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vfactory
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 08:19 pm |
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Hello everyone.. I'm trying to gather information on the Excelsior JAP.. there is not alot of information available on it. I've ordered an old book that covers Excelsiors but wanted to check here to see if anyone knows about it.
Specifically can anyone provide specifications on this model. production years/numbers? race version specifications etc. Any photos will be appreciated as well. many thanks!
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Frankfurt-Beesa
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 08:35 pm |
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I will just get my web scanning googles on
OK Here's one: Seeker, I will try to find the info you seek.
Here's a link to a potted history (still not much on the JAP other than speedway bikes produced from 1934 on)
http://www.dropbears.com/m/models/classic/excelsior.htm
More histo-pottery from wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excelsior_(Coventry)
The JAP engined twin was according to wikipedia produced from 1914 and there was a deal to supply the russian army which broke down due to the revolution.
I shall keep looking.
Last edited on Mon Feb 5th, 2007 08:48 pm by Frankfurt-Beesa
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ClassicMCnut
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 08:58 pm |
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| This was my 1933 Excelsior but it was a Villiers 98cc engine in it. Bought it as scrap, rebuilt it, hated riding it and sold it to my mate. Attachment: imag0015.jpg (Downloaded 283 times)
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Frankfurt-Beesa
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 09:03 pm |
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ClassicMCnut wrote: This was my 1933 Excelsior but it was a Villiers 98cc engine in it. Bought it as scrap, rebuilt it, hated riding it and sold it to my mate.
Is there any bike you haven't had Mr McNut
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vfactory
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 09:29 pm |
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ClassicMCnut wrote: This was my 1933 Excelsior but it was a Villiers 98cc engine in it. Bought it as scrap, rebuilt it, hated riding it and sold it to my mate.
 got anymore pictures or information? The pre-war ones were supposed to be very solid bikes.
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vfactory
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 09:34 pm |
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Frankfurt-Beesa wrote: I will just get my web scanning googles on
Here's a link to a potted history (still not much on the JAP other than speedway bikes produced from 1934 on)
The JAP engined twin was according to wikipedia produced from 1914 and there was a deal to supply the russian army which broke down due to the revolution.
I shall keep looking.
Thanks FB.. yes there is alot of information available on JAP/Excelsior speedway bikes.. many standard ones like the one MCnut posted were modified for speedway racing.
The JAP picture you have posted is the only one i've seen. I've been curious ever since whether this was a one off or whether this was an actual production/race model. (factory racer)
I've been scanning the IoM TT races history to see if there is any account of this or similar bike being entered but have not come up with anything.
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Frankfurt-Beesa
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 10:43 pm |
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Here are a few pics of a JAP engined 200 from 1929
 
 
And my latest find: 1929 Excelsior 500 - JAP KOY engine, 498cc - 19,1hp at 4.800 rpm
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ClassicMCnut
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 10:49 pm |
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Frankfurt-Beesa wrote: ClassicMCnut wrote: This was my 1933 Excelsior but it was a Villiers 98cc engine in it. Bought it as scrap, rebuilt it, hated riding it and sold it to my mate.
Is there any bike you haven't had Mr McNut
Hundreds Beesa. fact is, I only started restoring bikes 5 years ago, over the winter periods to get me out the house and from under the wife's feet. As I said before I used to restore old cars and Landrovers till I had my heart attack in 2000. So all I've restored so far was a 1952 James Comet, 1933 Excelsior Universal, 1964 BSA Bantam D7, 1945 James ML and this winter the BSA B175.
They're all light bikes and though I would love to restore a bigger bike I'm sticking to under 250 cc. As I mentioned before next one I hope will be a Tiger Cub, fancy doing one of those next winter
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ClassicMCnut
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 10:59 pm |
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vfactory wrote: ClassicMCnut wrote: This was my 1933 Excelsior but it was a Villiers 98cc engine in it. Bought it as scrap, rebuilt it, hated riding it and sold it to my mate.
got anymore pictures or information? The pre-war ones were supposed to be very solid bikes.
Oh the excelsior was pretty solid, in fact when I stripped off all the paint off of the frame it was in excellent condition. Only problem I had was the tank was a bit like a collander. Mate of mine braze filled the holes, I cleaned it out then used one of those Liquid tank liners no one seems to like. Biggest problem for me though was the hand change gear lever. The front wheel assembly and forks were all set up okay but it used to wander all over the place as soon as you took your right hand off the bars to change gear. The lever throttle wasn't a lot of help either and for a while I used a Bantam twistgrip on it. As it was only a 98cc engine it really didn't have that much guts and that may not be a bad thing as I've seen better brakes on a bicycle than this had. What I will say though is that the construction materials of the bike had held up well considering it was 70 years old when I started on it.
Originally these bikes sold for 12 guinees and if you wanted lights it was an extra £
Picture is how it started after I'd cleaned all the crud off it. It looks better on camera than it was for real.
Attachment: exc 3.jpg (Downloaded 282 times)
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ClassicMCnut
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 11:03 pm |
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| Picture is at the Bodmin 1940's show. In the livery of the London Fire Brigade. In 1940 the LFB commandeered hundreds of motorbikes of all cc's for use as dispatch riders and for officer to go from 1 fire scene to another. Attachment: nfs rider.jpg (Downloaded 283 times)
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vfactory
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Posted: Tue Feb 6th, 2007 12:51 pm |
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Fantastic guys!! thank you.
FB that pic is a great find!! and MCnut the pic of the front end is exactly what I was looking for.
So it appears that Excelsior JAP existed in at least two types of 250 and 500 models. whether they were production or factory racers is still unanswered. I'll have to wait for the book i guess! 
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Frankfurt-Beesa
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Posted: Thu Feb 8th, 2007 02:53 pm |
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That pic is pirated directly from the Austrian motorcycle museum.
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Rick Parkington
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Posted: Thu Feb 8th, 2007 08:57 pm |
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As far as I know the Excelsior factory records have not survived so chances of finding any production figures for Excelsiors are slim. Excelsior used JAP engines on various models through the pre-war years but the words 'Excelsior JAP' always makes me thinkn of a picture that occurs in a lot of books, of J.S.Worters on his snappy looking racer outside the Vickers hanger at Brooklands. Eric Fernihough - later to die on a Brough Superior in an attempt to get the world speed record back from Germany - was another famous name that rode them.
In 1933 Excelsior got Blackburne to design them a new radial 4 valve racing engine - the Mechanical Marvel. The engine was very competitive but hopelessly complicated and was replaced by the more successful Manxman - also a Blackburne design. These engines were the end of Excelsior's JAP days. After the war Excelsior restricted their efforts to two-strokes.
Hope this helps! Rick
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vfactory
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Posted: Thu Feb 8th, 2007 09:10 pm |
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Rick Parkington wrote: As far as I know the Excelsior factory records have not survived so chances of finding any production figures for Excelsiors are slim. Excelsior used JAP engines on various models through the pre-war years but the words 'Excelsior JAP' always makes me thinkn of a picture that occurs in a lot of books, of J.S.Worters on his snappy looking racer outside the Vickers hanger at Brooklands. Eric Fernihough - later to die on a Brough Superior in an attempt to get the world speed record back from Germany - was another famous name that rode them.
In 1933 Excelsior got Blackburne to design them a new radial 4 valve racing engine - the Mechanical Marvel. The engine was very competitive but hopelessly complicated and was replaced by the more successful Manxman - also a Blackburne design. These engines were the end of Excelsior's JAP days. After the war Excelsior restricted their efforts to two-strokes.
Hope this helps! Rick
Thats some fantastic information.. Thanks Rick. Would you be able to post a copy of that photo and the title of any one the books?
There are some J.A.P records kept at the Bruce Castle Museum and I hoping to find some information there.
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Rick Parkington
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Posted: Fri Feb 9th, 2007 06:53 pm |
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Post a photo, VF?! Do me a favour I've only just learned to press the buttons and Finbar has to run round on a treadmill to keep this computer powered!
Sorry, I mean I'll see what I can do. The picture is in a book called (I think) Classic British Bikes by Ian Ward and Laurie Cadell, I got my copy in the mid eighties, it was one of those WHSmiths cheapo things but the content was mostly from On Two Wheels , the monthly encyclopaedia. The same picture is in the Orbis 'History of Motorcycling', which was another late 70's coffee table book.
I'll try to scan and send a copy into Becky next week and get her to post it - she knows how to work these machines!
Toodle pip, Rick
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vfactory
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Posted: Fri Feb 9th, 2007 08:46 pm |
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thanks Rick!
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jessplop84
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Posted: Sun Feb 11th, 2007 10:19 pm |
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| Mmmmm really like that red 500 there.
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Frankfurt-Beesa
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Posted: Tue Feb 13th, 2007 06:58 am |
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jessplop84 wrote: Mmmmm really like that red 500 there.
It is a bit nifty isn't it, you're welcome to go to the Austrian Motorcycle Museum and steal it, bring it to Frankfurt and we can soon change the numbers and re-register it.
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vfactory
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Posted: Tue Feb 13th, 2007 07:01 pm |
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now this one is really rocking my boat!
Attachment: Excelsior JAP vtwin racer.jpg (Downloaded 223 times)
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Velton
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Posted: Wed Feb 14th, 2007 04:46 pm |
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Is that at Sammy Miller's?
It really is a wonderful place with some mouthwatering bikes! and has some lovely biking roads around the area; mostly flat-ish, so good for the lighweights etc.
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