadiatly everything else out there was obsolete  and I wanted one . there were no Pentons or Pentons Dealers in Canada but I would go to Michigan and Ohio to race and they were everywhere .... and they were winning .. WE pressured my brother to get Penton in his dealership but the answer was no .... we begged ...but we new if we went around him we would be cut off of our parts sponsorship  which we all needed.....We saw so many mediocre riders buying Pentons and becoming class winners ... finaly in 74 we bought our first Pentons  and some of the first into Canada  and easily  began to win our classes in Canada ........ ah the good old days but I wasted to many years competing on an less competitive mount .... Brian T

Brian Taylor

And then you got a Rokon?

Spencer Gaydon
Lubbock, TX

[Paul Danik]

Dane,
   How about telling us what it was like to know your Uncle John was building his own motorcycle?  What were your thoughts when you saw your first Penton?

Paul

[BrianTaylor]

Spencer you are correct ......  Rode ROKON 75 ISLE OF MANN  and still have it Brian T

Brian Taylor

[desmond197]

I saw my first Penton in 1972. My friend Greg Smerz had one and I remember hanging out in the garge playing pool and checking out his 125 Six Day. I just thought it was the greatest bike. I think Gregg was a AMA road race champ one year. He does motor cycle stunts for a living.

My dad bought me a 125 AT3 Yamaha and I had several sets ups for the bike and road it in trials,MX and some enduros. I alway wanted a Penton but did just fine on the Yamaha. My friends would tease me about the Yamaha but I beat them sevearl times with that bike. I also remember at the time realy wanting a Mudlark trial bike.

My other friend Mike Barrett got a friends old Steel Tanker that was painted flat black. No silencer and that bike was the loudest bike ever. I remember a spark plug top ended up getting down the spark plug hole and that was the end of that bike.

After haveing several near misses racing vintage cars I got out of that and into bikes. About 15 years ago I got into vintage biikes again by buying a Hercules 175 for $50. I then started buying every thing I could get my hands on. I saw a Penton 1972 Penton 125 for $125 at the Will Stoner York Swap meet and bought it. I then got several more via Ebay in the early days of that and a Penton Woodsman at Mid Ohio a couple of years ago.

[Don Roth]

Dane,
Plain and simple, hormones. Although I do not race, I have been on some sort
of bike since age 12, some 40 years ago. My cousin and I bought our first bike together,
a 1968 Bridgestone 50cc for the grand sum of $35.00. We rode the wheels of that bike,
in Northern Pa. Our neighbor was an oil man and his daughter (this is the hormone part)
rode on her Honda Trail 70 with us. The next summer, we both had our own bikes,
my cousin a Kaw F3 me, the same Bridgestone with a transplanted 90cc engine. Being
teenage boys, the competiton was full bore, and guess who shows up on Dad's six day? What a beauty, both the girl and the bike. I can still recall hearing the distictive exhaust note and beautiful greenand chrome machine. . We all recall reading the reviews and looking through the shop window at these bikes, I grew up in Pittsburgh and rode past Ron Bohn's Cycle weekly, looking at the 'winner's' machines.
Well, fast forward several years and several bikes (honda,kaw,yam,suz, hodaka, even a few Rokons) and I have the pleasure of riding my very own Penton(s). Reliving my youth?
Yep, for sure! Couldn't afford as a kid, can't afford not to as an adult!
This group has allowed me to smile like a 13 year old covered in mud and chasing that
female rider through the woods. To her credit, she did stop once in a while and allow
us to catch up.
-don