Description Henderson 1919 “Z 2” 1168 cc IOE four cylinder engine # 2Z2802 One of the most charismatic names in American motorcycling history, Henderson produced nothing but four-cylinder motorcycles in the course of its 20-year existence. The company was founded by Tom and William Henderson in Detroit in 1911 and with the phrase “ a new one from Detroit” the Henderson factory introduced its first production model in November 1911. To underline its qualities Carl Stevens Clancy made a journey around the world with a Henderson four, covering a distance of 18,000 miles. From the 1912 model on yearly improvements were made in the design; for the 1917 model year a three speed gearbox was added to the design and the sight feed oiling system was changed into a system in which the oil was kept in a reservoir at the bottom of the crankcase. The firm passed into the control of Chicago-based cycle maker Ignaz Schwinn, owner of Excelsior, in November 1917. Following his takeover, Schwinn shifted production from Detroit to the Excelsior factory in Chicago and by the Fall of 1919 the Hendersons had moved on. Tom left the industry but William went on to found the Ace motorcycle company – later taken over by Indian – and thereby had a hand in the design of all the major American-built fours. For model year 1918 the ‘H” was brought out in blue with gold lining but in the course of that year the model “Z” appeared which was finished in military khaki. By increasing the bore the the cubic capacity of the Z changed from 989 cc to 1147 cc, which gave a power output of 14.2 HP. The “Z” with electric lighting was designated “Z-2-E”. The “Z” was only produced during part of 1918 and in 1919 and is a rare model. The version with electric lighting system we present here is even rarer. The “Z” model designation apparently was chosen because this model represented the last of the Bill Henderson designed fours. This exceptional Z-2-E is unrestored and still shows traces of her original finish. She comes complete with lighted Corbin speedometer, Weston amp gauge and handlebar-mounted search light. A spare engine ( #2Z7172) with cutoff gearbox is available at extra cost.
