1916 Excelsior 61ci Twin Board Track Racing Motorcycle

Engine no. 89013

· Ex-bike from the Rusty Kay collection
· Mighty Big X engine
· Very well preserved example

The Excelsior Motor Manufacturing & Supply Company, founded in 1907, quickly produced some successful motorcycles: among which were winners on the boardtrack. Later Excelsior's focus was 'less racing and more Kumfort.' Schwinn had bought the company in 1911 so had 18 years of building the brand – though it was never as large as Indian or Harley-Davidson - before the stock market crash of 1929 and the following Great Depression caused motorcycle and bicycle sales to plummet. In the summer of 1931, Ignaz Schwinn walked into the boardroom and bluntly told the assembled directors and managers, without warning, 'Gentlemen, today we stop.' Schwinn saw no end in sight despite a full order book and he then chose bicycles over motorcycles using his own name. Excelsior was gone by September 1931 after 24 years.

The first Excelsior was a belt-driven single cylinder machine, the engine of which formed part of the frame. The engine itself was an inlet-over-exhaust 'F-head', a design then much in vogue because, whatever its limitations, it enabled the exhaust valve to be directly cooled by the incoming mixture, a positive advantage at a time when the science of metallurgy was in its infancy. A 61cu in (1,000cc) V-twin joined the range for 1911 and in 1913 was offered with all-chain drive. Two-speed planetary transmission and a leaf-sprung, Indian-style front fork were two of the following season's innovations. By this time the original Excelsior single had been dropped, being replaced for 1914 by a 250cc two-stroke lightweight. Alongside rivals Harley-Davidson and Indian, Excelsior offered a three-speed countershaft transmission for 1915, at the same time introducing a new frame with curved top tube and smoothly rounded tank, a first for Excelsior. Deeply valanced mudguards distinguished the V-twin of 1917. 'Military' olive green was adopted as the Excelsior livery that year and would remain the only option until 1920 when navy blue became the norm. In 1921 a 74ci (1,200cc) V-twin was added to the range, but by this time Excelsior had acquired the manufacturing rights to the Henderson Four and the days of the big V-twins were numbered. They were gone by 1925, Excelsior preferring to concentrate its resources on the Four and the newly introduced Super-X 750cc V-twin.

Excelsior furnished motorcycles to the American military during World War 1 and soldiers nicknamed them 'Big X' due to the large letter X emblazoned on the fuel tank. The mainstay of Excelsior production through the 1910s and into the 1920s was the 61ci (1,000cc) Big X. This model had an inlet-over-exhaust V-twin engine, firstly with belt drive then with a 2-speed, and then 3-speed gearbox.

This particular modified machine was part of the famed Rusty Kay collection – Montecito, California - from the 1970s. The late Rusty Kay, an award-winning graphics designer, was a big-time collector of early classic motorcycles. At one time he also had over 180 cars. 'His collection was very personal to him, and he had a great sense of humor, as did his collection.' When it came to cars, Kay once said, 'I go for the oddballs.' But motorcycles remained Kay's biggest passion. His interest began at the age of 15 when, while living with his family in Westwood, he rode a neighbor's Solex, a French motor-powered bicycle. Kay and his wife made a handful of trips to Europe over the years to buy more old motorcycles, many of which Kay restored himself. 'They're art. Art you can really get involved with by riding,' he told The LA Times in 1987. 'I got into the old bikes because they're simple, they're classic.'

We know it was rebuilt and painted in the mid-1970s by Dave Hansen of The Shop in Ventura. California. And it remains in beautiful shape to this day. It appears to be a privateer racer as it uses parts from several manufacturers that factory riders would not likely have used - including genuine Flying Merkel front forks, original Indian drop bars and more. It even has the leather sleeved 'meat hook' to the right of the leather race saddle, to keep the racer from sliding off the bike. A rare racing carburetor and short cut exhaust pipes, combined with the race-magneto ignition, can make this beast bark loud! This particular bike was featured on 'collector' cards (copy included with bike), and in a feature in the October 1981 issue of Cycle World magazine (copy included).