The Good Old "X"
First motorcycle in the world to roll 100mph.

Over in the corner of my workshop, there sits a fine thoroughbred of a motorcycle. You can tell at a glance that it is an old model, yet the enamel and plated parts gleam like new, and no matter how many brand new motorcycles I get to ride in a year, that old timer in the corner of my shop is still a source of pride to me, for it is one of the last survivors of a great breed, a marque which for many years made a brilliant record on hill and track and road, shining like a glowing star across the pages of motorcycling history. A great motorcycle with a great name which for nearly twenty-five years was one of Americans most popular brands of motorcycle.

And what is the name on the tank and on the crankcase of this proud veteran? Excelsior! If you look closely, you will see that the decal on the tank is in the form of a large, gold X, and the black lettering in the big gold X reads: "Excelsior Autocycle." Now, you may say, "What's so wonderful about the Excelsior?" And in reply I would tell you that if that old bike of mine could talk, it would have a stirring tale to tell. A tale of hard-fought victories on dusty mile and half tracks, all the way from Boston to Los Angeles, of hanging up records on the the old board speedways that, to this very day, have never been beaten, and of hillclimb championships fought on the most famous hills of all time.

For instance, if the old Excelsior could talk it would say: "Were you at the Maywood Board Speedway in Chicago, on that September day in 1915 when Carl Goudy road his 61c.i. Excelsior to victory in the Three Hundred Mile Race?" He won that race against a large field of the best riders, mounted on the very fastest and toughest Indian and Harley racing jobs which the factory racing departments could turn out. He rode against such stars such as Gene Walker, Indian; Curley Fredericks, Harley-Davidson; Otto Walker, Harley-Davidson; Don Johns, Indian; and a host of other top-ranking stars. Most amazing, he won this race at a speed of 86 miles an hour! Yes! 300 miles of wide open throttle on a Board Speedway at 86 miles an hour! And remember I am talking about the year 1915!

This will give you a slant on the engineering and the fine quality that was in "the good old X"--75 years ago. And after a pause, I think that old Excelsior of mine would say: "Yes, and you should have been at the famous Capistrano hillclimb in Southern California in 1917--the hill that had never been topped by any motorcycle--even though the boys on the most powerful factory-tuned motors had been trying for years to hit the top of Capistrano. It was Cal Lambert on his 61 cubic-inch Excelsior who first laid a tire track over the top of old Capistrano.

At Dodge City, Kansas, in the heyday of long-distance dirt-track racing, the Excelsior was always a worthy contender. In those days there were three outstanding and popular makes. If you arrived in a town almost anywhere in the country and asked "where is a motorcycle shop?" the reply was almost sure to be "Which one do you want, the Indian, the Harley, or the Excelsior shop?" and when you went to a race meet, it was not at all uncommon to see a roaring Excelsior win several fast events, giving the Harley-Davidsons, the Indians, the Popes, the Thors, and other makes, a terrific run for their money. The "Good Old X" was in those days a factor to be reckoned with, which made both Harley and Indian work real hard to try to keep up.

First models came on the market in 1907

Anyone who is a cycle enthusiast today, knows the name of Schwinn, one of America's most popular bicycles. It was Ignaz Schwinn, who purchased a small motorcycle company in Chicago in the year 1907, and immediately placed improved models on the market under the name of Excelsior.

The first model was a lightweight machine with copper gasoline tank, a good spring fork, a novel system of handlebar rod-controls, and single-cylinder engine with flat belt-drive. This machine proved to be an immediate success, because it was well made, powerful, and would stay together over the very rough roads of those years. It was continued in 1908 and 1909. In 1910 the first Excelsior twin appeared, which was a 50 cubic-inch machine. This same twin was carried on into 1911.

In 1912, a new frame, new leaf spring front fork, new deeper fuel tank, and a bigger twin engine of 61 cubic-inches made its appearance. Excelsior dealers sprang all over the country, and the production of the 1912 Excelsior ran into many thousand machines. By the fall of 1912, there were 40,000 Excelsior motorcycles in service not only in America, but in foreign countries as well. All this time, and until the announcement of the 1915 Excelsior in the fall of 1914, all Excelsior machines were single-speed models, except for a planetary 2-speed model in 1914 only.

In 1915, Ignaz Schwinn set the motorcycle world back on its heels by introducing the very first production model to be placed on the American market with a gasoline tank which was not square, rectangular and ugly. This one had gracefully rounded corners and a curved top frame bar which followed the beautiful slanting curve of the tank. It was not until many years afterward that other American manufacturers adopted this "streamlined" look. But the Excelsior had it in 1915!

The 1915 "X," was a 3-speed machine, with a gear box and clutch which were just as good as the rugged Excelsior engine, and immediately this machine proved popular for police work, and was greatly desired and bought by thousands of enthusiasts clear across the United States.

First to hit the century mark

Now again, if that gleaming gray and red Excelsior 61 of mine could talk, I think it would probably hold this choice statement until the last to floor you, to make you walk away saying to yourself "Yes, I guess the "good old X" was really quite a motorcycle." It would say to you, "and of course you know about the first man in the world to ever ride a motorcycle 100 miles per hours. That was Lee Humiston on the Playa del Rey Board Track on December 30, 1912. And what do you think he was riding? A 61 cubic-inch Excelsior twin!

In that December of 1912 and in the following days of January 1913, Huminston, on the Flying X, set up a string of speed records that stood unbroken for years. The other factories had to really design some brand new racing engines before they could knock down any of those records. And some of the Board Speedway records made by the Excelsior, were never broken, so they stand up there on the record for All Time--monuments testifying to the prowess of the mighty "X"--thundering star of yesteryear.

A colorful and sparkling motorcycle

Ignaz Schwinn always had a knack for decorating a motorcycle in a manner which made it appealing to all classes of riders. From the very beginning, up to and including 1916, his color combination was: pearl gray motorcycle, large bright red panels on both sides of the gas tank, both sides of the tool box, and bright red arrows down the sides of the front forks. These bright red panels were surrounded by a broad maroon (dark red) stripe. All these color panels were edged in gold striping. In the center of the bright red panel on the sides of the tank, was a large, gold and silver X.

On top of this, Schwinn decorated the machine on the rims, frame, and mudguards with double lines of dark blue. This, with all the nickel plating he put on (even the cylinder barrels were nickeled!), made the Excelsior one of the most brilliant and colorful motorcycles ever to roll the roads of America.

In 1917, when America entered World War I, nearly all motorcycles then in production, changed to an olive drab or khaki color, and this was true in Schwinn's case. The Excelsior appeared in olive drab with dark green stripes and still with the large, gold and silver X on the tank. This color combination was continued through 1919 and then in 1920, the good old X was again subjected to a complete face-lift, which delighted Excelsior enthusiasts throughout the world.

It was in 1917 that Mr. Schwinn purchased the Henderson Motorcycle Company. In the fall of 1919, it was decided that both the Henderson 4 and the Excelsior twin would come out on the market finished in a beautiful deep royal blue, with fine gold line striping. Both the Henderson and the Excelsior would employ new wide mudguards, the widest ever offered on any American motorcycle, a new-style cushion fork, 27 x 3.5" white sidewall balloon tires, and numerous other improvements. The 1920 Excelsior twin was certainly a beauty and it continued to be a popular machine up until 1924.

Year after year, the Excelsior was a force to contend with, as the competition riders of "the good old X" set new records for speed, endurance and power. While it is true that the famous Indian and the equally famous Harley-Davidson all accepted each challenge--each one striving to outdo the others--the Excelsior held its own and did more than its share to keep the pot boiling and the motorcycling public excited about what would happen next. It is also true that because of what the Excelsior did in competition, this brand of motorcycle attracted thousands of motorcyclists who were torrid Excelsior fans and would have no other motorcycle!

Charlie Carter served as Motorcycle Shopper's Motorcycling Historian during the first couple years of the magazine.