Excelsior frozen in time

[Steve Swan]

It seems that Excelsior's have a number of innovative features other brands did not have...?

[gharper]

You are correct Steve, they did have many innovative features such as:

Balloon tires in 1920, Harley and Indian waited until 1925.
7" wide fenders to allow easier removal of mud. Indian adopted this in 22, Harley about 25.
Compression release attached to the kick starter, advertised as "The easiest starting motorcycle on the market"
Reinforced "military" fork starting about 1917. Offered as a sidecar option for all 15-19 models. I believe this was developed for the military machines, of which X sold very few to the army, It was a huge improvement but was advertised as The Military Fork probably just for press but was available on all new bikes from 17 ish through 19.
Hand clutch control, THE BEST FEATURE EVER, from a riders perspective!
Pre-piped priming system, allowing both cylinders to be simultaneously primed simply by opening a valve.
Removable lower tank frame tube. This allowed easy removal of the cylinders for the "Annual de-carboning process" by simply removing the fuel tank with the bar attached.
Spring loaded "Cushion" rear sprocket

However....... in spite of these innovations they still clung to the rickety keystone frame and sliding transmission with short primary chain all the way through 1924. But then the Super X came out in 25, another first of many things, though the helical geared wet primary was copied from the Indian Scout and Chief. The SX was:

First true unit construction twin powerplant, for a US motorcycle anyway.
First production 45" motor. Indian followed in 27, Harley in 29 . This created a very fast mid sized sporty machine.

[exeric]

I'm glad you brought up the Super X, Gene. Like Chrysler, Excelsior did innovative things that the 'Big 2' were too conservative to do. Unfortunately, that didn't translate into sales but made for good transportation history. Excelsior, and Henderson had to try harder and work with more limited resources and in those perimeters, I think Excelsior was very successful. The picture is of Rich Ostrander's stunning Super X. When you put that motorcycle in the time period of '29-31 you can see how far advanced Excelsior was in it's last days as a motorcycle manufacturer.

exf.jpg

[RichO]

Eric, Gene will remember that Super X when it was blue on the 1987 Colorado road run. It was sold much later to Jeff Roth from Kansas who re-restored it as you see it in the photo at it's coming out party at Davenport many years ago when I took the above photo. It now lives in Germany. I originally got it as a basket in the mid-eighties. It's had a varied and interesting life. It do get around.They are a joy to ride and require little wrenching.

[gharper]

Indeed Richard, I do remember the blue SX on the DJ!

One other big advancement from Excelsior in mid 29 was cast aluminum gas tanks. These were used through the end in 31. The right tank was the same for SX and Henderson, so good interchangeability. Indian followed in 1930 and 31 on the Chief but dropped them by 32, probably due to cost. The Excelsior aluminum tanks are not terribly difficult to find, especially the right side (gas only). They are still usually intact and never rust out! The set on my 31 Chief is the same, amazing pieces of work and not corroded at all!

[Stein.S]

It took a while, but now the bike is finally at my place. I might ask some questions here when I start understanding and not understanding how this bike is supposed to work. I have some experience with harley J, and first impression of the Excelsior is that it is tecnically very different compared to the Harley I have learned a bit about..

[RichO]

What a beauty. You must be a very happy man. Suspended in time. It doesn't get much better than that. happy motori9ng!

[JoJo357]

Good Luck Stein. If the Kerosene doesn't work, try using ATF. Some guys add a 50/50 mix of Acetone & ATF. I've used straight acetone inside of my sPeEdWaY motors to clean out old Castrol R~it works wonders. Just don't use it on Brass.

*M.A.D.*

[JoJo357]

What a beauty. You must be a very happy man. Suspended in time. It doesn't get much better than that. happy motori9ng!

He's only 1/2 happy Rich O. The Excelsior is an old friends motorcycle that he happens to be working on.

*M.A.D.*

[Stein.S]

The bike is not mine, but it is a luxury to be the one who are going to try wake it up after probably at least 75 years. Thanks for advice about mixing in ATF oil with acetone. I have a 20ˋ Harley engine which turned when I got it. When I took it apart the magneto was almost totally stucked, It was not possible to notice while turning the engine with a wrench. It was not damaged, but it make me think it would be smart to remove the magneto at the Excelsior, and check it before trying to release the engine. Because garage is full, it will be a while, a week or two, before anything will be done with the bike. Bought new tyres for the project 1 1/2 years ago, and they will be fitted on as the first thing to do…The old tyres are thrash. Its problematic to push the bike around now…

[gharper]

Exciting times! Great opportunity to get your hands on a nice old bike that doesn't seem to have been molested much!

Beware the X has big bronze bushings for both main bearings as well as brass bushings in the timing chest. I like Marvel mystery oil, great penetrating oil, good lubricant, smells good and doesn't eat anything up, including your hands! Try oiling the magneto bearings, there is a flip top oiler at each end. If it will take oil, get plenty in there and start the slow process of turning things over. Keep us posted on your progress! Remember, the thing was most likely running when it was parked.

[BigLakeBob]

As Gene said, it was running when turned off and parked. There are several videos of Dale Walksler from Wheels Through Time Museum using a hot plate under the engine to simulate the engine shut down and getting things freed again. Great bike, good luck!

[Stein.S]

Thanks for good advices. Marvel mystery oil is not easy to get here in Norway, but to fill kerosene in the cylinders, let it work for a while, and if it moves without using any hard force, then fill in 50 oil to soak up the cylinder walls while turning? If engine does not easily get loose, then try the acethon and atf mix..?
to oil up the mag…tips about that noted, thanks. When engine is loosened, heat the engine upmanbit, to try getting the old hard oilmandngrease to soften up before starting to turn it?
if all seems ok, drain engine, fill in the 3 pumps, or the amuont tre pumps would be giving the pump worked as it should?
Seasonnforndriving started here. My 19ˋHarley need to get the rear wheel adjusted, so first fix that.

[Stein.S]

The story about the bike is that a man from Norway lived in America for a while and brough the bike with him when he moved back to Norway. Some younger relative wanted the bike, and removed some parts probably hoping to get the rest of the bike later. My friend bought it probably around 1965. It has been stored after that. It is an area with cold weather and little humidity in the air. So guess bike looks about the same as it did in 1965. Except for the tires, which are damaged and hard as stone. Owner means the engine turned when he moved the bike around like 10-15 years ago.

[Stein.S]

Some more pictures