Johnny Cash Excelsior

[jurassic]

this early excelsior twin was built "one piece at a time". mostly off of ebay. the engine and gas tank came out of martha's vinyard. it was setup as some sort of pump motor in a wooden frame. the front fork came from australia. the rear section of the frame was found here on the AMCA forum. the front of the frame came from new jersey. the handlebars came out of so cal. all genuine chicago steel and copper.

[c.o.]

It's looking pretty good so far!

[jurassic]

this is what it looks like today. repop wheels and linkage have helped get it looking more like a motorcycle. currently i am looking for pedal cranks, and the canister part of the muffler. it also has a single clutch pulley on it, that i would be willing to trade for a twin pulley clutch. also does anyone have a good picture of the carb. linkage rod? i know it is a sleeved unit ,but not sure on the length etc. i do have a line on a set of original fenders ,but not sure if i'll get them or not.

[23JDCA 808]

Looks good. Must be pretty early with those bicycle appearing wheels. I'm doing the same thing with a 1923 Harley JD. The parts are somewhat easier to come by.
http://www.97330.com/Bills_1923_Harley/index.html

[exeric]

I've had just about every part for a '12-'14 X, but never all at one time. At least, never enough of a pile to get serious about making it happen. My hat's off to anyone that can pull it all together. Argueably, the '12-'14 Excelsior is the most attractive of all Excelsiors.

[silentgreyfello]

Lonnie, emailed some pix. Let me know if they didn't make it through.

[silentgreyfello]

. Argueably, the '12-'14 Excelsior is the most attractive of all Excelsiors.

Agreed there, maybe as attractive as any motorcycle of the era, IMO. I don't understand why the value on these stays flat compared to HD. Just a hunch, but maybe it is due to the high production numbers of Excelsior, and there isn't a T-shirt store in every town now like HD?

[sirhrmechanic]

Fantastic job, Jurassic. Having built more than a couple of basket cases (cars, not bikes... yet), I can say from experience that this is impressive! Cheers and keep us posted! Sirhr

[c.o.]

That bike morphed into a darn nice machine jurassic! When the rest of the parts are rounded up it would be cool to hear it run!

[aka HAWG]

lonnie
how different are the linkages from the single to the twin - can bring parts to oley so you can measure and handle if needbe

aka HAWG

[chicagohen]

Agreed there, maybe as attractive as any motorcycle of the era, IMO. I don't understand why the value on these stays flat compared to HD. Just a hunch, but maybe it is due to the high production numbers of Excelsior, and there isn't a T-shirt store in every town now like HD?

I daresay I've seen more 1912-14 HD's than belt drive X twin's. I guess the Chicago machines don't get "popped' as much.

[silentgreyfello]

I daresay I've seen more 1912-14 HD's than belt drive X twin's. I guess the Chicago machines don't get "popped' as much.

I guess I am not seeing the early HD twins much, except for the wonderful '13 that was on ebay recently. Other than that, I don't remember another 1912-14 HD twin on ebay in the last year. There have been plenty of singles, but twins... I haven't seen them. On the other hand, there have been three 1912-14 Exc twins up for sale in the last two months that I am aware of. I still like the Excesior style, but it is much easier to finish an HD, like you mentioned, because so many of the little pieces that used to be a stumbling block to finishing a bike are now available.

[chicagohen]

Out of curiosity were they belts or chains? I see plenty of chain Xs but the belts seem scarce.

[bobbyt]

The '12 belt Ex twins used the smaller 6 hp engine. The 61 inch twin engine with belt drive was introduced in 1913. 1914 was the highest production for the factory (Ex) in the teens.

Bob Turek
#769

[c.o.]

I guess I am not seeing the early HD twins much, except for the wonderful '13 that was on ebay recently. Other than that, I don't remember another 1912-14 HD twin on ebay in the last year. There have been plenty of singles, but twins... I haven't seen them. On the other hand, there have been three 1912-14 Exc twins up for sale in the last two months that I am aware of. I still like the Excesior style, but it is much easier to finish an HD, like you mentioned, because so many of the little pieces that used to be a stumbling block to finishing a bike are now available.

Courtesy of Slojo....