1912 Henderson 4

• ENGINE NO: 378

Surviving 1912 Hender­son Fours are rare, and this one has been so well restored that it participated in the 2016 Cannonball race from Atlantic City to San Diego. It’s even legally registered in New York! It has since been completely rebuilt by Hender­son specialist Mark Hill, and seeing it participate brought us a full understanding as to why these machines were called the “Duesen­bergs of motor­cycles.” This would be an excellent selection for the upcoming Australian Cannonball or Trans-Amer­ica rides.

In 1897, Alexander Winton expanded from the Winton Bicycle Com­pany to the Winton Motor Carriage Com­pany and In 1897, Alexander Winton expanded from the Winton Bicycle Com­pany to the Winton Motor Carriage Com­pany and began producing and selling some of the first American automobiles. Guided and inspired by his grandfather Alexander, in 1911, William G. Hender­son and his brother Tom W. Hender­son combined their respective motor­cycle enthusiasm and financial knowledge to form the American Hender­son Motor­cycle Co. in Detroit, Michigan. Together, they constructed a single prototype, and by 1912, they were producing their first motor­cycle, the Hender­son 4. It was elegant and built to the highest standards—a 57-cu.-in., 934-cc, 7-hp four-cylinder bike with the engine mounted inline with the frame and a single-speed chain drive. It featured a long chassis and wheelbase for stability, a folding hand-crank starter handle, a short leading-link suspension on the front fork, and a long “torpedo” tank. Carl Stearns Clancy completed the first-ever round-the-world 18,000-mile motor­cycle journey on the Hender­son 4 by 1913, catapulting the Hender­son reputation into the spotlight.

In 1917, the Hendersons sold the com­pany to Ignaz Schwinn of Schwinn bicycles and Excel­sior motor­cycles, and production was moved to Chicago, Illinois. Hender­son motor­cycles became known as the largest and fastest in the industry, becoming the favorite of police departments until the Great Depression. Despite the success of Schwinn’s motor­cycle production, after the stock market crashed in 1929, motor­cycle sales plummeted, and by 1931, with a full order book, Ignaz ordered production to cease. His words, “Gentlemen, today we stop,” may have saved the com­pany, as focusing on bicycles was a far more cost-effective endeavor, leaving surviving relics as a piece of American history.

In 1998, the Hender­son brothers were inducted into the Motor­cycle Hall of Fame. The Hender­son name also saw a brief revival from 1998–2000 when Dan Hanlon secured the rights, founded the Excel­sior-Hender­son Motor­cycle Com­pany in Minn­esota, and produced around 2,000 Super-X 1,386-cc V-twin motor­cycles before the com­pany went bankrupt.

Hender­son motor­cycles were renowned for their smooth-running inline-four engines, which were powerful, quiet, and offered exceptional torque and consistent power delivery—a significant technological advancement at the time. They were considered the “Cadillacs of motor­cycles,” known for their luxury, high performance, and durability. These features made them popular for speed and endurance, and they were favored by police for their speed and ability to provide a smoother, more comfortable ride compared to the thumping of single- and twin-cylinder bikes. They featured a long wheelbase, comfortable seating, and floorboards for added rider comfort. Founded by the Hender­son brothers, the com­pany quickly established a reputation for quality and high performance in the early days of motorcycling. This success led William Hender­son to found the Ace Motor Corporation, which also focused on powerful four-cylinder machines, further cementing his legacy.