The First Motorcycle Around the World

Bike: 1912 Henderson Four
ENGINE: 965cc sidevalve four-cylinder
HORSEPOWER: 7hp
SPEED: 60mph
WEIGHT: 309lbs
FUEL CAPACITY: 2gal
RANGE: 120miles

Inspired by several round-the-world bicyclists of the 1890s, Carl Stearns Clancy and Walter Storey decided to be the first globe-circlers on motorcycles. They chose the most expensive and sophisticated American motorcycle, the first-year Henderson Four. The pair began in Dublin in a wet October of 1912, and Storey bowed out while in Paris with family issues back home. Clancy carried on solo, using what maps he could find, although in many countries only dots on the map indicated towns, and no roads were indicated. It was an incredible adventure, documented in ‘Motorcycle Adventurer’ and ‘Gasoline Tramp’: Clancy said after motorcycling at night in Spain, “One must die sometime and to die with one’s boots on is very noble.” He successfully completed his 18,000 mile journey in August 1913.