Newsletter No 29 - VMCC - Isle of Man

BOOK REVIEW
“Excelsior – The Racing Years”
Excelsior, based originally in
Coventry, were Britain’s first
motorcycle manufacturer,
starting production of their
own “motor-bicycle” in
1896. The Walker family
took over post WW1 and
were keen to participate in
competitions and racing and
the first mention of this is T.
F. Sinclair’s entry in the
1923 Lightweight TT on an
o.h.v. outside-flywheeled
Blackburne-engined model.
The 1925 catalogue lists this
as a Tourist Trophy model
priced at £62. 1928 saw
Excelsior riders win five
European and Brooklands
grands prix with 1929 being
the year of the marque’s first
TT win with Syd Crabtree taking the Lightweight honours on his 250cc
JAP-engined machine at record speed. Other successes included the Dutch
and French Grands Prix and 41 firsts and world’s records at Brooklands.
The 1930 Senior TT saw Crabtree entered on a stunning looking Excelsior
powered by the new 500cc o.h.v. V-twin JAP engine, unfortunately retiring
on lap 5. With their JAP-engined racers coming towards the end of their
production, Eric Walker, the managing director, decided that Excelsior
should have its own racing engines so he commissioned Burnley and
Blackburne to design something special. Designer Ike Hatch came up with
what became known as the 250cc Mechanical Marvel. This had an o.h.v.
radial four-valve head with a central spark plug, two splayed downdraught
inlet ports, twin TT Amal carburetters and twin exhausts. The engine came
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