1876 - 1909

The story of the Excelsior-Henderson brand begins in 1876, with the founding of the Excelsior Supply Company, a maker of bicycles and parts. By the latter half of the 1800's, bicycles had become very popular as durable, light, and relatively safe transportation.

During the first decade of the 20th century, motorcycles were built by bicycle and automobile manufacturers who were as new to motorcycles as motorcycles were new to population. By the time Excelsior built its first motorcycle in 1905, the company already had 30 years of experience engineering bicycle frames and parts. This gave them a leg up on the other motorcycle manufacturers who had difficulty keeping their bikes together on the torturous roads of the day.

Excelsior's first motorcycle was a single-speed machine, featuring a single-cylinder, 21 c.i. "F-head", in which the  intake valve was on top of the cylinder and the exhaust valve was inverted inside the cylinder. The frame was a keystone type, with the crankcase an integral frame component. Dual top frame tubes sandwiched the fuel tank, a feature quickly copied by other manufacturers. With a flat, leather belt transferring power to the rear wheel, and a leading link front suspension to swallow the bumps, riders could speed along at 35 to 40 MPH.

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This history was collected from the 1999 Super X Rider's Handbook, as published by the Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycle Manufacturing Company.