News Brief - April 18, 2019
1919 Red Henderson Gets Some TLC
at 4th Coast Fours

Good Morning!

This is not a full newsletter, but it’s been a busy week for me and I figured I owed an update.

Last week, I took my 1919 Henderson back up to 4^th Coast Fours in Waddington, New York (which I now think may be above the Arctic Circle), for some TLC and finishing up on some outstanding issues.

Those of you who saw me in Florida saw how hard it was for me to get the engine to turn over at times. It was complicated further by the super-plated-slippery and ill-fitting kick-starter, but it seems that all those start attempts ended up breaking some of the teeth off the gears that engage between kicker and engine.

Eventually, if you break off enough of those kick-starter teeth, one of those teeth will end up in the transmission and risk catastrophic engine failure. That reality nearly came home to roost on Thursday afternoon, completely disabling the kicker and then freezing the transmission. Fortunately, by then, Mark Hill had re-dialed the carburetor and put 60-70 miles on the bike, so he knew she would run.

I put together a short video of the process (and the Red One on the open road) which I uploaded to the YouTube channel last night (if you have not subscribed to that channel, now would be a good time!).

The video ends with “to be continued...” but does not describe the plan for what happens next. I left the bike in Mark’s tender keeping so he could put the new kicker gears in when they came in as well as finish out a few more minor (but important) details. I will be catching back up with Mark (and my bike) at the AMCA Perkiomen National Meet in Oley, Pennsylvania, Apr 25-27, 2019. The theme of this year’s meet is the four-cylinder motorcycle, so both Mark Hill and I are looking forward to getting the Red One back in running mode so we can take it for a ride or two at Oley!

In the meantime, I have a great deal of logistical and other work on the cross-country trip to sort through, so I will take advantage of this break (pun applicable, but not intended) to work on that.

Until next time!