Excelsior 1958 Abridged List

Excelsior's line up was always an interesting one from pre-war days right up until the end. Someone in the company obviously had a penchant for the unusual as they weren't scared to throw a few surprises in to the line up alongside the bread and butter. Pre-war, for such a small company, the range was impressive: from depression era cheapies through to the uber glamorous Manxman models.

1958 was in the twilight for the Excelsior company but they were still managing to produce their own motor in the form of the Talisman twin. The same motor they managed to sell to Berkeley for use in their microcars. There was a three cylinder 500cc two stroke Excelsior that was made for the four wheeler sporting Berkeleys, what a massive pity that it was never offered in their motorcycle range. There have been several special builders over the years who have put together their idea of what Excelsior should have done so it was certainly possible and seems like an opportunity lost. Imagine, a two stroke air cooled triple offered twenty years before the Kawasaki H1.  

The 328cc Talisman Twin Special. The
'Special' in the title being the addition of
a slightly ungainly 'bathtub' rear enclosure
to suit the fashion of the day.

The regular 328 and 250cc Talisman Twins. Quite rare bikes
now and well thought of. Those in the know rate them more
highly than Villiers twins.

The bread and butter models. For a good while the 98cc
Consort was the cheapest bike on the market. Earlier
Excelsior had a line in selling knock down price bikes
in kit form. Selling a bike in kit form exploited a tax loophole,
if you were prepared to spend half a day bolting together your
motorcycle you could be mobile on the cheap.

And last but not least the Skutabyke.
Really just a plunger framed Consort model
from a couple of years previously fitted with
an engine fairing and legshields.