John Penton, an Ohio native, was a national and international off-road racer who founded Penton Sportcycles in the late 1960s in a business venture with Austrian motorcycle company KTM. He later founded Hi-Point Competition Oils & Accessories. By the time Penton sold the rights to the apparel and accessory line in the 1980s, it had become synonymous with off-road motorcycle racing and many top motocross and enduro stars were using and promoting Hi-Point products.
The Italian Connection
While in Europe in the early 1970s, Penton met with Italian ski boot company Alpinestar and discussed the possibility of the company producing motorcycle boots to Penton's specifications. The boots used by many off-road riders at the time were lace-up models with little padding. Often times off-road riders simply wore Army combat or construction boots. Hi-Point would incorporate safety features and quick-release leather straps instead of laces, raising the bar for motorcycle boot makers.
According to www.classicboots.com, after initial production got underway at Alpinestar in Italy the new motorcycle boots started featuring a metal shin guard. This shiny steel shank would become a signature, of sorts, of Hi-Point boots for years to come. By the late 1970s Hi-Point was the biggest selling off-road motorcycle boot in the U.S. Penton chose the name Hi-Point based on his experience racing in Canada, where the term was used to describe the overall race winner.
Popular with the Pros
Penton tapped Larry Maiers, who later hosted the MotoWorld television show, to manage his Hi-Point line of accessories in the 1970s. Maiers was involved in promoting the boots and other products to professional racers including Bob "Hurricane" Hannah, who went on to become one of America's great motocross stars of the 1970s while wearing Hi-Point boots. Other pros followed suit and soon the boots were considered the hot ticket in off-road circles.
Hi-Point marketed a plethora of riding gear, aftermarket motorcycle parts, and oils and lubricants. In addition to the popular boots the Hi-Point name was also on racing jerseys, enduro jackets, leather padded racing pants, socks, gloves, enduro glasses, leather tool bags, plastic fenders, gas tanks, folding shift levers, gear lube, chain lube and pre-mix oil for 2-cycle racing engines. Penton eventually sold the Hi-Point line to another American motorcycle racing champion and businessman, Malcolm Smith, in the late 1980s.
Still in Demand
Visit a motorcycle swap meet or on-line Internet auction and you're likely to find Hi-Point products from the 1970s and 80s. Fenders are common and riding apparel still bought and sold, even the leather boots and mesh jerseys now decades old.
Venture to any vintage motocross or cross country race today and you'll likely to see a number of riders still sporting Hi-Point boots or using other Hi-Point vintage products. It's a testament to the quality and durability of the product line founded by Penton nearly 40 years ago.
