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Henderson Motorcycle Co. was formed by William G. Henderson in partnership with his brother Tom W. Henderson. The enthusiasm for motorcycles from one and the financial acumen from the other helped put together a company which would become one of the most well-known motorcycle manufacturers of the world. Henderson Motorcycles was formed at Detroit Michigan in 1911. This era was also known as the golden age of motorcycling as it saw a number of classical motorcycle brands pop up in the industry.

The Henderson brothers continued producing and selling motorcycle on their own until 1917 when they sold off the company to Ignaz Schwinn, the-then owner of Schwinn bicycles and Excelsior motorcycles. Excelsior handled the manufacturing of Henderson until 1931 when the company finally went out of business due to the Great Depression. The company was revived in 1993 when Dan Hanlon secured rights to the Excelsior-Henderson trademarks but it again laid arms to financial turmoil in 2000 and ceased production permanently.

Henderson was known for its 4-cylinder motorcycles which were one of the fastest and most powerful ones at that time. They were popular with both the racing community as well as the police departments due to their extraordinary performance and fast speed. The police particularly favoured them for patrol since they were easily the fastest vehicles on road at that time.

Interesting Facts About Henderson Motorcycles

• Both of the Henderson brothers were inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
• A New York based motorcyclist and film director, Carl Stearns Clancy, circumnavigated the globe on a 1912 Henderson.
• Alan Bedell broke the transcontinental long-distance record of 1915 by covering 3296 miles from Los Angeles to New York in seven days, sixteen hours, and fifteen minutes. He also set a new 24-hour record when he averaged 48 mph for 1154 miles at Ascot Park in California on one of his Hendersons.
• Joe Petrali, an Italian-American motorcycle racer, achieved 116.12 mph and 109.09 mph on two recorded runs, averaging 112.61 miles per hour. He used the Henderson Special KL 1930 for this record.