Bike of the Month for July
Excelsior-Henderson Super X
There are six ways to manufacture American style cruiser motorcycles. The first is to manufacture American motorcycles for over 95 years. Harley-Davidson is the original. Everyone else is either trying to be them, or compete against them. The second way is to copy Harley-Davidson. That’s what the Japanese, and now the Germans, Italians and British are doing. In their favor, they all use their own engines, and strive for (and increasingly achieve) some measure of individuality. The third is to branch out your manufacturing base to include motorcycles, as in the case of Polaris, who are building their own unique motorcycle as well as ATVs, PWC, and snowmobiles. The fourth is to take advantage of the huge Harley-Davidson aftermarket, and assemble pseudo-Harleys using almost no original parts or ideas, as in the case of Titan, Big Dog, and about fifty others. The fifth is to announce to the world that you have just purchased the rights to the Indian trademark, and you will begin manufacturing brand new Indians by the next fiscal quarter, sell a lot of t-shirts and spend all the investors money, as in the case of Phillip Zanghi and Wayne Baughman. At least the new consortium of owners is actually making motorcycles, but putting skirted fenders on a fake Harley isn’t going to convince anybody, and is a travesty to anybody who actually cares about either of those makes. The sixth and final way to become a manufacturer of American style cruiser motorcycles is to actually raise sufficient funds, build a factory, and then make your own motorcycle with a style (and an engine) all it’s own. That is what Dave and Don Hanlon have done with the Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycle Company. Not only does the bike look different, it actually is different. The engine is their own design, as well as the totally unique front suspension. Despite the styling cues that hark back to the Super X of the ‘20s, E-H is making a cruiser that is as modern as anything else currently offered. But isn’t simply good engineering, it’s engineering that works. The bike handles, accelerates and rides better than most out there, and puts it all in a package that you can look at for hours. It’s that good. And it’s honest. If you can’t make cruisers one of the first three ways, then skip four and five, and proceed directly to six.
June 1999's Winner Yamaha XJR1300
May 1999's Winner MV Augusta F4
April 1999's Winner Harley-Davidson FXR2
March 1999's Winner Kawasaki Estrella Custom
February 1999's Winner Laverda 750S Formula
January 1999's Winner Kawasaki SW650
December 1998's Winner Harley-Davidson FLSTS Heritage Springer
November 1998's Winner BMW R1100S
October 1998's Winner Triumph Speed Triple
September 1998's Winner Moto Guzzi V10 Centauro Sport
August 1998's Winner Harley-Davidson FXDX Super Glide Sport
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