Excelsior Motor Manufacturing & Supply Company was a U.S. motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 manufacturer operating in Chicago from 1907 to 1931. It was purchased by Ignaz Schwinn, proprietor of bicycle manufacturer Arnold, Schwinn & Co. in 1912. The Henderson Motorcycle

Henderson Motorcycle

Henderson produced 4-cylinder motorcycles from 1912 until 1931. They were the largest and fastest motorcycles of their time, and appealed to sport riders and police departments. Police favored them for traffic patrol because they were faster than anything on the roads...

 Company became a division of Excelsior when Schwinn purchased Henderson in 1917. By 1928, Excelsior was in third place in the U.S. motorcycle market behind Indian

Indian (motorcycle)

Indian is an American brand of motorcycles. Indian motorcycles were manufactured from 1901 to 1953 by a company in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, initially known as the Hendee Manufacturing Company but which was renamed the Indian Manufacturing Company in 1928. The Indian factory team took the...

 and Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...

. The Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 convinced Schwinn to order Excelsior's operations to cease in September 1931.

Excelsior Super X

Excelsior released its Super X model in 1925. The Super X was America's first motorcycle with a 45 CID V-twin engine. It was conceived as a competitor to the smaller Indian Scout

Indian Scout (motorcycle)

The Indian Scout was a motorcycle built by the Indian Company from 1920 to 1949. It rivaled the Chief as Indian's most important model.-The first Scouts :The Scout was introduced in October 1919 as a 1920 model, with a engine...

. In response to the Super X's popularity, Indian first raised the Scout's capacity to 45 CID and then introduced the new Indian 101 Scout

Indian 101 Scout

The Indian 101 Scout was a motorcycle built by the Indian Company from 1928 to 1931.-History:The 101 Scout, released in mid 1928, was an evolution of the Scout that had been introduced in 1920 and enlarged to forty-five cubic inches in 1927...

, while Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...

 introduced their 45 CID motorcycle, the Model D.

End of production

In 1929, the stock market crash and the resulting Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

caused motorcycle sales to plummet. The summer of 1931 saw Schwinn call his department heads together for a meeting at Excelsior. He bluntly told them, with no prior indication, “Gentlemen, today we stop”. Schwinn felt that the Depression could easily continue for eight years, and even worsen. Despite a full order book, he had chosen to pare back his business commitments to the core business of bicycle manufacture. All motorcycle operations at Excelsior ended by September 1931 .