Mention American-made motorcycles to most bikers and they almost automatically begin thinking about large displacement V-Twins. That's because for the past sixty years or so most American-made motorcycles, be they Harleys, Indians, Victories or whatever, were almost always big bore V-Twins. It therefore comes as a surprise to many to hear that during the opening four decades of the American motorcycle industry, half a dozen American manufacturers, including Indian, built a variety of bikes powered by air-cooled in-line 4-cylinder 4-stroke engines.
In the early 1900's it is estimated that as many as 300 American companies began building motorcycles of one design or another. During these early years, many machines consisted of little more than strengthened bicycle frames into which one or another off-the-shelf motors were bolted. This early period of builder proliferation, however, was fairly short-lived.
Several factors accounted for the rapid reduction in the number of bike builders. One was the pace of design innovation and technological progress introduced by the more serious and capable builders. Most of the smaller builders couldn't afford to compete, even if they were technically capable.
A second factor was a general economic slowdown, combined with rising production costs and difficulties securing materials and components, all attributable in part to the onset of WWI.
Still another factor was the growing competition posed by the fledgling auto industry. American car builders made rapid advances in the quality of their products, embraced large volume production methods, and as a result were increasingly able to offer family transport at ever lower prices, sometimes even lower than motorcycle prices.
Consequently, motorcycle manu-facturers began to market their products, not as basic transport, but rather with a lifestyle focus emphasizing performance, excitement and the adventures of motorcycling.
The first American bike builder to offer a four-cylinder motorcycle was the Pierce Motorcycle Company founded in 1909 by Percy Pierce. Percy was the son of George Pierce, whose car company built the famous Pierce Arrow. Young Percy had been impressed by the Belgian-built FN in-line four and brought one back from Europe to serve as the inspiration for his improved American four.
The first Pierce Fours displaced 700cc and had direct drive via shaft to the rear wheel, also an American first. The T-head engine employed a side-valve intake and exhaust system, with a valve on each side of the cylinders, and with fuel supplied by a single carburetor. Pierce's machine was considerably more modern looking than the FN, and included numerous design innovations.
One of these was a heavy-duty frame that doubled both as a fuel tank and an oil tank. The fuel was carried in the top cross and rear down tubes, while the oil was carried in the front down tube. The engine was employed as a stressed component of the frame. The bike's running gear and leading-link front suspension were minimal, with a sprung saddle serving as rear suspension. The bike also lacked brakes. In 1910, Pierce upgraded the four with the introduction of a two-speed transmission and clutch.
The Pierce Four was a quality product for its day and fairly pricey, despite being rumoured to be selling at a price that was less than its cost of production. Fewer than 500 of the Pierce Fours were built before the company discontinued bike production in 1913.
By then, a second American firm, the Henderson Motorcycle Company of Detroit, Michigan had started building and selling an in-line four. Brothers William and Tom Henderson founded Henderson in 1911. William was the engineer and the brains behind the design of the Henderson Four, which he continued to refine with A, B, C... models.
Refinements of their early four included a manual clutch and 2-speed gearbox (1914 C Model), the introduction of a mechanical oiler driven by the cam gears and a kick-starter (1916 F Model), and then the use of an oil reserve in the crankcase and a 3-speed gearbox (1917 G Model).
Early Henderson models displaced 1068cc (65ci), but later versions were enlarged to 1301cc (79ci). The Henderson Fours developed a reputation for being tremendously smooth and for being very powerful, winning numerous endurance competition awards. The 4-cylinder Hendersons were also well-finished and very good looking machines. Not surprisingly, they sold well.
However, despite their product quality and sales success, Henderson struggled to stay financially solvent. The end result was that in November 1917, the brothers sold their company to Ignatz Schwinn, who relocated the motorcycle production operation to his hometown of Chicago.
... MMM
To read more of this shortened article, be sure to pick up this issue of Motorcycle Mojo Magazine. Current Issues are available at Chapters/Indigo and other fine newsstands across Canada and by subscription. Previous issues are available in the Mojo Store.
