Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1527076
Vintage Feature Vintage Feature 1974 Penton 250 Hare Scrambler 1974 Penton 250 Hare Scrambler By Kurt Flachbart By Kurt Flachbart 34 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com This month's feature was a bit of a bonus from several years ago. While looking at the steel tank Penton 125 that was the subject of a Roach Resur- rec on feature in the August issue, a er we sealed the deal, the seller men oned he had another old Penton lurking in a shed at the back of his proper- ty. I always find it interes ng how old motorcycles seem to get tucked away and basically forgo en about for years on end. This par cular property was an old apple farm consis ng of many acres of beau ful, lush land on the western Connec cut/ Massachuse s border. A er rolling the steel tanker into my van, he asked me if I might be interested in another Penton proj- ect bike. Why not, I thought, and we began hiking deeper into the outskirts of the property through some heavily grown in brush to find an old cinder block pump shed with the roof en rely missing. Inside this old building lurked a 1974 Penton 250 Here Scrambler that certainly had seen be er days but was complete and rolling. Curious of how long this old Penton had been in the building he said it was placed there back in the late 90s before a tor- nado rolled through the area. Now, I remember that storm well as I'd driven through that part of New England shortly a er when I worked in the marine industry. The tor- nado had ripped the roof off the building, and it had never been repaired. Yes, the Penton was filthy but incredibly not as weathered as one would expect due to the canopy of trees above. We nego ated a fair price, and we rolled that old beast out of the woods and loaded it up with my other purchase. It was then the seller asked if I wanted to see what else they had for old bikes. We took a stroll across the property to a huge old four-story red barn with a stone founda on. In the basement of the barn were close to twenty old dirt bikes from the '70s to the early '80s. There were a few Yamaha ITs, a couple of Suzuki PEs, and several old Honda's, all belonging to the seller and his brothers. It was clear they never sold any of their old bikes. Interes ngly enough, although covered in decades of barn dust, they all were in pre y decent condi on. One day, I hope to return to visit this seller and see what else they might be willing to part with.