1929 Excelsior 750cc Super-X Engine no. SX-6682

1929 Excelsior 750cc Super-XEngine no. SX-6682
• Fully restored example• Zero miles covered since restorationExcelsior and Henderson as owned by Ignaz Schwinn may have been the smaller sibling of the Big Three in the United States motorcycle industry which included Harley-Davidson and Indian, but the company brought out some remarkable motorcycles that changed the market place as well as motorcycle competition. In a mere 18 years, Excelsior grew from the spindly belt-drive single cylinder motorcycle, as the motorcycle company purchased by Schwinn in 1911, to graceful V-twins in a matter of a few years, and to the innovative Super-X in 1925.Schwinn had problems with the marketing of its motorcycles. The Henderson was considered the leader with sales double that of the Excelsior. The 61 inch V-twin Excelsiors of the teens and early 1920's were essentially in the same class as the touring heavy weight Hendersons so they were in competition with each other's market share, plus the twins were also competing against the offerings from Indian and Harley-Davidson. Thus in 1925 when the new Super Excelsior was debuted, it was a 45 cubic engine that none of the other manufacturers currently produced. Right in the middle of light weight and heavy weight motorcycles, the new Super-X featured a novel unit construction engine with a transmission where the gears could be removed from the bike without removing the engine from the chassis. It also featured helical primary gears in the primary that were extremely similar to that of Indian's Scout series. Like the dated look of the Hendersons, the Super-X desperately needed a refreshed appearance which it received for the 1929 model year. It rode on balloon tires to improve the riding comfort, had a low saddle which enhanced the handling, and improved its economy through efficient engineering. It received new streamlined gas tanks and fenders with this model.When the Super-X came onto the market, it created an entirely new class of middle weight motorcycles. Due to their lesser weight, the bikes became a sporting representative of motorcycling and undoubtedly gave a shot in the arm to sales. The rest of the country's industry quickly followed, with Indian updating their popular little Scout and Harley-Davidson introducing their own 45 in 1929. Motorcycle competition was changed too. A new class for 45 inch engines came into being and it still with us today, as is the same class for street motorcycles.This 1929 Excelsior Super-X has been impressively restored, finished in an all-black paint scheme, highlighted with red and cream pin striping and no mileage covered since restoration. It features a correct Bosch Magdyno, a bullet headlight, 18 inch drop center wheels and a pivoting rear fender to facilitate rear wheel removal. As Excelsior sales never matched its stablemate Hendersons, and both of these fine bikes never came close to the output from its other two industry rivals, the Super-X is rather rare. But this beautiful rare bird can be yours to own and admire.

As with all Lots in the Sale, this Lot is sold 'as is/where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding.