Wednesday, July 21, 2010

1935 Henderson KJ, completed about six months before the builder/owner was awarded U.S. Pat. No. 2,035,462 for his streamlined motorcycle body.



the newly restored bike was unveiled at the Rhinebeck Grand National Meet. The bike belongs to Frank Westfall from Syracuse, NY.

The bike was originally built by O. Ray Courtney in 1934 and 35 and is based on a 1930 Henderson.

Ray Courtney rode his first motorcycle in 1908 at the age of 13, and acquired his first proper bike – a 1916 three-speed Excelsior V-twin – before joining the Army Air Corps to fight in WW1

After the war he found work at Central Manufacturing in Connersville, Indiana, making body panels and fenders for luxury cars such as Duesenbergs.

Later he worked for the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors shaping metal for the prototypes coming out of these firms’ design departments

I read somewhere in the post that the gauges were from a Pierce Arrow

It sits low down on 10-inch scooter wheels – half the diameter of those on the stock Henderson – but with big balloon tires sourced from the aircraft industry, which provide it with a smooth ride by the standards of the pre-war era.

For a whole gallery and write up, http://www.knucklebusterinc.com/features/2010/07/15/1930-art-deco-henderson

Thanks to Chris (of http://chrisoncars.com ) for letting me know about this cool bike!

For a bicycle of similar unusual art deco / victorian styling:
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/02/in-1890s-tiffany-was-building-bikes.html

Update, Jan 2015,

Found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/654324954604252/
https://www.motorcyclemojo.com/2016/04/henderson-streamline/

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