Christmas, I got a call from an unfamil-
iar number. It was Don. He finally got
around to cleaning the shed and the bike
was available if I was still interested.
Being self-employed has its advantages
and I immediately burned rubber for a trip
south to Massachusetts. What I found was
like a time capsule. The Penton looked
literally untouched from its last enduro.
Period-correct modifications such as extra
cables run alongside clutch and throttle
were still in place, including the Preston
Petty fenders that Don had Charlie at Cape
Ann mount up before taking delivery in
place. The icing on the cake was the bike
was still equipped with the full enduro kit,
consisting of the tiny bullet-style headlight
and VDO speedo. Even the leather-look
bag; it was still intact with the factory
tool kit wrapped in a rag hidden inside. I
couldn't hand him the cash fast enough
and wheeled the bike over to the Trail
Rider Sprinter. Just as I was getting ready
to push it up the ramp, Don told me to wait
a minute; he had something else to show
me and soon came out of the house with
a framed certificate of some sort. It was
his NETRA Enduro School Certificate of
Completion! Before I left, I wanted a pho-
to of Don next to his bike — the pic of him
with his Enduro School certificate was just
too cool.
The next day, I jumped head-first into
resurrecting Don's Penton. The bike was
38 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com
