John Penton and the Off-Road Motorcycle Revolution - Softcover

Ed Youngblood

3.71

7 ratings by Goodreads

9781884313219: John Penton and the Off-Road Motorcycle Revolution

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1884313213 ISBN 13: 9781884313219

Publisher: Whitehorse Press, 2000

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John Penton has spent his life redefining off-road motorcycling. Here Ed Youngblood presents an exhaustive review of the man and his machine, explaining how major political and economic events affected the creation of the off-road motorcycle in the 1960s, the decline of the market during the 1970s, and the rebound that found KTM motorcycles competing successfully against powerful Japanese manufacturers in the 1990s.

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From the Inside Flap:

Consumed by a passion to build better motorcycles and a deep, patriotic desire to lead America to victory at the International Six Days Trial, John Penton has spent his life redefining off-road motorcycling. Along the way he helped change the face of American motorcycle competition, the politics of racing, and what Americans expect from their off-road motorcycles. One of the most visionary, driven, complex, dynamic, and influential personalities in motorcycling, John Penton stands out in what may have been the most exciting and revolutionary quarter-century in the history of the American motorcycle sport.

Author Ed Youngblood draws upon his 30-year personal acquaintance with John Penton, an exhaustive review of the literature of the period, and more than 50 interviews with Penton, his family, friends, employees, dealers, customers, business associates, and competitors to tell this captivating tale of the creation of the high-performance, light-weight, purpose-built off-road motorcycle. Yet John Penton and the Off-Road Motorcycle Revolution goes beyond the story of a man and his machine, it ties motorcycling in America into a larger cultural movement, explaining how major political and economic events affected the creation of the off-road motorcycle in the 1960s, the precipitous decline of the market during the 1970s, and the rebound that found KTM motorcycles--successor to the Penton--competing successfully against the powerful Japanese manufacturers in the 1990s.

Several reviewers who read the pre-publication manuscript of John Penton and the Off-Road Motorcycle Revolution said they simply could not put it down, reading from beginning to end in one sitting. Within this authoritative and fascinating history are:

--how personal tragedy reshaped and strengthened the Penton family.

--how John Pentons determination and seemingly inhuman tolerance to physical pain helped him overcome long odds to build one of the most innovative companies in motorcycling.

--how the Penton family became the center of the greatest international motorcycle endurance teams that America has ever known.

--how inflation, the falling dollar, a historic decision by Richard Nixon, and the greed of silver barons drove the Penton marque out of the market just as it was achieving its greatest commercial success.

--how behind-the-scenes battles between John Penton and his Austrian partner helped position KTM for world-wide success and recognition.

--how a cult of personality has begun to form around John Penton as Penton motorcycles take on new value as desirable collectibles.

About the Author:

One of Ed Youngbloods earliest memories while growing up in Oklahoma is of a man who rode a green Indian Chief by his house almost every day. He says, I was transfixed by the sight and sound of that motorcycle. I would stand and watch until it disappeared, and continue to stand and watch the horizon until I could no longer hear its exhaust note. Youngblood bought his first motorcycle at the age of 14, and has owned and ridden motorcycles for more than 40 years.

Following completion of a Bachelor of Arts degree at Oklahoma State University in 1965, and a Master of Arts degree in English Literature at Ohio University in 1968, he took a job as managing editor at Cycle News East, in Amherst, Ohio, the home town of John Penton. Coincidentally, the Penton motorcycle had been introduced just a few months before Youngblood and his wife, Margaret, arrived in Amherst.

In 1970 he was recruited by the American Motorcyclist Association to become managing editor of American Motorcyclist (at that time entitled AMA News), beginning a 28-year career with the Association. From head of the AMAs communications department he moved to direct its government relations program, then was appointed President and CEO in 1981, serving until mid-February, 1999.

During his service at the AMA, Youngblood helped establish the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which opened the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in 1990. He also served 25 years as an elected delegate to the Federation Internationale de Motoclicisme, based in Geneva, Switzerland. At the FIM he served more than 20 years as a vice president on its board of directors, rising to the position of Deputy President, the second-highest title in the organization. Upon his retirement from the FIM in 1996, he was named Honorary Deputy President, becoming one of only three individuals in the world to be granted that title.

Youngblood has served on boards and committees of various national organizations, including The Clayton Foundation, which raises and disburses funds to injured motorcycle racers; and the Motor Sports Hall of Fame in Novi, Michigan. In August 1998, he was inducted into The National Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Sturgis, South Dakota. In April1999, he was named Man of the Year by the Womens Motocross League. In July 1999, he was inducted into The Motorcycle Hall of Fame at Pickerington, Ohio. In September 1999, he was presented the John Farmer Eggers Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.

Although he has written hundreds of columns and articles for American Motorcycling and other publications, John Penton and the Off-Road Motorcycle Revolution is his first book-length project. He and Margaret have two sons, Ruben and Christian.

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