Offered from the National Motorcycle Museum Collection, 1935 Excelsior 250cc Manxman Works Racing Motorcycle

Registration no. not registered Frame no. M.E.T.T. 3 Engine no. BBAR 102

• One of eight or nine works machines built for the 1935 Isle of Man TT
• Possibly ridden by Manliffe Barrington at the 1935 TT
• Formerly part of the Norman Webb and Autokraft collections

Although it had proved fast enough to win the 1933 Lightweight TT in Syd Gleave's hands, Excelsior's complex twin-cam, radial four-valve Mechanical Marvel proved something of a disappointment thereafter, and at the end of the 1934 season the Tyseley firm opted for a simpler design - the Manxman. Like the Marvel, the Manxman's Ike Hatch-designed engine was built by Blackburne, though increasing friction with its engine supplier forced Excelsior to take over production early in 1936, with further developments masterminded by Melbournian, Alan Bruce, the company's Technical Manager.

A single-overhead-camshaft, two-valve design, the Manxman was built in 250, 350 and 500cc capacities. Although it never won a TT, the Manxman enjoyed considerable success in international racing and the Manx Grand Prix, Denis Parkinson winning the MGP Lightweight race three times consecutively between 1936 and 1938. Sadly, the Manxman did not resume production after WW2 and today is one of the most sought after of all post-Vintage thoroughbred motorcycles.

The works Manxman offered here is one of eight or nine built for the 1935 Isle of Man TT. The riders were Manliffe Barrington (entered by Handley), Charlie Manders (works entry), Horton (entered by Alan Bruce), Cook, Cornfield, Smith, Loth, and De Ortueta from Spain. Notes left by Alan Bruce suggest that 'TT3' might have been Manliffe Barrington's machine at the '35 Lightweight TT, a race the Irish star failed to finish. Its original twin-plug engine ('BBAR EX308') was replaced in April 1936, after which the machine seems to have been used at Donington Park and thereafter as a works 'hack' or development bike.

Some time later the Manxman went to Ireland, where it was raced, and in 1960 was purchased there by Norman Webb, who had bought the remains of the Excelsior race-shop in the 1950s. The machine had no engine so Norman fitted a 1936 engine ('BBAR 102'), which was assembled using the correct racing parts. An old-style continuation logbook on file (issued 1957) shows that 'BBAR 102' was in frame number 'R333' at that time. Engine number 'BBAR 102' is known to have been used on two sets of crankcases, perhaps three, and for two different machines, while the drive side crankcase is un-stamped, possibly indicating that it is a replacement.

This Manxman is one of 13 Excelsiors, many of them works machines, purchased by the National Motorcycle Museum in February 1994 from Brian Angliss's Autokraft Collection. The machine's mechanical condition is not known; accordingly, prospective purchasers must satisfy themselves with regard to its condition, completeness, correctness, or otherwise prior to bidding.