Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/962346
was then that we walked down the stairs to where my bike was parked and chatted it up famously, like we'd been friends for years. It's always a blast meeting bike people. Young and old. His name was Don and he grew up not far from where I lived as a kid in Massachu- setts. He mentioned he bought the bike from Charlie Hildebrand of Cape Ann Cycle in Beverly, Mass. I also knew Charlie well as my first real motorcycle was a Hodaka Wombat. Cape Ann Cycle, also being our local Hodaka dealer, was a shop I frequent- ed too often while painfully learning the art of trail riding. Pretty much every Saturday morning, I'd "thumb" (can you imagine a 13-year-old kid thumbing his way to the next town today?) my way to Beverly for a couple cans of Golden Spectro, NGK's and whatever else I'd crashed off the chrome Hodie during the week. The Hodaka suited me well at the time, but what I really lust- ed over was the Pentons. I remember how serious they looked on the showroom floor at Cape Ann Cycle and only the chosen few seemed to have the funds to afford one. Penton riders were an elite group back then; they walked a little taller and spoke a dif- ferent language. Most often much removed from my meager social status aboard a thrashed Hodaka. As Don and I were mulling over our favor- ite riding spots and bikes of back in the day, I mentioned how I'd waste away time in class drawing intricate pictures of Pentons and how I'd build one if I fell into a bag of money. Don said it was the same for him. He also lusted after the green tank, radi- al-finned Austrian steeds, but they were out of reach financially until a strange twist of fate occurred. You see, Don was a DKW rider before the Penton — a Sachs-powered 125 DKW. He had his Deek registered for the road and one afternoon on his way home from school, Don got creamed by a U.S. Mail truck. The driver didn't see him, and just as Don bailed off his Deek, it went under the truck and his bike was destroyed. Looking back, he said things were very different and within less than a week, Don received a bit of a windfall from the U.S. Government. The check was restitution for his motorcycle that ended up being a total loss. Although it wasn't a ridiculous amount, it was sever- al hundred dollars more than he paid for the Deek and was just enough for a new Penton 125 Six Day! Within a few days of receiving the check, Don made his way to Cape Ann Cycle and paid cash for a new Penton. Not long after buying the Penton, Don started riding NETRA enduros all over New England. As we talked about the fun events we'd done over the years, Don said he rode the Penton for three seasons and that his biggest life regret was miss- ing making B class by only one point. The Penton was retired to the shed in 1975. Don and I swapped phone numbers and a week or so later, I gave him a call and asked if I could buy the Penton. We agreed on a price of $1500, sight unseen. The story had me sold; I needed this bike in my collection. Don remembered our conversation, but said the bike was ac- tually so buried that he hadn't even laid eyes on it for decades. He'd have to clean the shed before he could even get near it. He needed some time. Having been faced with this situation in the past, my hopes dwindled. All too often, it never happens. Several months later and a week before April 2018 37