[Jack Black]

Excelsior Henderson folded too, with a lot more capital behind them. How would you like to own a bike that only a few hundred were made of. For collectors I guess it's kinda cool (maybe? but still stuff from the 50s or earlier is always going to be worth more) but for people who want to ride it's not good.

Stick with Harley, or a Jap bike. They are building some decent cruisers now. The Victory seems to be staying afloat. They sell a lot of snowmobiles too, so they have a base of customers and dealers to work from. Also income to fund expansion. That didn't save Cannondale though.

One lesson is that once an industry leaves and moves offshore it's hard to get it back. Harley came damn close to going down and out in the late 70s and were only saved by a taxpayer bailout in the form of tarrifs on Jap bikes. Seems to have worked though. Good for them.

[Kaslin]

It's to bad that Excelsior Henderson folded. I've seen some awesome looking bikes in some of their shows

[Elliott Jackalope]

I know a guy who has an Excelsior Henderson. I ask him about how he gets parts, and he says that most of the parts are pretty generic, and commonly available. He certainly isn't worried about it. It sure is one pretty bike, one of the nicest looking "cruiser" style bikes I've ever seen.

[Smokin' Joe]

Harley survived because of an incredibly loyal customer base, most of whom wouldn't be caught dead on a Jap bike, despite the fact that the Harleys of the era were cantankerous maintenance intensive machines which commonly broke down in the middle of nowhere and virtually required a great deal of mechanical skill on the part of the owner..
Not many white-collar bikers in those days.