Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1139140
July 2019 35 If you're into Pentons, Al's the man as he seems to always have on hand what we need and ships USPS Priority Mail the same day orders are placed. As for body work, we've got to thank Paul Stannard from Preston Pe y Products for reviving such an iconic brand. It wasn't long ago that if you wanted your vintage bike project fi ed with what most bikes were fi ed with back in the day, Preston Pe y, the search was on and you paid dearly. Today, you can order online and have a complete kit sent to your door in a couple days. Truth be told, I spent less me searching for parts for this bike than I have in a very long me. Thanks guys! Once all components were fresh and ready to be installed, along with the required needed parts, se ng aside a day or two to just chill in the shop and build is me well-spent. With Led Zeppelin cranking on the old school boom box, and my buddy Augie sprawled out on the shop floor, we had it. As men oned above, the quirky differences between years and models soon became apparent. Having a fleet of Pentons in the stable to compare components and loca ons made this par cular '76 125 build even more interes ng, although a bit of a head-scratcher. By 1975, all Penton/KTM's offered seven shock posi ons. Lay-down shocks were the hot set-up back in the day, and the majority of riders had their shocks in this posi on. In '74, forward mounts (lower shock mount forward on the swing arm) were the rage with shocks straight up and down. Ver cally straight. Amongst our fleet, we've got a 1975 Penton Six Day that's got mul ple op ons for shock posi on. This par cular '75 being lay-down as one would expect. What I find incredibly interes ng is KTM eliminated the lay-down posi on on their all-new 1976 125, basically regressing back to 1974 technology. In researching frame numbers and even con- sul ng with the men behind the bikes at the me, Jack Penton and Paul Danik, we're all at a loss. The only answer, and it's a guess, is that by 1976, KTM had begun building two dedi- cated models — MC's for motocross and Cross Country models for enduro use. Pushing 45 years later, I'm sure it's something we'll never know. With the bike now complete, we're look- ing forward to having fun with this one. Ripping an old piston port 125 through the woods is a hoot. We'll be ringing its neck soon!