— During the 70’s and into the 80’s my husband
                   and I both rode 250cc Penton motorcycles. We
                   liked to trail ride through the rolling hillside of
                   northern Maryland and to compete in local
                   motocross, enduro and hare-scramble events.
                   My motorcycle had a yellow tank, while his was
                   red and each had a few personal touches we
                   thought might help us win. They were
                   lightweight, nimble and dependable. We
                   frequently covered them with mud, sand, water
                   and dirt, but like the well-known watch
                   commercial, they “just kept on ticking”.

                   The Penton motorcycle was manufactured from
                   1967 to 1977, but the story starts much earlier
                   than that. The Pentons of Amherst, Ohio, were
                   a farming family that included seven children:
                   Ike, Ted, Hank, Mary, John, Patricia and Bill. All
                   of the boys except Hank got involved with
                   motorcycles at an early age. Bill and John
                   entered the prestigious Jack Pine Enduro in
                   1948, riding Harley-Davidsons. John did not
                   finish, but in 1949 he entered on a BSA, and
                   finished second. From that day onward John
                   Penton devoted his life to designing a better
                   off-road motorcycle, one that would carry its
                   rider reliably through almost anything.

                   The Penton brothers opened a machine shop to
                   maintain equipment for the family farming and
                   ditching business. Ike and Ted became skilled
                   machinists, and the shop eventually became the
                   heart of the Penton motorcycle research and
                   development program. It was in 1950 that the
                   Penton Brothers Motorcycle Agency was
                   established in a converted chicken coop on
                   North Ridge Road.

                   Bill was the first Penton to win the Jack Pine, in
                   1954. That year the Pentons helped form the
                   Amherst Meadowlarks Motorcycle Club, which is
                   still one of the leading clubs in northern Ohio.

                   During the late fifties John Penton threw himself
                   into motorcycling full tilt. Riding an NSU, he won
                   the Stone Mountain, Alligator, Little Burr, Jack
                   Pine, and the Corduroy championship enduros.
                   Then he rode a BMW throughout the United
                   States and into Mexico. In 1959 he followed up
                   with more enduro victories, then set his famous
                   transcontinental record riding a BMW from New
                   York to Los Angeles in under 52 hours, 11
                   minutes.

                   John continued to rack up victories into the next
                   decade, and was named “Most Popular Male
                   Rider” in March 1961 by the AMA. By this time
                   the motorcycle business was booming and the
                   Penton brothers built a new modern dealership in
                   Amherst. In 1962 John switched from NSU to his
                   famous 250cc BMW enduro motorcycle.

                   In 1967 the Pentons became the eastern U.S.
                   distributor for Husqvarna and John rode a Husky
                   in the ISDT in Poland that fall. By now he had
                   formulated his ideas about the perfect off-road
                   motorcycle. It needed to be small, light and
                   agile. He urged Husqvarna to produce a 125cc
                   off-road machine. When they refused, he found
                   his solution at the Austrian firm KTM, whose
                   team he had previously met. Within a few
                   months of his initial meeting, with KTM’s chief
                   engineer, the first Penton prototype arrived in
                   Amherst in 1967.

                   The Penton motorcycle made its debut at the
                   Stone Mountain and Alligator enduros in March
                   1968. Although they had a number of problems,
                   the Pentons quickly made improvements and
                   stood behind their product. During the month of
                   May, Penton won the Manufacturer’s Team
                   Championship at the prestigious Berkshire
                   International Trial. In September Penton
                   sponsored the first of many U.S. teams at the
                   ISDT in San Pellegrino, Italy.

                   With the introduction of a new model in 1972
                   that featured a chrome moly frame and 175cc
                   engine, Penton had great success. It was then
                   upgraded to 250cc and 400cc. In 1974 a Penton
                   won the 250cc World Motocross Championship.
                   The Penton had a tremendous influence on the
                   rapid growth of motocross in America, being
                   tough, lightweight and affordable. Cycle News
                   called the Penton “the convertible motorcycle”
                   because it could easily adapt for riding in an
                   enduro, racing motocross or recreational
                   off-road riding.

                   In spite of the success in competition, the
                   Pentons negotiated the sale of the
                   distributorship to the KTM factory, and in 1978
                   the name “Penton” was replaced with “KTM”.
                   The Austrian firm KTM was a small domestic
                   manufacturer of bicycles and scooters when
                   John had approached it in 1967 with the idea of
                   producing an off-road sport motorcycle. At that
                   time it employed less than 300 workers. By
                   1977, when Penton sold his US distribution rights
                   to them, KTM had grown to a work force of
                   more than 600. Today it continues to enjoy a
                   reputation for quality engineering and
                   manufacturing of small mini bikes to awesome
                   big-bore four-strokes designed to win the
                   Paris-Dakar Rally.

                   During the era of the Penton (1968-1977),
                   approximately 70,000 motorcycles were
                   produced, and the American riders on Pentons
                   won 44 gold, 17 silver and 18 bronze medals at
                   the ISDT.

                   Few men in motorcycling have their name
                   emblazoned on the gas tank, like John Penton.
                   Fewer still see the creation of an owners group
                   during their lifetime. The Penton Owners Group
                   was founded in 1998. It is a not-for-profit
                   organization formed by Penton owners and
                   enthusiasts, and its purpose is to pursue and
                   promote the preservation, restoration, and the
                   riding of the Penton brand motorcycle. Their
                   publication contains historical information and
                   news of current events for Penton enthusiasts.
                   They also maintain an informational website,
                   http://www.pentonusa.org.

                   This year the Penton Motorcycle was the
                   featured marque of the AMA’s Vintage
                   Motorcycle Days recently held at the Mid-Ohio
                   Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio. The Penton
                   Owners group sponsored a wonderful display of
                   machines, riding gear, trophies and memorabilia.
                   Fittingly, John Penton, ISDT and enduro
                   champion, cross-country record setter and
                   industry pioneer was the Grand Marshall for the
                   vintage races and led the parade lap.
                   Throughout the weekend John could be found
                   under the big top, surrounded by the
                   motorcycles he loved and developed, signing
                   autographs and posing for pictures.

                   Author Ed Youngblood was also present to sign
                   copies of his book recently released by
                   Whitehorse Press. John Penton and the Off-Road
                   Motorcycle Revolution, is the story of Penton;
                   the man, the motorcycle, the company, the
                   family, the mystique and the legend. The author
                   draws upon his thirty-year personal
                   acquaintance with John Penton, an exhaustive
                   review of the literature of the period as well as
                   more than 50 interviews conducted with friends,
                   family, dealers, customers and competitors. This
                   book goes beyond the story of a man and a
                   motorcycle however. Ed Youngblood examines
                   motorcycling in America and explains how major
                   political and economic events affected the
                   creation of the off-road motorcycle in the
                   1960’s, the precipitous decline of the market
                   during the 1970’s, and the rebound that found
                   KTM motorcycles competing successfully in the
                   1990’s. Copies of the book can be obtained from
                   Whitehorse Press located in North Conway, NH.
                   (603)-356-6556

                   Although John Penton rode his last ISDT at El
                   Escorial, Spain, he continued to direct his
                   incredible energy in many areas of the
                   motorcycling world. Having the opportunity to
                   spend some time with him, surrounded by
                   pictures, mementos, trophies, and dedicated
                   Penton enthusiasts was quite enlightening. I
                   only wish I still had that great old yellow tank
                   motorcycle.
 

                   — Dottie Wood