The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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  • Matt Johnston

    Biker guy

July 11, 2009

Completing the cycle

Excelsior-Henderson owners rally in Le Sueur

By Tim Krohn

LE SUEUR — Gonny Petterssen’s love affair with the Excelsior-Henderson motorcycle is complete.

“The Excelsior-Henderson is one of the best. The look is great. Very nice to ride.”

Petterssen came from Sweden to join about 80 other bikers who own one or more of the 2,000 motorcycles produced by a Belle Plaine company that survived only a year of production.

The weekend rally marked 10 years since a grand plan to resurrect the brand and take on leader Harley Davidson ended with bankruptcy.

Le Sueur has become the headquarters for the annual rally because of John Jones, owner of John’s Repair Minnesota Super X. The motorcycle repairman in downtown Le Sueur purchased all of the remaining parts inventory from the factory.

The limited supply of the motorcycle left them a valued commodity.

“Most of the owners feel fortunate to have the bikes,” Jones said. “There are some hard feelings about the company, they wish it could have kept going. But most of these guys who ride are real enthusiasts and enjoy having something a little different. Having a nice solid ride.”

Jones, who owns several Excelsior-Henderson bikes himself, is the nation’s go-to guy for owners who need parts or repairs. Because the company built many more parts than were used in manufacturing, Jones has an ample supply.

“And I do some fabrication and machining myself, so anything that gets rare I reproduce,” Jones said.

Besides engine parts, Jones often is called upon to repair or replace the factory-painted gas tanks and fenders. He has a supply of sheet metal from the factory used to make the fenders and tanks.

“We can fix most any of them, but sometimes it gets down to the cost.”

The rally began Wednesday night and featured rides around Southern Minnesota, a poker run, and a bike show at Jones’ shop on Saturday afternoon.

Petterssen owns four of the bikes and was riding his latest purchase — an Excelsior-Henderson that was still new in the crate that he located in Chicago.

“Excelsior-Henderson was ahead of its time in quality. I love them,” Petterssen said.

Randy Susse, of Brewster in southwestern Minnesota, got his first Excelsior-Henderson last fall after searching for three years. The motorcycles sell for about $10,000 and only a limited number are for sale at any given time.

“I rode Harleys for 20 years. I like having something unique like the Henderson, but that’s still American made. I like the way it rides, it’s very stable,” Susse said.

The company made three models: the Super X, the Jennie Super X touring edition and the Deadwood Special, a special edition that was rolled out at Sturgis.

The motorcycles trace their history to a company formed by Ignaz Schwinn, owner of Arnold, Schwinn & Co., a bicycle manufacturer. Schwinn purchased Excelsior Motorcycle Company in 1912, and in 1917 added the Henderson Motorcycle Co. to form Excelsior-Henderson.

In 1929, the stock market crash and the resulting Great Depression caused the company to go bankrupt.

In 1994, Excelsior-Henderson was resurrected by brothers Dan and Dave Hanlon. They built a state-of-the-art factory in Belle Plaine, with a projection of selling 20,000 bikes a year.

The company began production in the spring of 1999 and went bankrupt later that year.

Recently, Le Sueuer-based Cambria took over the idled Excelsior-Henderson plant in Belle Plaine, using it for production and storage of its countertops.

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