headquarters, there always seems to be
room for one more wayward child;
especially if it's a Penton. Last fall,
we got a message through Trail
Rider's Facebook page (be
sure to "Like") from long- me
woodsman Ma Browne. Would
we be interested in a '76 250
Penton Cross Country? Why not,
we thought. It would make a great
shop companion for our
much-loved '76 400
C.C. The asking
price was
more than
reasonable for such
an iconic mount,
and the best part
was it was only
an hour away in
southern Maine.
A er thinking
about it for 10
minutes or so
and raiding the
subscrip on jar
(Thanks, guys!), I and
my trusty sidekick, Lucy
the wonder dog, hit the road.
Our ini al mee ng was fun like
so many other vintage bike stories. A er
cha ng for a few and ge ng acquainted, Browne and I soon got along famously. The
bike appeared to be a bit rough cosme cally with a torn seat, used-up res, modern
grips and faded yellowed plas cs. The basics looked excep onally solid, and as a huge
bonus, the original, orange gel-coated tank was in great condi on. I liked what I saw, as
the bike was just the way I prefer to fi nd them, room for improvement and no paying
extra for someone's spray bomb job.
Browne said the Penton hadn't been started in a few weeks and gave it a kick. The bike
fi red immediately thanks to a recent Mikuni carb conversion. While le ng it warm up,
