Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/771894
38 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com il Rid 38 T T ilRid was the hot set-up in 1976 with magazines raving about the power and handling was soon described as handling like a six-wheel dump truck in the woods. Although Pentons were considered expensive back in the day, many were cast off for the next latest and greatest. Jimmy Lube found the bike in original condi on. It appeared to have seen minimal use. Even the bri le, original Falk "Dirt Champion" rear fender was intact. This par cular 250 had never been fi ed with the Enduro Kit like the majority of Pentons sold, but as a bonus, it s ll had the original bars, grips and Magura levers. Another sign of low use was that the original Sun rims were straight as an arrow with no rock rash. Lube is not one to cut corners when waking up an old barn fi nd and he quickly stripped it to the bare frame, not because it needed to be painted, but to thoroughly inspect it for cracks. Jimmy Lube rides his vintage bikes and there's a lot to be said for proper machine prep. He gave the Penton a thorough cleaning and inspec on and serviced the swing arm pivot (This model, along with other Pentons, have enclosed swing arm bearings that run in an oil bath). Then he sent out the original Marzocchi shocks for rebuild and disassembled and cleaned the Ceriani forks, installing new seals. Once the Penton was assembled and run a few mes, Jimmy Lube decided to pass it along to my new friend Ma Browne in Southern Maine since another project soon took Lube's priority. Giving thought as to why so many fi ne European rides are o en found with minimal use over the years, we've seen that these low-use bikes typically have an inherent problem. The factory carburetors most Euro bikes were fi ed with were fi nicky and troublesome. The bike is bought new, runs good for a while, then starts to act up, fouling plugs and is hard to start. With the rapid evolu on of dirt bike technology, the cantankerous old bike is pushed to a corner. A new shiny mount is purchased and the old bike is soon forgo en. This was most likely the case with this Penton. The stock Bing 54 carburetor was causing all kinds of issues. It would run lean, then rich. It was hard to start and then might run well for a short spell. A er consul ng with the Internet "experts" on proper Bing set-up, along with a good amount of money spent to make the stock carb work, Browne decided to buy a pre- je ed Mikuni carb and be done with it. Once fi ed with the Mikuni, the other weird