We talked with an older rider who raced a Penton against our husqvarna's many decades ago. He still has a bitterness against husqvarna's today. I guess it's a rivalry between Penton vs husqvarna. It sounds more like a hatred against huskys. I never knew this exsisted? I'm thinking that the husqvarnas must have beaten his Penton many times. I have been told by other guys who raced in the husqvarna payday if you wanted to be up in the front of the race you had to be on a husqvarna.
Weird. Loved my Penton back in the early 70's but had I been able to afford it I would have had a Husky as well. And a CZ and a .....
Ahh yes oldie goldies! Regularly see most of the above at Barber's Vintage Fest in AL each October. One guy had a couple of AJS bikes fully restored. Looked as if they had never been ridden. OMG and the time I showed my grandpa a Hodaka he called it a Hokadoka lol.
I remember my dad riding several BSA bikes in the enduros early 70's too. They were big bikes from what I remember.
When my buddies and I started woods riding the bike we wanted to move up to and race was a Triumph Trophy 500. There were no dirt bikes in north Jersey yet in the early 60s. We made dirt bikes. I'm 61 now and still looking for the ultimate woods racer, and ice bike. LOL. Gunna be a 450 for sure.
Yep there were no small woods bikes on those days. My dad was a long time member of CJCR and later OCCR and I remember him riding and winning Sandy Lane and other enduros on those beasts before the smaller bikes became available. He used put them in his pick up truck and race.
My neighbor Ed Van Overloop would ride his BSA to an enduro, race, then ride home. Your Dad may have raced with him and another long lost fast friend Emile Cocce{sp]. I was blessed to ride with both of them.
I wish I could remember all the names of those guys from those days, but I do remember some but not Ed or Emile. My dad passed away 8 years ago at 76 and was still riding shortly before he passed
http://pentonmovie.com/see-the-film/ We had a showing in our area, we were able to sell out the theater for the showing.. Interesting movie about John Penton.
I won alot of races in 1976 on my Maico, if it did not break, I won, no lie. I rebuilt the trannie [shims behind third gear] after every race. RMs took over soon tho just as the Elsinores did for a year or so in 74. Great time to be a racer. Every year bikes were way better and we Easteners all dreamed of racing in Cali. Never did race there but still time. Started racing Huskie in 83 till 86 till Cagiva bought them. Raced from 09 till now on another Huskie and sold it when SP bought the company for fear of parts availability. My next bike will be a HusKTm tho I think if I can plate it. That damn Maico was easy to win on when it ran, cornered so good it was like cheating. It was not fast but hooked up like a 4 stroke.
Sounds so familiar. I used to take my 250 apart every week (that I had some money to put into the transmission) to get it ready for Sunday. Always had clutch trouble too so the starts weren't always the best but in the early 70s I was mostly racing against Jap bikes and it was really fun to reel them in. Most of the bikes of the late 60s and early 70s had to bounce off a berm to turn. Riding a Maico was cheating.
People seem to like to hate on Husky's. Just the other day a KTM rider I know when a huge anti-Husky rant. I don't get it.
