By john Huetter
One of the compensations for those
who
call
themselves
motorcycle
journalists is the rare opportunity, that
presen ts itself every solar eclipse or so,
to .combine a fine new bike with open,
varIed terrain and some good-rilling
buddi.es. It finally happened and I went
around grinning for days. It was one of
those rare situations with which it's
hard to find fault, but I managed. More
about that later.
Warren
Burrell,
of
American
Motocross in Fullerton (you may have
seen some of their other German
machines in the local MX tracks) made
available
one
of
the
new,
n ever-before-tested,
there-aren't-too·
-many-in-the.states-yet
175
Pen ton
jackpiners. He also made available a fe-r
hundred acres of private, near-virgin
land high in the Tehachapi mountains of
Southern California. It had to be a trail
rider's dream come true. I've been
motoring on tracks for the last year or
so and had forgotten about that aimless
kind of wandering with a bike and a
buddy, tackling terrain challenges and
popping over the hill to see what's on
the other side. The terrain and the
Penton jackpiner reconverted me. Ron
Schneiders may even get me out to an
enduro, if it could be on a new Penton.
A lot of people have been waiting a
good while for the larger KTM-powered
Pentons to arti've in this coun try. On
balance, the wait was probably worth it.
Dedicated Penton freaks will know it
was worthwhile. john Penton runs a
tau t ship and leans on the KTM people
enough so that you can be sure when a
Penton is marketed, it's ready.
The j ackpiner that was subjected to
miles of club·footed, heavy handed
thrashing through woods, up hills, and
over desert was the motocross model,
which means only that it didn't have
ligh15. It is identical in almost every
other respect to the Enduro modeL
Actually, the enduro kit is an add-on to
the basic machine. The 175 seems to
combine the lightness and responsive
handling of the new 125 Penton with
the added power of a mildly tuned 250.
The bike tested was honestly out of the
crate, so there is probably a lot more to
be extracted from the big-fmned flat
black KTM engine.
One interesting feature of the new mill
is that it operates in two distinct power
bands. There is a low region that is quite
comfortable for picking your way
through tigh t trees, over boulders and
doing stand up trials-type work. Then
there is a high region where the engine
develops power that is definitely
competitive. Wick it up there and you
really fly down fire roads or across open .
desert. The characteristics of the engine
ask for the six-speed KTM gearbox to be
used, and it is a real pleasure to do so.
(Another
advantage
of
the
six
evenly-spaced gears is the flexibility as
to the type of competition event in
.which you can use the machine.) There
was never a missed shift in a full day of
riding, and that was the flISt time on the
bike. The box seems to prefer the
assistance of the clutch, but it's not
really necessary. Clutchless shifts should
be an acceptable rule for most MX and
"go-quick" competition.
.
The engine is a very tractable beastie,
and will poke around indefinitely
without complaining ar loading up. The
massive finning also seems to do the job
of dissipating enough heat so that power
________.
th_0S8 n_ice_endu_ ro type
__
-
U
The Jackpiner is just the thing for cowtrailing on a warm spring day.
loss from heat buildup during long
desert charges isn't noticeable. My
major complaint was that the dam thing
would die or start sput~ering at the top
end m mos~ gears. S,?ce the Penton
comes .equipped. WIth. an
Amal
conc~ntnc carb, I. tmmedia~e!y I?omted
the fmger at the (m my opmlOn) awful
Amal. Mutter, mutter, adjust the air
screw, that's better but still not
perfect...runs a bit cleaner. "A giant
fau.lt f~und with th~. Penton", ~ent the
revIew m my .head, th~ Amal IS a dog,
and the engm:, doesn t have all the
beans It ~hould. .
."
Well, It turned out t:!'-at ~ re-Jettmg
for t/;'e a1tttude, the ~amJet m the carb
hadn t gotten tW.1Sted: m tIght eno~gh. A
few hundred vibratlOns later, It had
rotated loose, though not completely
out. A multitude of sins was thereby
explained. The only 'c.0nclu~ion I can
dra~ from that expenence IS that an
engme (OK, :md .a carb) that .per.fo~s
that well ~Ith mcomplete Jettmg IS
really outaslght.. Of co,:,rse, the KTM
motocross machme, whIch shares the
same basics, has been doing all right in
the European.GPs.
.
.
The jackpmer abounds With detaIls
that reflect· the serious thought and
attention that are Penton hallmarks and
true
of all his motorcycle
designs.
Self-locking aircraft nuts are at all
critical places, including the axles.
Audible click three-position petcocks
(two of them) make shutting off and
going on reserve without looking a snap.
'The tank holds 3.2 gallons very
compactly. Ceriatti forks and Girlings
with 60-90 sprjngs are a tremendous
1ICIj~._Th_._t
~ffIer doesn't ":"Ike any enemie..
combination for the weight and
geometry of the machine. Extra large
triple clamps of KTM design hold the
forks to the frame. The upward
sweeping pipe is tucked out of the way
with a large muffler that makes it very,
very quiet. There is more engine noise
than exhaust noise from the 175 Penton
so far as a rider can hear. The still air
box is tucked away where no water can
get to the filter. American Motocross
replaces the dry filter with a K&N
before it gets out the door. Stock
waterproofing is pretty decent, based on
the Penton ISDT experience, no doubt.
A couple of items come up a pit
short, by comparison. The skid plate has
a nice mud deflector on it, but is not
wide enough to completely protect the
engine cases. They are exposed to the
cruel world. Penton does offer an
accessory bash plate that protects
everything. The seat is all right if you sit
in exactly the right place, otherwise
there is not enough padding and the
frame,and fender are definitely
noticeable through the foam. I'm no
lightweight but prolonged sit-down
riding could get to be a drag. All
controls fall in place just great if you're
5'10" or thereabouts.
Probably the nicest thing about the
175 jackpiner is that it's versatile. It's a
lot of things the other so-called
multiple-purpose bikes should be. It will
give a good account of itself in
motocross (Though you may not have
to worry about having the top two
gears. 'Sixth is strictly for roads,
anyway.j, but it will do all the other
dirt things nicely. It's one competition
machine you could buy for your wife
and she won't feel as though she's been
had. Average ladies can actually ride it.
It's that tractable.
You can buy a 175 Penton and go
trophy in the desert on it, finish an
enduro without too much trouble, nm
with the 250s at your local motocross
J
track, or just take it out for a ride. john
Penton may not }\pve intended it, but
the Jackpiner represents a return, at a
sophisticated level, to the competitive
multi-purpose dirt bike.
The jackpiner is not an economy
scooter at a retail of $1050, but if you
look at it as an investment, it makes a
lot of sense. It will do all the stuff your
current "stable" of specialty machines
will do and do that stuff just as well.
Available in july.
Oh, yeah. You can also go cowtrailing
with your buddies on a warm Spring
day.
The KTM engine.
