From:Dennis Henderson e-mail:henderson0370@sbcglobal.net
Subject:Henderson's '31 Henderson - On The Road!!! Date:Fri Jul 1 20:46:30 2011
After 8 ½ years of restoration, my 1931 KJ is on the road. I am happy with the way it has turned out and it was great to take the first ride around the block! The bike rides great and it sounds even better. Nothing beats the sound of a four cylinder engine. It’s been a long process and during the restoration I often said that I wished my name was Cushman for obvious reasons!

I finally found my KJ in 2002 in upstate New York. It was fairly complete but after inspecting the engine I decided that the babbit bearings and line boring were a little more than I could get done locally so I decided to have the engine rebuilt for me. I spoke to Carl but he was busy with other engines and was winding down on what he still was able to do. In December 2002 I took my engine and parts to a Henderson expert and was told that it might be two years before it would be finished. At that time I thought that time frame would be good as it would give me time to complete the rest of the restoration and maybe he’d finish early.

To make a very long story short after eight years of frustration and a lot of money, in the fall of 2010 I went to pick up my engine only to find out it was not finished. Only the bottom end with rods installed and the intake manifold had been finished. My cylinders had not been installed although I had been told that it had been running twice. When I saw the incomplete engine sitting on the floor, I was sure it was not my engine and asked where my engine was. I was told it was my engine and because I said I wanted my engine back by last fall, he said “here it is”. He told me my cylinders were “junk”. I reminded him that he told me on numerous occasions that he had a good set of cylinders for me and that it had been running twice.

I loaded up my partially complete engine, junk cylinders and parts and drove back to the US. I finished the engine over the winter and had the “junk” cylinders bored and sleeved, the broken fin repaired and purchased a new set of pistons. My engine is one of the last ‘31s made. On close inspection the cylinders were KL or late ’31 KJ. I think they’re the same. There’s no S D stamp on the base of my cylinders but they have the high compression combustion chambers. The engine has a lot of compression with the 2 ¾” domed pistons. I have a hot rod and it is wonderful to finally get it on the road.

This project has been a real learning experience for me. I’m a very easy going guy that was taken advantage of and that’s hard to forget. Perhaps I trust people too much. I’ve tried to put that part behind me now and instead look forward to many miles on my Henderson.

I had hoped to make it to Wauseon again this year but I have a conflict with our local bike show. Hope to see the Henderson crowd at Davenport in September. Thanks to the people that have helped me through the KJ Exchange. Also thanks to Dave Hennessy for the time he puts into the website. My name is on the 2011 fund contributor list. I’d like to see more Henderson owners and builders who use this great resource contribute to the cost of keeping it going.

The Henderson on the Henderson