S.O.S. Mr. Pennington!

[HarleyCreation]

Does anybody know if Pete Gagan with his recreated Pennington Motor Cycle still plans to be at Davenport this year and where the machine will be on Friday?

I'm hoping to pay it a visit, get some photos, etc. It is a really great thing to have the ORIGINAL American gasoline motorcycle in existence once again!

Now if we could just find blueprints for Pennington's gasoline powered baby buggy. We could get that weird little baby with the English accent on Family Guy to test it out for us.

[Pete Gagan]

Hi Herb:
Mr Pennington is having some transportation problems to Davenport, and is also still working on his long mingling spark ignition system. There was a recent failure while flying over the Frazer river near Vancouver, no doubt as a result of the altitude. All will be well when things are modified to the specifications of his previously invented flying machine.
I feel really badly about not bringing it this year, but it will appear one of these days, and you will be the first to know. We Pennington scholars must stick together!
As a consolation prize, another replica will be there from BC, built by a friend of mine, Paul Brodie, with a little help from yours truly. It is the long extinct Overhead Cam Excelsior, the most outrageous of early American racers.
I had hoped Paul could fit the Pennington in his van, but he is very short of space, as its one of those small Toyotas, which he is also sleeping in.
If there is any change, I'll let you know.
Great article on the knucklehead, by the way!
Pete

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by Pete Gagan
Hi Herb:
Mr Pennington is having some transportation problems to Davenport, and is also still working on his long mingling spark ignition system. There was a recent failure while flying over the Frazer river near Vancouver, no doubt as a result of the altitude. All will be well when things are modified to the specifications of his previously invented flying machine.
I feel really badly about not bringing it this year, but it will appear one of these days, and you will be the first to know. We Pennington scholars must stick together!
As a consolation prize, another replica will be there from BC, built by a friend of mine, Paul Brodie, with a little help from yours truly. It is the long extinct Overhead Cam Excelsior, the most outrageous of early American racers.
I had hoped Paul could fit the Pennington in his van, but he is very short of space, as its one of those small Toyotas, which he is also sleeping in.
If there is any change, I'll let you know.
Great article on the knucklehead, by the way!
Pete

Pete,

Thanks for the update and sorry to hear Mr. Pennington's device won't be at Davenport this year. Not surprising to hear the "long mingling spark" is proving to be troublesome as it got Pennington in over his head as well! Next year perhaps?

I always find myself grinning when I think of Pennington and his Motor Cycle as it is not only the nuttiest, but also the most entertaining story in early American motorcycle history.

And thanks about the Knucklehead story as well.

[c.o.]

I'm in total agreement about finding a picture of that baby-buggy Herb For some strange reason there's a bizarre curiousity on seeing what that thing looks like. On a side note: I picked up about ten gas washing machines engines at a garage sale about a week ago.(Why? I don't know, they were cool and begging to come home with me!) Most appear to be from the '30's era. A couple of them are Briggs&Stratton, of which I think Pennington had a part in the development of. The more one digs through the past the more that guy shows up!

[c.o.]

Ooops!!!! I should correct myself on the Pennington/washing machine engine thing. I was out in the shop tinkering when it occured to me that it was in fact Perry Mack not Pennington! Brain fart I guess............

[HarleyCreation]

C.O.

It's tough to keep it all straight in ones mind. I guess that's what books are for...

I agree about the Pennington gasoline-powered baby buggy being the peak of his wacky creative powers. But a gasoline-powered bicycle must have seemed just as wacky at the time (1890s). I guess people didn't know where reality ended and fantasy began. Maybe we still don't....

It would be fun to dig out the Pennington material and have a go-around with it. The Pennington story beats them all...

[c.o.]

I just found this Herb........ Do you have a copy of this?

[c.o.]

hmm......... Here's one flipped on it's side, so you don't have to crane your neck!