new member Excelsior Harely Indian

[Wspencer]

G'day all

I have been collecting prewar bikes for 30+ years pending my retirement, well after 40 years service in the one business I retired late last year. Time for my long awaited projects

I have 15+ pre war British & American bikes (and one Australian) (most of them are from the 1920s), they are between 70-95% complete , none are restored or going

currently I am going through each one and documenting what parts I am missing, then I will make a start on one based on completeness and condition.

I am chasing some info in relation to my Excelsior Big X , which I will post in a separate thread

cheers

Warwick

[craig (DE)]

Welcome Warwick! Sounds like one heck of a bike collection!

[midman]

Welcome, sounds like a nice retirement plan
Chuck

[ihrescue]

I can think of nothing better to do in retirement than to work on antique motorcycles. You may consider starting threads in the member bike build forum. It doesn't need to be a fancy approach to documenting your work, offer an endnote vision for your project and then keep track with photos and some comments. You will get reaction and comments that are supportive and often times contribute in ways you never would have realized. Member Bike Builds don't need to be basket cases and can even be small projects as part of the whole bike.

Good luck Warwick

[hairynob24]

G,day Warwick ,what is the Ozzie you own ? Rob

[Wspencer]

thankyou all for the supportive comments, and re my Australian bike its a "Invincible J.A.P." 1923, 770cc V/twin, built in Melbourne it is understood that only 600 were planned to be built but its unknown if even that many were actually built. Its quite a mix the Invincible has a British JAP motor and a British Burman gearbox, the rest was built in Melbourne. The folks look like a copy of the early 20's Excelsior / Henderson, the tanks look very similar in design to the early 20's Harley.left.jpg

[hairynob24]

the invincible jap is a nice bike ,don't see them around much at all ...

[exeric]

Welcome, Warwick. That Invincible is a beautiful motorcycle and was obviously built by people who loved, and lived for motorcycles in those days. I can see a very strong Ex/Hen influence as the fork looks off-the-shelf Schwinn, and the frame has many similarities to Excelsior. Like you said, Harley-Davidson was also represented, but I don't see anything Indian What a fantastic project, Warwick; you're a lucky man. I think many of us would love to see a little more history about the Invincible, if you have any literature from that time.

[Tom Wilcock]

HInvincible JAP 001.jpgere is information I have on the Invincible.
Tom

[exeric]

Very much appreciated, Tom. Thanks.

[Wspencer]

G'day Eric

Thanks for showing interest in my local motorcycle, I am definitely not an expert in the story of the Invincible JAP, in fact nearly all I am aware of has comes from "A-Z of Australian Motorcycles 1893-1942" & a booklet titled "Invincible JAP" both by Robert Saward. Turner Brothers Melbourne lost the Harley Davidson dealership in 1922 and at the same time won the JAP dealership. So they contracted Frith Brothers (who had been building JAP engine bikes with an ever increase American style) to build ~600 units. Its appears they were built from late 1922 to 1924, with four models 4-1/2 HP single, 770cc (6 HP) twin, 1000cc (8 HP twin), 1000cc (8 HP twin) sports. I have a 770cc model from 1923. I have attached two extracts from Roberts booklet showing period adds, its interesting that Turner Bros wanted a V/twin American style bike to replace their lost Harley dealership, yet the adds stress a English influence !when you look at the bike the style is obviously American for the period.

Invincible add 2 jpg.jpgInvincible add .jpg