Just a few weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday, we were saddened to hear of the passing of John Penton—one of the forefathers of modern dirt bike racing.
Born in 1925, Penton served in World War II, after which he began competing in local hill climb and off-road Enduro races. As a predecessor to modern motocross, Enduro racing typically takes place on longer, untamed courses instead of traditional circuit tracks like we see in modern motocross, and off-roading (both on two wheels and four) had been growing in popularity in the postwar era.
He was also a respected long-distance road rider, and became a well-regarded personality within the sport—at a time when motorcycle riding had a less-than-favorable image in the United States.
From there, Penton opened up his own motorcycle dealership, selling European bikes like BSA and BMW. Yet his racing experience helped him spot a potential market for purpose-built off-road motorcycles, in contrast to what were essentially converted road bikes with more suspension travel and a high-mount exhaust.
Penton eventually took his ideas to the Austrian manufacturer KTM in the late 1960s.
With KTM’s manufacturing expertise behind him, Penton’s new off-road motorcycles started appearing on the backwoods trails, sand dunes, and fire roads across the United States—Penton himself started a successful racing team featuring his eponymous dirt bike.
KTM ultimately took distribution of the Penton motorcycle, and Penton’s design served as the foundation for later KTM motorcycle production. (So yes, in a way, he’s the reason we get to enjoy bikes like the Super Duke.) Other motorcycle manufacturers took notice as well, and pretty soon bikes like the Elsinore and Super Rat began showing up on dealership floors.
In addition to bikes, John Penton also helped usher-in innovations in modern riding gear, and developed some of the most popular riding boots in history.
Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998, it’s fair to say that John Penton is one of the reasons modern dirt bike and motocross events exist in America—and his influence will continue to be felt for decades.
Rest in peace.
a true american motorcycle legend, starting as a farm boy. who needs college. NEVER EVER BE FORGOTTEN
In 1999 I had the honor of traveling from Amherst, Ohio to Sears Pt, California with John Penton to check out the AMA Vintage Days event that was being held there at the time.
The Penton motorcycle was to be the feature marque for the year 2000 event at both Sears Point and Mid-Ohio AMA Vintage days event and we went there to scope it out in preparation for the displays that the Penton Owners Group needed to put together. We knew all about the Mid-Ohio event, however nothing about Sears Pt. It was a 2 day drive to get there and a 2 day drive to get back stopping only for gas and getting something to eat along the way. During the journey we got to get to know each other. John was 73 years old at the time and he displayed his endurance by doing most of the driving.
The book and movie tell the story of his life tells of the ups and downs that he experienced and how he dealt with it all. He was an excellent role model for us in learning about living our lives.
This quote from him published in the John Penton book and shared in the “PENTON The John Penton Story” movie summaries what he learned:
“Success does not come from setting records, accumulating wealth, establishing a business, or erecting monuments. People ae the name of the game. To have success you must build upon the immortal mind with love: without prejudice or greed”. John Alfred Penton October 15, 1988
More information about John Penton can be found on the Penton Owners Group website
That’s a fantastic story, thank you for sharing it with us. I’ll include a link to your Penton Owner’s Groupe website in case others want to visit it—click here to check it out.