Rob's 1937 Excelsior Manxman 350
Rob Anderson's father, Colin, was one of the few to own one of these rare machines here in Australia. Originally imported into Western Australia in late 1936, the Manxman, a genuine 1937 model works race bike, passed through a few hands before Colin got hold of it in 1955. He campaigned the bike regularly, before it spent a long hibernation in the family shed. Growing up, Rob remembers that every couple of years his dad would pour in some fresh fuel, pump up the tyres and bump start it to keep it in running order. Rob distinctly remembers the Excelsior starting first time - every time - even after months spent gathering dust in the shed!
Nearly forty years later, the Manxman was in poor condition, with big dents in the tank and decades of ageing on the rest. In Colin's retirement, the bike looked ripe for restoration, but unfortunately, his time was cut short and he passed away in 1995. A year later, Rob decided to restore the classic Excelsior Manxman as a tribute to his dad. At the time, Rob lived in Darwin, which meant a trip down to Dunsborough in WA to pick the bike up, along with a spare motor and various other parts.
Rob began the project by stripping the whole bike down and getting each item cleaned, then painted, chromed or polished as required. Most of the chroming was done by a company in Darwin, but Rob told us the rims were outside of their area of expertise, so they went to a WA company recommended by a mate. They came back a real treat. The tank was restored locally and came up great, too, especially considering the condition it was in to start with. Fortunately for Rob, there was one spare tank decal amongst the boxes of parts he brought back to Darwin, and that served as a template to make all-new decals for both sides. The tank decal, with its distinctive crest behind the Excelsior script, was different from the badging the bike wore when it came into Colin's possession, but is accurate for an Excelsior of the period.
To refurbish the mechanically complex - for 1937 - motor, Rob turned to Baxter Motorcycles in Darwin, who fitted a new piston and rings to the top end. The bottom end was bead-blasted and refurbished by another mate of Rob's, "Pommy Mick", who also stripped and checked over the gearbox. Built to withstand the rigours of racing, the Manxman's OHC single cylinder engine was over-engineered and gained a reputation as a tough unit. The good condition of the engine in Rob's Manxman confirmed this, as it didn't need a major rebuild.
The frame, a rigid cradle-type made of large diameter tubing, was in good condition, and only needed stripping and repainting. The girder front forks, with the TT-type central compression spring and large adjuster for steering and rebound, had been replaced with telescopic forks sometime in the bike's history. Fortunately, Rob was able to source a set of period-correct Webb-type girder forks thanks to Norm Werritt, a WA enthusiast who had previously owned Rob's Manxman and proved to be a great source of knowledge and spare parts.
Rob restored the extremely low clip-on bars off the tele fork front end, but the girder fork front meant these couldn't be used, so a set of top-mounted flat bars were sourced to suit. Brakes are the same style of factory-spec drums with light alloy shoes that the bike wore when new. At some stage, the racing Manxman's solo seat was replaced with a curiously-shaped dual seat. This was beyond salvation, so was replaced with a similarly-styled seat in black, custom made by Motor Trimmers in Darwin.
Rob couldn't put a figure on the number of hours he put into the project, but impressively, he managed to get most of the work done within the first year he brought it back to WA. Then kids came along and he told us the project went on a long, long hiatus!
While it still needs its distinctive bronze head (which Norm Werritt helped to rebuild) fitted and a couple of other little things doing, the restoration is all but finished. Rob has taken the Manxman to a number of bike shows where he told us it always gets people talking. Overall, Rob was really happy and proud with what he achieved with the Manxman, and described the restoration as one of the best things he's ever done.
A recent move to North Queensland led Rob to regretfully put the Manxman on the market. Being a genuine works racer, the Manxman is a valuable machine. The bike obviously holds a lot of sentimental value, so it was a tough decision to make, but Rob concedes the humid, moist environment isn't good for the bike, so he'd rather have it go to an Excelsior enthusiast down south to survive and be enjoyed for the next 75 years, rather than rust away up North.
UPDATE: After being advertised with JUST BIKES at a price of $48,000, Rob's restored Excelsior sold in September, 2011.