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The Excelsior-Henderson motorcycle company was a name given to two motorcycle manufacturing companies, the first operated by the Arnold, Schwinn & Co., the second by the Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycle Company of Belle Plaine, Minnesota, which purchased the original company's brand and trademark.
History
The original company was formed by Ignaz Schwinn, owner of Arnold, Schwinn & Co., a bicycle manufacturer. Sensing an opportunity to grow the company, Schwinn finalized his purchase of Excelsior Motorcycle Company in 1912, and in 1917 added the Henderson Motorcycle Co. to form Excelsior-Henderson. In an atmosphere of general decline elsewhere in the industry, Schwinn's new motorcycle division thrived, and by 1928 was in third place behind Indian and Harley-Davidson.
In 1929, the stock market crash and the resulting Great Depression caused motorcycle sales to plummet. Ignaz Schwinn himself lost most of his money in the stock market, and Excelsior-Henderson went bankrupt, permanently discontinuing motorcycle production in 1931.
New Excelsior-Henderson company
In 1994, a new Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycle Company was founded by Dan Hanlon and Dave Hanlon (brothers) who secured the rights to the defunct Excelsior-Henderson trademark and brand. After securing funding from a number of investors, the two brothers built a state-of-the-art factory in Belle Plaine, Minnesota. The original business plan scheduled motorcycle production to begin in December 1998 with a projected annual sales of 20,000 units.
Excelsior-Henderson finally began production in the spring of 1999 and sold fewer than 2000 motorcycles over the following summer and fall. The initial lack of sales resulted in Excelsior-Henderson laying off a large portion of its workforce. On December 21, 1999, Excelsior-Henderson filed for bankruptcy. Despite attempts to save the manufacturer, no investors could be found and the assets were eventually liquidated.
