The selector key transmission of the brand-new Sachs engine proved to be rather fragile, as the selector key often could not withstand the stresses it was subjected to on the terrain and would break. However, there were problems in the beginning, particularly with customer’s bikes. Just six months later, the results were presented to the public in Daytona, along with the first accolades for an American championship race. In September 1967, after competing in the Six Days Enduro in the Polish city of Zakopane, Penton approached KTM with his proposal for a lightweight and affordable competition bike for the American market. What John Penton and KTM had achieved was impressive. The best of the best was just good enough, and so the 125cc was given the name “Six Day”.ĭoug Wilford´s 1973 ISDE bike © Helmut Clasen and Dale Fisher/POG After competing in his first Six Days Enduro in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1962, John Penton knew the demands that would be placed on an Enduro in the International Six Days Trial, formerly known as the “Olympics of Motorcycling”. Doug Wilford, a longtime companion of John Penton, later explained how this came about.
The 100cc was called “Berkshire”, named after a popular Enduro event in the New England States, and the 125cc was called “Six Day”.
Even the type designation of the Penton was unusual, as Penton motorcycles were given proper names, and this was unconventional at the time. This attracted a great deal of attention, as a Penton was stood on a large boulder and presented to an astonished audience. After Stone Mountain, the riders took on the Alligator Enduro in Florida and the bikes made their first appearance at the motorcycle exhibition in Daytona. Back then, the Penton motto was “Built for Champions”, and the best publicity was the success of the Penton riders. We were “ READY TO RACE” as early as the late 1960s. Under these circumstances, the result was more than impressive, with two class victories, one second and one third place in this challenging event. At the time, unpacking prototype motorcycles from the transportation crate and sending them for acceptance testing for a championship race was certainly a big risk. Just one day later, six of these machines were loaded for transportation to Georgia, where they would make their debut in the Stone Mountain Enduro on March 10, 1968. On March 7, 1968, Wally Wilford collected a very special shipment from the airport in Cleveland, Ohio: the first ten Penton motorcycles were flown to the US from Austria.
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