1937 Excelsior 500 Manxman
Handsome late-Vintage machine

Registration No: FWL 307
Frame No: MVH 228
MOT: Exempt

• Has been carefully maintained, supported by the paperwork file
• Oxford registered in December 1937
• Desirable 500cc specification

The Excelsior company could trace its history back to 1874 as a manufacturer of ordinary bicycles and were one of Britain's pioneer motorcycle manufacturers building their first motorcycle in 1896. Historically they had always been involved in motorcycle competition securing numerous successes at Brooklands and winning the 1929 Lightweight TT. For 1933 the company introduced a new machine for competition use featuring a twin high cam single-cylinder engine with a radial four-valve head and twin carburettors built specially for the company by Blackburne. Dubbed the Mechanical Marvel it won the 1933 TT but quickly gained a reputation for being hard to keep in tune and was dropped at the end of the 1934 season to be replaced by a machine that secured Excelsior's reputation. The new model, named the Manxman, was initially available in 246cc and 346cc guises sharing a common stroke with a 496cc version being added to the range for the 1936 season. The Manxman's single overhead cam, single-cylinder engine employed dry sump lubrication and was mechanically straightforward and robust. For the first season's production both the 250cc and 350cc models were offered with full road equipment. However, by the time that the 500cc class version joined the range, dedicated racing versions were being offered alongside the road legal variants. The 1937 season 250cc and 350cc versions benefited from Excelsior's competition activities, adopting new short-stroke engine dimensions as used by the works machines in addition to an improved lubrication system. The 500cc version was joined by a "super sports" variant fitted with a bronze head, close-ratio gears and a competition mag-dyno plus quickly detachable lighting system. Little changed for 1938 but for 1939 the range adopted hairpin valve springs and in the case of the racing variants the gearbox was mounted directly to the crankcase with power being taken from the crankshaft sprocket to the gearbox by a duplex primary drive.

Oxford registered 'FWL 307' first saw the road in December 1937 and is a comparatively rare ‘500’ model in full road-going trim, complete with lighting set. The Manxman was well known as a serious racing machine as well as a sporting road-going mount and well capable of giving the Nortons and Velos of the day a good run. In restored condition and reported to be in good running order the vendor advises that 'FWL' performs well and has been carefully maintained, a fact supported by the paperwork file with various restoration receipts, a purchase invoice, as well as service and parts books, various Excelsior publications in addition to the current V5C Registration Document and buff logbook dating back to 1952. This presents as an excellent opportunity to acquire a good looking pre-war sporting motorcycle with all important racing credentials, 'FWL' is presented in very good order throughout and made additionally attractive by its 500cc specification.

For more information, please contact:
Stewart Parker
info@handh.co.uk
07836 346875