Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycle was a motorcycle manufacturing company located in

Belle Plaine, Minnesota Belle Plaine ( ) is a city in Scott County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 7,395 at the 2020 census. History Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court Judge Andrew G. Chatfield selected the townsite of Belle Plaine in 1853 while trav ...

, in the late 1990s that briefly produced a single model before falling into bankruptcy.

History

The company was originally founded as Hanlon Manufacturing Company by Daniel Hanlon during early 1993 in

Burnsville, Minnesota Burnsville ( ) is a city south of downtown Minneapolis in Dakota County, Minnesota. The city is situated on a bluff overlooking the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from its confluence with the Mississippi River. Burnsville and nea ...

, United States. The company secured the rights of motorcycle names previously used by the former Excelsior-Henderson company, that was owned by Ignatz Schwinn of the

Schwinn The Schwinn Bicycle Company is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets bicycles under the eponymous brand name. The company was founded by Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895, and in the 20th century became the domi ...

company. The company proceeded to design and manufacture proprietary motorcycles under the

nameplate A nameplate identifies and displays a person or product's name. Nameplates are usually shaped as rectangles but are also seen in other shapes, sometimes taking on the shape of someone's written name. Nameplates primarily serve an informat ...

of the former

Excelsior Excelsior may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * "Excelsior", an 1877 picture book in verse by Bret Harte, published as an advertisement for the Sa ...

and

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

motorcycles.

Factory

From 1997 to 1998, the company constructed a factory in Belle Plaine, Minnesota. The factory was equipped for a capacity of 10,000 motorcycles per year, and, with a few minor assembly and finishing line changes, would have had a capacity of 20,000. After Excelsior-Henderson's closure, the factory was converted in 2009 to the headquarters of

Cambria Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity) or the early medieval period. After the ...

, a company specializing in quartz surfaces.

Production

Excelsior-Henderson introduced its sole production model, the Super X, in December 1998, and commenced production in early 1999. The company developed the Super X motorcycle as a new proprietary motorcycle, including a new 1,386-cc, 63-hp engine, frame, and all related drive and styling components, adopting styling cues from earlier motorcycles, such as a leading-link fork and a row of three headlights. The company established 140 dealers throughout the United States. The motorcycles averaged an

MSRP The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...

around $18,500. Via the assembly line, the company produced for retail sale approximately 1,900 motorcycles in various configurations; 1161 units in model year 1999, and 720 units in model year 2000. In total, the company produced an estimated 1,950 motorcycles, including motorcycles produced and not designed for retail dealer sales, such as dealer promotional bikes, test prototypes, and non–mass-produced motorcycles.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Excelsior-Henderson, having spent $100 million in capital over a seven-year period and still several years from profitability, was unable to raise additional capital by late 1999. Therefore, on December 21, 1999, Excelsior-Henderson filed for reorganization under

Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

. As an outcome of the process, certain assets of the company were sold to a Florida investment group, which later filed for reorganization and no longer exists. Production of motorcycles never recommenced. According to former employees, the company's failures can be attributed to ineptitude in growing a dealer network, micromanaging, and an unwillingness to accept and incorporate suggested improvements. Gary Fields, Deputy Commissioner of Minnesota's Department of Trade and Economic Development, said that the state would be less likely to fund another startup because of the failure of Excelsior-Henderson.

Post-bankruptcy status

In December 2020, Cycle World reported that Excelsior-Henderson's intellectual property had been purchased by Bajaj, a major manufacturer of motorcycles in India.

References

#
MOTOS EN CUBA - LAS MOTOS DE LA INDEPENDENCIA (1885-1940).
#
Retrospective: 1999-2000 Excelsior-Henderson Super X.
#
History of Motorcycles in Cuba.

External links

{{Official website, http://www.excelsiorhenderson.com Defunct motorcycle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Minnesota Burnsville, Minnesota Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1993 1993 establishments in Minnesota