1917 Henderson G

I started riding in 1960 while attending college in Vermont on a 2 HP Montgomery Ward Scooter.  I progressed up to an old  BSA Super Rocket before reverting back to 250cc bikes.  Armed with an EE degree, and a job in Connecticut, I dabbled in small sports cars for a few years before returning to motorcycles.  A Honda CX500 gave way to a GL1100 Gold Wing followed by a Valkyrie, which was nice but sooo heavy!  After retiring back to Vermont, I acquired my first antique bike, a beautifully restored 1928 101 Scout that I still own.  The Valkyrie gave way to an original paint 1975 GL1000 Gold Wing, starting my passion for 4-cylinder antique machines.  Along the way I imported a 1952 inline 4-cylinder Nimbus from Denmark.  After co-riding a 1923 Neracar, the Little Bugger, for Team Arcane in the 1914 Cannonball owned by Bob Addis, Mark Hill persuaded me to have him start building a 1916 Henderson single-speed, which became the Lake Monster, which I entered in the 2016 Cannonball, this time with Bob as co-rider.  We were forced out of the run near the Mississippi following Bob’s unfortunate “wardrobe malfunction” when his chaps got caught in the alternator belt, snapping the front end off the crankshaft.

Team Arcane returned for the 2018 Cannonball, this time with a proper belt guard on the Lake Monster.  The popular but very slow Little Bugger also returned, this time ridden by the ace motorcycle mechanic Ben Pierce, with Bob as vehicle driver and support.  I rode the Lake Monster to sixth place overall out of 107 who started.  I also did all of my own maintenance and wrenching except for a precautionary tire change.  Riding a 102 year old motorcycle over Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Highway on a fine day was awesome!

Meanwhile, Ben wrung as many miles out of the Little Bugger as possible each day. One day he caught a wheel on the edge of the pavement and crashed, seriously bending the frame.  The next morning, Ben & Bob found a body shop that was able to straighten it in 3 hours, at no charge.  Ben was back on the road the next day.

Team Arcane will return for the 2020 Cannonball.  I will be riding a 1917 Henderson 3-speed called the Eclipse while Ben will be riding a souped-up British version of the Neracar, a 1926 Model C,  with a 350cc Blackburne 4-stroke engine and 3-speed transmission straight from Brooklands called the British Bugger, with Bob once again as driver and support.