1928 Excelsior-Henderson Super X

FROM THE DICK SHAPPY COLLECTION: The 1928 Excelsior Super X Big Bertha Hill Climber

The Excelsior Supply Company was founded in 1876 by George T. Robie in Chicago to distribute sewing machine and bicycle parts but expanded into the Excelsior Motor and Manufacturing Company in 1907 with Frederick Carlton Robie at the helm as President. Motorcycle production began in 1908 and by 1912, Ignaz Schwinn, owner of Arnold, Schwinn & Co. of Schwinn Bicycles, purchased the company. Together, they set a new record as an Excelsior motorcycle was the first to be officially timed at a speed of 100mph in 1912. Schwinn acquired the Henderson Motorcycle Company in 1917, combining three impressive forces.

In 1925, the Excelsior Super X model was released, the first motorcycle with a 45 cu in V-twin engine, to compete with the Indian Scout. Indian and Harley-Davidson quickly followed suit, but ny 1928, Excelsior was in third place behind them for U.S. motorcycle manufacturers.

In the late 1920s, the hillclimb was becoming popular as board-track racing began to wane, inspiring manufacturers to hire the best riders and select the best of their designs to compete. The legendary Arthur Lemon developed the "M cylinders, which could be tuned for more power without overheating. A pair of M cylinders on the Super X crankcase gave the 61 cubic inch V-twin a significant horsepower boost, leading to the nickname of this modification, Big Bertha. This catapulted Excelsior to the world stage as the most successful hillclimb racing motorcycle.

Despite the success of Schwinns motorcycle production, after the stock market crashed in 1929, motorcycle sales plummeted, and by 1931, with a full order book, Ignaz ordered production to cease. His words, Gentlemen, today we stop, may have saved the company, as focusing on bicycles was a far more cost-effective endeavor, leaving surviving relics a piece of American history.

Only four of the rare Excelsior Super X Big Bertha Hill Climbers were said to have been made, and this is one of two that survive. They were the most famous and successful of the hillclimbers, having won thirty-one hillclimb competitions in a row, as well as the 1928 and 1929 National Hillclimb Championships. William V. Altman competed in the Joe Petrali winning team, impressing his name onto the engine of this 1928 Excelsior Super X Big Bertha Hill Climber, still in remarkable condition after all of its competition.