C-170 Part 4: Case Studies
company, Excelsior-Henderson, and compete in the
heavyweight segment. Originally founded in 1876,
Excelsior expected to compete with Japanese bikes as
well as the new Victory and Harley-Davidson even
though they were charging a relatively higher price.
Excelsior-Henderson Super X was priced at $17,500 in
1999, which was more than a comparable Harley. The
first Super X production bike was shipped to a dealer on
January 30, 1999. Excelsior-Henderson appeared to have
a strong brand name with historical cachet and a strong
management team with some motorcycle-industry
experience. Excelsior-Henderson was also an American
brand.
The new Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycle
Manufacturing Company headquarters and manu-
facturing plant were both constructed in Belle Plaine,
Minnesota, less than 100 miles away from the Victory
plant. The original plan was to produce a single heavy-
weight cruiser- the Super X. Unlike Victory Motorcycles,
which drew on the experience and resources of its cor-
porate parent, Excelsior-Henderson booted up design,
manufacturing, and marketing operations from scratch.
The Hanlons initially signed up dealers, most of whom
also sold Harleys. The Excelsior needed to sell 5,000
motorcycles a year to break even. They expected to
produce 20,000 bikes per year in the Minnesota plant.
However, production facilities never really materialized
and sales were not forthcoming. The company went
bankrupt in the year 2000.
Other competitors^10
BMW. In 1997, Germany’s Bavarian Motor Works
(BMW) unveiled a new heavyweight, low-slung cruiser
to take on Harley. Over the years, BMW has continually
developed high quality/high performing motorcycles
with both comfort and style. BMW had an advantage of
engineering that provides excellent handling characteris-
tics. Known for extremely high quality and performance,
BMW was able to charge a price premium sometimes
up to forty percent over similar bikes. The company
announced plans for electric motorcycles in 2014.
Big Dog. Big Dog Motorcycles were custom manufac-
tured in Wichita, Kansas and had a high cost of produc-
tion and high retail prices.^39 Big Dog produced only five
models – the Bulldog, Vintage Sport, ProSport, Vintage
Classic, and Pitbull. Their V-Twin motors ranged from
88 to 107 cubic inches. Each bike was painted to customer
specifications and is built within 60 days from the time of
the order. It had relatively few employees and produced
only three hundred bikes in 1997. Sheldon Coleman,
president of Big Dog Motorcycles of Sun Valley, Idaho,
built his first bike in 1993 and began the company the
following year. Big Dog bikes were cruisers that provided
customers with highly customized bikes at a price more
competitive with the mass producers.New markets and emerging technologies
There were many niches in heavyweight motorcycle
market segment. Dealernews reported seventy-seven
different sellers of new ‘big twin’ motorcycles, as well
as numerous other custom and touring producers and
sellers.^40 Companies such as Lifan, a Chinese motorcycle
maker, had entered the industry by dominating countries
where the Japanese were not present. Lifan marketed ini-
tially only in Iran, Nigeria, the Philippines, Vietnam and
Indonesia, but was preparing to move into more mature
markets in the new millennium. Shanghai Motorcycle
Works, another Chinese company, was ready to market
its Xing-fu cycle worldwide. Xing-fu meant ‘happiness’
and was a very practical, energy-efficient small bike tar-
geted at commuters and large city riders.
Traditional Italian bike makers like Bimota, Ducati
and Motto Guzzi were continuing to produce super
bikes of extremely high quality and style. Bombardier, a
Canadian firm, disrupted the market with a remarkably
popular three-wheeled roadster. And the British bike
companies, Triumph and Norton, were creating very
interesting and exciting new motorcycle models as well.
Triumph was the fastest growing motorcycle brand, in
terms of percentage sales growth, in the world in 2010.^41
On top of all this, new entrepreneurial companies
like Zero Motorcycles were gaining notice in the busi-
ness press and in the market. Zero produced electric
dirt bikes and won praise from both Businessweek and
Fortune for their products and business planning.^42 In
June of 2010 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Mission
One, another new company, had a rider set a world
speed record of 150 miles per hour on a motorcycle with
an electric motor.^43
By 2014, both Lotus (a car company known for racing)
and Catheram (a British company known for excellent
track cars) announced new gas-powered motorcycles.
Tesla, the leading electric car company, along with LIT
motors, BMW, and Daimler announced they were devel-
oping electric bikes.The Indian Acquisition^46
One major development for Polaris and Victory came on
April 19, 2011 when the company announced the acquisi-
tion of Indian Motorcycle Company. Indian Motorcycles