1919 Henderson

[exeric]

Last month I was helping a friend with his 1919 Henderson, so I brought my '19 out to help him with part identification, and placement. It's been in storage for years, so I started cleaning, and noodling around to re-familiarize myself with it. I was quickly hooked and now I'm addressing the things that aren't right, and need attention. I've been taking pictures with my cell phone and thought it would be fun to share the good times, and edit out the aggravating, time consuming hoo-hah that goes along with keeping an old bike in decent shape. Just like people; inactivity is not healthy for mechanical things, so with your patience, I would like to post some text and pictures as I pick things to work on. There will be no logical order so just regard this as a curiosity.

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This is how is looked a few weeks ago.

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This is current, with the rear wheel off to replace the tire.

[pisten-bully]

Eric, curious if there are only two fasteners to remove in order to rotate that fender forward for wheel removal? If so, a great feature!

[exeric]

Yes, only 2 bolts keep the fender in place which was a feature through the KJ series. Henderson, and Excelsior offered a structurally supported luggage carrier for utility needs much like Harley-Davidson's carrier.

[exeric]

My project for this bike is to install new (clincher) tires. I spent Sunday getting the old tire off (which was alarmingly easy) and am waiting for new inner tubes to arrive so I can put the new Non-Skids on. As you can see, the all-white tire is worthless in spite of initially costing a fortune. I could go on a royal rant about how crappy that tire was, and how it has literally fallen apart with less than a hundred miles of wear. I could speculate on how the manufacturer had the tires made in a foreign county (by honorable workers, no doubt) but using the cheapest rubber(?) known to man, and did I mention, they cost a lot of money. I could go on and on but what's the point, I got screwed. So, the new Non-Skid tires are black, and even though the white tires are correct, and look great on a green bike, the black tires should hold up much better and will certainly be safer.

As you can see, chunks of rubber(?) fell off, and I have collected some 'Ds', and 'Ns', but hope to find an 'S' for the collection.

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[pfindlay]

Beautiful Henderson, Eric! One of the nicest looking models of the whole production run.
I'm still looking for a buyer for my 1913 Henderson, if you know of anyone who may be interested. Open to offers.
Peter

[exeric]

Peter, I'll bet I could round up a million people who would love to have your stunning 1913 Henderson. But there's that nagging problem of paying for it. Beauty is subjective to the viewer and for me your '13 Hen would be the pinnacle of any collection. I know you will do well with it as there is (doubtless) someone out there that recognizes it's beauty, and historical value.

[exeric]

I don't know what got into me today but I was motivated to put a tire on the rim. Yesterday I had a chemo therapy treatment so there must be something in that stuff gave me some pep. Also, I am getting a bionic knee next month so I have to get stuff like this done now. Clincher tires are a bear to install and it is one the most back breaking, muscle straining (voluntary) jobs you could subject yourself too.

This picture shows the white rubber(?) that welded itself to the rim. Lots of scraping, and scouring to get it off the rim. That is important because a clincher tire bead needs to be well seated.

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Put the tire in the hot sun get it more pliable

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Forcing half the tire over the rim and inserting the inner tube. I got heavy duty, thick dirt bike tubes and in spite of the difficulty of tucking them in, I believe they will be well worth the effort.

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[exeric]

This is where the process gets gruesome. The first half of the tire goes on with some ease, but getting the tube in, getting the tire valve through the hole in the rim, and forcing the second half of the tire over the rim is a Herculean effort. I recall getting scolded by Tommo that only a wimp uses tire irons to put a clincher tire on a rim. I did most of it by hand, but must confess that I had to use irons on the last bit. To a great degree, I think putting a clincher tire on a rim is as much about will, as it is about strength.

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I did use this stuff to lubricate the tire and rim and would recommend it.

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Done, and done. I'll do the front wheel next week.

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[pfindlay]

This is where the process gets gruesome. The first half of the tire goes on with some ease, but getting the tube in, getting the tire valve through the hole in the rim, and forcing the second half of the tire over the rim is a Herculean effort. I recall getting scolded by Tommo that only a wimp uses tire irons to put a clincher tire on a rim. I did most of it by hand, but must confess that I had to use irons on the last bit. To a great degree, I think putting a clincher tire on a rim is as much about will, as it is about strength.

Nice work. When I did the all whites on my '13 Henderson they went on easily by hand - almost too easily. You do want them to stay on, don't you? Correct tire pressure is key. The last pair I did was on my JD and they were a little stiffer. There may have been a tire iron present that day.

Good luck with your chemo treatment. Keep fighting.
Peter

[JoJo357]

Fun little series Eric, keep it up, i'm enjoying it.
I'll be doing those non~skid clinchers if I ever get my privateer JD board track going. I know the purist won't like hearing this, but a friend of mine who runs a '29 JD daily, never trusted only correct air pressure to hold the clinchers together, so he put window calk to bond it together. He said it never went flat after that. I'll be interesting to see how those Firestone tires hold up~~they're pretty expensive.

*Prayers for recovery treatment. Hang in there Bro.

*M.A.D.*

[exeric]

I took this picture today with the new black tire installed. I'm glad there is a good tire on the bike, but I don't like it. The white tires were a crowning glory for early motorcycles and I wish you could still get a decent white tire.

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[exeric]

Got the rear tire done, but can't muster the enthusiasm to assault the front wheel. In my defense, my wife used her finger twisting strategy to get me to paint part of the house. Yup, lots of fun. In my get-away time I have been working on the double brake linkage for Schwinn's notoriously complex rear brake that Excelsior upgraded to the late 1918 Hen, and Excelsior products. The Excelsior double brake was a big improvement over the Detroit Henderson nod to heating up a brake drum. So, I had to make new clevises, and rods for my Hen, and a friends 1919 Hen.

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This is how the linkage connects. Something of a noodle scratcher but it works.

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[DEEBS47Chief1991]

Eric, the black tire looks great. Nice bike. Hope to see you ride it soon.

[exeric]

Eric, the black tire looks great. Nice bike. Hope to see you ride it soon.

Me too, Tim. They say 4 cylinder bikes are old man motorcycles so let's hope it lives up to it's reputation

[exeric]

I had made this radius tool for my lathe too put a round end on various things. It is a cheap and dirty tool but it works. Good radius tools are expensive and hard to find, so for something I use every 2 or 3 years my crappy tool is fine. These rod ends were used in late '18, and through '19 on Hendersons.

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