1930 Art Deco Henderson

SuziQ07 · 10-12-2010, 07:42 PM

Hello! Thought I would share these photos of a 1930 Art Deco Henderson. I was talking with the owner the other day (Frank Westfall in Syracuse, NY). The guy who owns the motorcycle is a really neat guy, and fun to talk to. I had stopped into his shop (Middle Earth Leather) to ask about an alteration to the sleeves of my leather motorcycle jacket (they let too much air in when I'm riding). Frank just got back from racing his 1915 Henderson Four Cylinder in the 2010 Cannonball Race all the way from the east coast to the west coast! I'm truly amazed that these ancient motorcycles are capable of going all the way across the country!! :2tup:

blaine · 10-12-2010, 08:03 PM

That is one amazing looking motorcycle. :roll:

dhgeyer · 10-12-2010, 08:23 PM

I once rode with a guy who was riding a 1930 Henderson. His name was Carl Bleyle. He was 70 and I was about 16 or 17. He bought the bike new in 1930. He was an auto mechanic, and did all the work on the bike himself. He had done a lot of modifications. I remember the bike well, though. It had an inline 4 with the crank running longitudinally and the cylinders vertical. It looked (and sounded) something like a Model T engine, and made the bike so long that it had extensions on the handlebars to be reachable from the seat. Mr Bleyle claimed that it was capable of over a hundred mph. It had a clutch pedal, but not the flapper type that the Harleys had - just a straight clutch pedal like a car. It had two gearshifts on the left side. One set the gear, and the other determined forward or reverse. Theoretically it could go as fast backward as forward! He was an interesting character, and that old bike was a treat to see running for all that time. This would have been about 1963 or 1964. And the bike had never been down in all that time. Oh, and the one problem it had was that the third cylinder from the front had a tendency to overheat.

alanmcorcoran · 10-13-2010, 12:05 AM

Very interesting piece! The Strat has an art-deco retro look ("streamlined" [and I kind of like it]) but nothing on this scale. I've never seen anything quite like this! Thanks for posting.

cayuse · 10-13-2010, 12:17 AM

Beautiful bike! Thanks for posting.

3-D Video · 10-13-2010, 03:56 AM

Tres cool!

10-12-2010, 07:42 PM	#1
SuziQ07 Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 83	1930 Art Deco Henderson Hello! Thought I would share these photos of a 1930 Art Deco Henderson. I was talking with the owner the other day (Frank Westfall in Syracuse, NY). The guy who owns the motorcycle is a really neat guy, and fun to talk to. I had stopped into his shop (Middle Earth Leather) to ask about an alteration to the sleeves of my leather motorcycle jacket (they let too much air in when I'm riding). Frank just got back from racing his 1915 Henderson Four Cylinder in the 2010 Cannonball Race all the way from the east coast to the west coast! I'm truly amazed that these ancient motorcycles are capable of going all the way across the country!! :2tup: __________________ ~SuziQ Login or Register to Remove Ads
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10-12-2010, 08:03 PM	#2
blaine Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: P.E.I. Canada Posts: 3,784	Re: 1930 Art Deco Henderson That is one amazing looking motorcycle. :roll: __________________ If at first you do succeed, try not to look surprised.
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10-12-2010, 08:23 PM	#3
dhgeyer Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Merrimack NH USA Posts: 722	Re: 1930 Art Deco Henderson I once rode with a guy who was riding a 1930 Henderson. His name was Carl Bleyle. He was 70 and I was about 16 or 17. He bought the bike new in 1930. He was an auto mechanic, and did all the work on the bike himself. He had done a lot of modifications. I remember the bike well, though. It had an inline 4 with the crank running longitudinally and the cylinders vertical. It looked (and sounded) something like a Model T engine, and made the bike so long that it had extensions on the handlebars to be reachable from the seat. Mr Bleyle claimed that it was capable of over a hundred mph. It had a clutch pedal, but not the flapper type that the Harleys had - just a straight clutch pedal like a car. It had two gearshifts on the left side. One set the gear, and the other determined forward or reverse. Theoretically it could go as fast backward as forward! He was an interesting character, and that old bike was a treat to see running for all that time. This would have been about 1963 or 1964. And the bike had never been down in all that time. Oh, and the one problem it had was that the third cylinder from the front had a tendency to overheat. __________________ 54 HD Hummer,64 Honda150,66 Ducati250,01 Vulcan500,02 Vulcan1500,83 Nighthawk650,91 K75,95 VLX,04 VLX,01 GS500E,01 Ninja250, 02 Rebel,04 Ninja500,06 Concours,96 R850R Login or Register to Remove Ads
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10-13-2010, 12:05 AM	#4
alanmcorcoran Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 2,926	Re: 1930 Art Deco Henderson Very interesting piece! The Strat has an art-deco retro look ("streamlined" [and I kind of like it]) but nothing on this scale. I've never seen anything quite like this! Thanks for posting. __________________ [hr:5yt6ldkq][/hr:5yt6ldkq] http://alanmarkcorcoran.com Motorcycles, Music, Musings and More…
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10-13-2010, 12:17 AM	#5
cayuse Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Abbotsford, BC Posts: 444	Re: 1930 Art Deco Henderson Beautiful bike! Thanks for posting. __________________ Lovin' every minute of it. 2005 GZ250 (sold after 26000km) 2013 CB500XA Login or Register to Remove Ads
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10-13-2010, 03:56 AM	#6
3-D Video Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Belgium/Portugal Posts: 108	Re: 1930 Art Deco Henderson Tres cool!
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