Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1529824
F our score and 5/6 months of earthly life were given to Cycle News' Feature Editor John Huetter. Plenty of days, which he then partitioned into a life of many lives. He was a diver of both sky and sea, a world trav - eler, served in Vietnam, authored books and earned a PhD in politi- cal science. Huetter was a sailor and an avid hunter of abalone, defined as a marine gastropod mollusk. While enrolled at UCLA, Huetter even hung out with Jim Morrison! People are strange, indeed, especially those who consume gastropod mollusks. But whatever it is that tickles your tastebuds, you can't argue that John Huetter had himself one helluva run. So, when a renaissance man like Huetter wrote in the July 30, 1974, issue of Cycle News that the best big-bore motocrosser isn't a proven performer like a Husky or a Maico or even a CZ, you should at least hear him out— even when he announces that the fastest and best-handling open class racer of 1974 is a Penton! A Penton, of course, was a rebadged KTM and while KTM has indeed been one of the most successful MX brands of this century, in the early '70s the Aus - trian brand was best known for its successes in enduros, ISDTs and other disciplines of off-road- ing. Seeing a Penton on an MX racetrack was as rare as finding a gastropod mollusk in Jim Morri- son's jacuzzi (or maybe not). But KTM's star brightened when they captured, albeit dastardly, the 1974 250cc World Motocross Championship. Cycle News tested the 250 and concluded that it was worth its princely $1600 MSRP. Would they be able to say the same about its big brother, the new Penton 360? "The machines are as expen - sive," Huetter wrote, "as two of some other bikes, but the han- dling…is the best experienced on any stock motorcycle." The 1974 model featured an all-new frame, which, along with high-end suspension compo- nents, helped the Penton earn such lofty praise. Ceriani forks, the standard bearers at this time, provided seven inches of travel up front, combined with six and a half inches in the rear, thanks to Ceriani gas-damped shocks. While at the rear of the bike, notice that there are differ - ent mounting positions for the shocks' upper and lower mounts. Two bolt holes up top and six more along the swingarm allows the rider to experiment with dif- ferent positions. Huetter tested the bike with the shock in its most extreme, laid-down position and found the setup pleasing, though conceding that the rider would have to be "a finely tuned professional" to notice any differ - ence in the adjustments. On the racetrack, the Ceriani components did their jobs well. Testing took place at the Valley Cycle Park, and Huetter deter - mined "it was impossible to go CNIIARCHIVES P126 RENAISSANCE MAN BY KENT TAYLOR FORMER CYCLE NEWS FEATURE EDITOR JOHN HUETTER DID IT ALL Indeed, John Huetter had the credentials, so when he said the Penton was a good MX bike, you had to listen.