A unique offering by Mecum Auctions will take place in Las Vegas on Jan. 27, 2018, at the South Point Hotel & Casino. The Excelsior-Henderson motorcycle brand and all its intellectual property will be auctioned at the 27th annual Mecum Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction, which will run Jan. 23-27 and present 1,750 motorcycles for auction.
Included in the purchase will be the ownership of the Excelsior-Henderson brand name, all federally registered trademarks, web domains and includes the previous motorcycle frame and engine designs, as well as the expired patents that can only be effectively exploited by the owner of Excelsior-Henderson.
Excelsior-Henderson was historically one of the “Big 3” among motorcycle manufacturers and saw its greatest successes under the ownership and direction of Ignaz Schwinn, whose mighty two-wheeled empire in Chicago earned most of its profit from bicycles. From 1911-21, Henderson’s were the only 4-cylinder motorcycles produced in the U.S., and by the late 1920s, it was Excelsior-Henderson and Indian that dominated the 45 cubic-inch market with the Super X and Scout models. Their big models – the Henderson Four, as well as the Indian Chief and Four – were admired the world over, and were in many ways the most attractive and technically interesting motorcycles built in the U.S.
The vintage Excelsior and Henderson motorcycles still in existence today are highly collectible and celebrated examples that are among the best early motorcycles ever created. At last year’s Mecum Las Vegas auction, examples bearing both names landed among top sales. A 1912 Henderson Four took top sales honors at $490,000, followed by a 1913 Henderson Four that brought $150,000. A 1928 Excelsior Big Bertha also fell into the top sales hammering for $117,500.
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