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Wikipedia

John Penton (motorcyclist)

May 18, 2023

Not to be confused with American football player and coach John Penton.

John Penton (born August 19, 1925)[1] was an American professional motorcycle racer and entrepreneur who developed an enduro motorcycle brand that bore his name.[1][2] A national champion enduro rider, he was an influential figure in the development of off-road motorcycle racing in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s.[1] He also founded a successful off-road motorcycle boot and apparel company.[1] Penton was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.[1]

Motorcycling career

Penton grew up on his family farm near Amherst, Ohio where he learned how to ride a motorcycle on his father's 1914 Harley-Davidson.[1] He served in the Merchant Marine and in the Navy during the Second World War then, returned home and soon bought a Harley-Davidson Knucklehead motorcycle.[1]

Penton entered the grueling Jack Pine 500-Mile Enduro in 1948 where, he was impressed by the performance of the BSA motorcycle ridden by the race winner.[1] The advantage that the nimble, lightweight British motorcycle had over heavier, more powerful motorcycles left an impression on Penton.[1] He rode a BSA B33 to a second-place finish in the 1949 Jack Pine Enduro.[1] The second-place finish inspired Penton to find a better performing enduro motorcycle.[1]

In 1950, Penton and his brothers opened a motorcycle dealership in Amherst where, they sold BSA as well as BMW and NSU motorcycles.[1] Penton became one of the top motorcycle enduro competitors in the nation, representing the United States seven times at the International Six Days Trial (now called International Six Days Enduro) between 1962 and 1970.[3] The International Six Days Trial is a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics which is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the FIM dating back to 1913.[4] He was also a long-distance motorcyclist, setting a transcontinental crossing record in 1958 when he rode a BMW R69S from New York to Los Angeles in 52 hours and 11 minutes.[5][6]

After Penton won the 1966 Jack Pine Enduro on a Husqvarna, the Swedish motorcycle manufacturer named him the distributor of the brand for the eastern United States.[1] As the baby boomer generation came of age during the 1960s and 1970s, off-road motorcycling experienced a boom in popularity.[7] Penton sought to capitalize on this boom by providing a lightweight off-road motorcycle.[2] After failing to convince Husqvarna to produce an even lighter off-road machine, he decided to make his proposal to the KTM factory in Austria which, at the time produced bicycles and mopeds.[2]

Penton offered to put up $6,000 of his own money if KTM would build prototypes to his specifications which, then would be sold in the United States as Penton motorcycles.[1] He formed a successful racing team that supported some of the top enduro racers of the era including his son, Jack Penton who competed in 12 ISDT events as well as Dick Burleson, Carl Cranke and Billy Uhl.[1] By the time Penton sold the distributorship to KTM, approximately 10 years later, more than 25,000 Penton motorcycles had been sold in America.[1]

Penton's innovations also included off-road motorcycling apparel.[1] With the assistance of Italian boot manufacturer Alpinestars, he developed one of the biggest-selling off-road motorcycle boots in the nation.[2] Top motocross racer Bob Hannah wore the boots and consulted on improvements to the design.[1] By the late-1970s, his boot and apparel company accounted for over half the sales in the American market.[1]

He was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.[1] A book, John Penton and the Off-Road Motorcycle Revolution, and a 2014 video documentary about Penton's life, Penton: The John Penton Story, narrated by Lyle Lovett, have been created.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t AMA Hall of Fame
  2. ^ a b c d "Penton!". dirtbikemagazine.com. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  3. ^ "ISDT Results". isdt.org. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  4. ^ "History of the International Six Day Trials". ultimatemotorcycling.com. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  5. ^ Setright 1979, p. 75.
  6. ^ Walker 1999, p. 38.
  7. ^ . motorcyclemuseum.org. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  8. ^ "The John Penton story", Dirt Bike
  9. ^ Andrew Bornhop Scott Cox (June 19, 2014), "MOVIE REVIEW—Penton: The John Penton Story – With a little help from Austria, this tough American farmer took on the enduro world.", Cycle World

Sources

Further reading

  • Youngblood, Ed (2014), John Penton and the Off-Road Motorcycle Revolution, ISBN 1495125548
  • "PENTON!", Dirt Bike, 2014
  • "Throwback Thursday: Penton und KTM – John Penton, Gründer der gleichnamigen amerikanischen Offroad-Marke, spielte eine bedeutende Rolle in der Geschichte von KTM. Aufgrund seiner Initiative begann bei KTM die Serienproduktion wettbewerbstauglicher Offroadmotorräder." [Throwback Thursday: Penton and KTM – John Penton, founder of the American offroad brand of the same name, played an important role in the history of KTM. Due to his initiative, KTM began series production of competitive offroad motorcycles.], Official blog (in German), KTM, October 16, 2014

External links

  • John Penton at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame

May 18, 2023
john, penton, motorcyclist, confused, with, american, football, player, coach, john, penton, john, penton, born, august, 1925, american, professional, motorcycle, racer, entrepreneur, developed, enduro, motorcycle, brand, that, bore, name, national, champion, . Not to be confused with American football player and coach John Penton John Penton born August 19 1925 1 was an American professional motorcycle racer and entrepreneur who developed an enduro motorcycle brand that bore his name 1 2 A national champion enduro rider he was an influential figure in the development of off road motorcycle racing in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s 1 He also founded a successful off road motorcycle boot and apparel company 1 Penton was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998 1 Contents 1 Motorcycling career 2 References 2 1 Sources 3 Further reading 4 External linksMotorcycling career EditPenton grew up on his family farm near Amherst Ohio where he learned how to ride a motorcycle on his father s 1914 Harley Davidson 1 He served in the Merchant Marine and in the Navy during the Second World War then returned home and soon bought a Harley Davidson Knucklehead motorcycle 1 Penton entered the grueling Jack Pine 500 Mile Enduro in 1948 where he was impressed by the performance of the BSA motorcycle ridden by the race winner 1 The advantage that the nimble lightweight British motorcycle had over heavier more powerful motorcycles left an impression on Penton 1 He rode a BSA B33 to a second place finish in the 1949 Jack Pine Enduro 1 The second place finish inspired Penton to find a better performing enduro motorcycle 1 In 1950 Penton and his brothers opened a motorcycle dealership in Amherst where they sold BSA as well as BMW and NSU motorcycles 1 Penton became one of the top motorcycle enduro competitors in the nation representing the United States seven times at the International Six Days Trial now called International Six Days Enduro between 1962 and 1970 3 The International Six Days Trial is a form of off road motorcycle Olympics which is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the FIM dating back to 1913 4 He was also a long distance motorcyclist setting a transcontinental crossing record in 1958 when he rode a BMW R69S from New York to Los Angeles in 52 hours and 11 minutes 5 6 After Penton won the 1966 Jack Pine Enduro on a Husqvarna the Swedish motorcycle manufacturer named him the distributor of the brand for the eastern United States 1 As the baby boomer generation came of age during the 1960s and 1970s off road motorcycling experienced a boom in popularity 7 Penton sought to capitalize on this boom by providing a lightweight off road motorcycle 2 After failing to convince Husqvarna to produce an even lighter off road machine he decided to make his proposal to the KTM factory in Austria which at the time produced bicycles and mopeds 2 Penton offered to put up 6 000 of his own money if KTM would build prototypes to his specifications which then would be sold in the United States as Penton motorcycles 1 He formed a successful racing team that supported some of the top enduro racers of the era including his son Jack Penton who competed in 12 ISDT events as well as Dick Burleson Carl Cranke and Billy Uhl 1 By the time Penton sold the distributorship to KTM approximately 10 years later more than 25 000 Penton motorcycles had been sold in America 1 Penton s innovations also included off road motorcycling apparel 1 With the assistance of Italian boot manufacturer Alpinestars he developed one of the biggest selling off road motorcycle boots in the nation 2 Top motocross racer Bob Hannah wore the boots and consulted on improvements to the design 1 By the late 1970s his boot and apparel company accounted for over half the sales in the American market 1 He was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998 1 A book John Penton and the Off Road Motorcycle Revolution and a 2014 video documentary about Penton s life Penton The John Penton Story narrated by Lyle Lovett have been created 8 9 References Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t AMA Hall of Fame a b c d Penton dirtbikemagazine com Retrieved 26 February 2019 ISDT Results isdt org Retrieved 23 February 2019 History of the International Six Day Trials ultimatemotorcycling com Retrieved 22 February 2019 Setright 1979 p 75 Walker 1999 p 38 Boom Time American Motocross in the 1970s motorcyclemuseum org Archived from the original on 4 April 2012 Retrieved 23 February 2019 The John Penton story Dirt Bike Andrew Bornhop Scott Cox June 19 2014 MOVIE REVIEW Penton The John Penton Story With a little help from Austria this tough American farmer took on the enduro world Cycle World Sources Edit Setright L J K 1979 The Guinness book of motorcycling facts and feats ISBN 9780851122557 Walker Mick 1999 Mick Walker s German Racing Motorcycles Redline Books ISBN 978 0 9531311 2 9 Further reading EditYoungblood Ed 2014 John Penton and the Off Road Motorcycle Revolution ISBN 1495125548 PENTON Dirt Bike 2014 Throwback Thursday Penton und KTM John Penton Grunder der gleichnamigen amerikanischen Offroad Marke spielte eine bedeutende Rolle in der Geschichte von KTM Aufgrund seiner Initiative begann bei KTM die Serienproduktion wettbewerbstauglicher Offroadmotorrader Throwback Thursday Penton and KTM John Penton founder of the American offroad brand of the same name played an important role in the history of KTM Due to his initiative KTM began series production of competitive offroad motorcycles Official blog in German KTM October 16 2014External links EditJohn Penton at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Penton motorcyclist amp oldid 1094967613, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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