Trail Rider Magazine

January 2017 Trail Rider

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November 2016 37 November 2016 37 fi lling a couple of fi ve-gallon Jerry Jugs is never a problem. My favorite sauce for lubrica on for the old rides is an old-fashioned castor oil. Who can't argue castor mixed with Avgas is intoxica ng to a blue-blooded motorhead. Perfume for real men. We were now ready to enjoy this old ride. Yes, we actually ride these things, and with a sweet secret stash of single-track right out the offi ce door (benefi t of woods living in Maine) we hit the trail. Although I've owned countless Pentons over the years, it's amazing that the power delivery between iden cal-looking bikes can be so diff erent. This bike had recently been fi ed with a new Mikuni and the motor was shocking. Even with the stock enduro pipe, the power was explosive with a brutal mid-range hit. I'd dare say such strong power it would give a modern bike a run for the money if it could get trac on. You see, every me it hits, either the front wheel is looking at the sky or the rear wheel is trying to pass the front. Big fun for sure. The downfall of this par cular state of tune is for a 250, the bo om end was extremely light. Steep technical climbs are quite a challenge as there's no lugging to keep moving and it's on the pipe with the front wheel in the air. Looking into the crystal ball, I see a Lectron carb to smooth out the power band as the next mod. The Lectron was available as an op onal component for Pentons through Hi Point accessories back in the day and really works wonders in taming these unruly beasts. A er ge ng to know the Penton, it was now me for freshening and cosme cs. As men oned previously, this bike had been passed through a couple of vintage bike buds before fi nding its home here at Trail Rider. The history is a bit vague, but a er a few emails, I gathered some brief background about this old 250 Penton. The bike was found in western Pennsylvania several years back by long- me East Coast vintage enthusiast James Lubniewski, A.K.A., Jimmy Lube. Like so many vintage bikes of the day, there was tremendous evolu on from year to year. What

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