1930 Henderson Streamliner

[connick]

Got this in an email fwd today.  Not certain that it qualifies as a sport-tourer, but figured I'd share anyways.

The motorcycling world loves a barn find, an old, obscure machine wheeled out of the woodwork for the    
 first time.  And this is one of the biggest revelations of recent months.                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 Its a 1930 Henderson that was customized before WW2 by a fellow called O. Ray Courtney and fitted with  
 streamliner bodywork.                                                                                    
                                                                                                         
 One night in March, 1950, O. Ray Courtney worked until two a.m. And drove home discouraged. He was      
 trying to design a better motorcycle. He wanted one with the seat forward, with better cooling, better  
 springing and a more beautiful body. Discarded sketches littered the floor of his shop.  That night in a
 dream he saw a steamlined beauty skim across a flowered field. Too excited to report for work the next  
 day, he hastily put his dream on paper and he is riding that dream cycle now through the streets of      
 Pontiac, Michigan                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                         
 The art deco influence is obvious; legendary automotive designer Harley Earl could have drawn those      
 curves.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                         
 Its all the more unusual because the mechanicals are hidden: even at the height of the Art Deco          
 movement, most motorcycles were a triumph of form over function, with exposed cooling fins, brake drums  
 and suspension springs.                                                                                  
                                                                                                         
 The bike is owned by collector Frank Westfall of Syracuse.                                              
                                                                                                         
 It caused a stir in June 2010 when it appeared at the Rhinebeck Grand National Meet, a motorcycle show  
 held a couple of hours drive north of NYC.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 Grail Mortillaro (of the chopper blog Knucklebusterinc) had a camera to hand, so we have him to thank    
 for these images.                                                                                        
                                                                                                         
 I took these photos at the Rhinebeck Grand National Meet where the newly restored bike was unveiled. The
 bike belongs to Frank Westfall from Syracuse, NY.  According to some info I found online, the bike was  
 originally built by O. Ray Courtney in 1936 and is based on a 1930 K.J Henderson. The bike is powered by  inline four cylinder (not a scooter as some have said, check the shot of the motor below) and as Im sure  you can gather by now, is a one-off custom.  What I can confirm is it does run and while it looked a bit
 unwieldy, Frank could be seen riding the bike around the Fairgrounds all weekend.  But lets be honest    
 here (and maybe Im wrong) - you dont have this bike in your stable to go out for a long Sunday afternoon
 ride to get some ice cream.  That said, it was pretty awesome to see the bike being ridden (even when    
 rain started to come down) instead of being sheltered behind a velvet rope, never to see the rubber      
 touch asphalt again.  The bike is a fantastic piece of history, the craftsmanship is absolutely stunning
 and its surely more of a museum piece than a daily rider.  Frank has obviously spent an incredible      
 amount of time meticulously restoring and rebuilding the bike to its current gorgeous state.  Hats off  
 to Frank for the amazing work he did and for sharing it with all us gawkers.  Frank, if you see this and
 want to send in more info about the bike, I’d love to share it.                                          
                                                                                                     
 Henderson was a Chicago brand and one of the American Big Three (with Harley-Davidson and Indian) until  
 the onset of the Great Depression.  It went bust in 1931.                                                
                                                                                                         
 But you can see the influence of the streamliner style on another contemporary North American brand:    
 Victory.                                                                                                
                                                                                                         
 If theres a spiritual successor to this Henderson custom, its the Victory Vision Tour, a gargantuan      
 cruiser with completely enclosed bodywork and not a leather tassle or saddlebag in sight.                

[Papa Lazarou]

Me want.

[mugwump58]

Wow!

[C 4]

Beautiful, wonder how it is to ride?

[mxvet57]

It's certainly no OCC bike.

[MisterSmooth]

That's really cool,    thanks for posting it up.  

[Orson]

I love the streamliner look of the 1930s.

I think there was a famous locomotive with that look.

Heck, they even had streamlined toasters