Motorcycle manufacturer revs up crowd at exhibit

January 5, 2019 at 12:08a.m.

WARREN

Few motorcycle enthusiasts can match the passion and, especially, the longevity of John Penton.

During his 93 years of life, Penton has ridden, designed and manufactured cycles that bear his name. That’s why the appearance of the Amherst, Ohio, resident at the National Packard Museum on Friday night to preview the 19th Annual Vintage Motorcycle Exhibit drew a crowd of admirers.

“My father had a 1914 Harley Davidson, and I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to ride it,” said Penton, a World War II veteran of the European and Pacific theaters who was born in 1925. His Penton firm built cycles from 1964 to 1978. Several of them are on display at the exhibit, and one bears his signature.

The display also includes an enlarged cover of a 1962 publication showing Penton enjoying an apparently exhilarating ride with mountain peaks in the background.

“I only designed for off-road competition,” he said. “We sold all over the world.”

The annual museum exhibit begins today and runs through May 18. Titled Designed to Ride, the cycles – the oldest, a restored 1915 Smith Motor Wheel – are grouped in various categories, including basic transportation, street, off-road and touring.

“This is the first time we’ve drilled out the back story about the cycles,” said Mary Ann Porinchak, museum executive director. She said information in previous exhibits had been limited to a few sentences identifying each vehicle. For this exhibit, a booklet containing each cycle’s history is included with admission.

“There’s more content than we could ever put on a sign,” she said.

One example is an unrestored 1947 Royal Enfield Flying Flea, looking all of its 72 years. According to its owner, William Alford of Canton, the British-built cycle was stored in an Ohio barn in 1954 by its then owner, who subsequently died. The cycle remained there undiscovered among the debris until 2015. Calling it “the classic barn find,” Alford eventually purchased it from the barn’s new owner. To his surprise, the machine started up rather quickly and still runs smoothly, despite all of those years of neglect. Will he restore it?

“Absolutely not,” Alford vowed. “It’s 100 percent original.”

Richard Mankamyer of Bath Township near Akron reminisced among the Triumph motorcycles about a 1968 model that he and friends restored and planned to take to the historic Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah several years ago. Unfortunately, he said, their Triumph never had a chance to be triumphant. Actually, it never made it out of Akron.

“We blew the engine, and there wasn’t time to rebuild,” Mankamyer said. But like the other enthusiasts, he and his friends will not give up – an apparently persistent trait with cycle enthusiasts.

“We’re going to get the band back together and try again,” he promised.