Made In Minnesota
Made in Minnesota
UP FRONT
David Edwards
IF YOU BELIEVE THE LICENSE PLATES, Minnesota is a land of 10,000 lakes. Probably like most of you, that little factoid plumbed the depths of my knowledge about the state.
My handy copy of the Information Please Almanac informs me that Minnesota is bordered by Wisconsin to the east, the Dakotas to the west, Iowa to the south and Canada to the north; that it was the 32nd state admitted to the Union; that its name comes from a Dakota Sioux word meaning “sky-tinted water.” Apparently, the 31 states that came before snagged all the cool animal mascots: Minnesota’s nickname is the Gopher State and the state bird is none other than the common loon. The capital is St. Paul-not Minneapolis as held by non-Minnesotans in general and lesser “Jeopardy” players in specific.
Much of the country’s iron ore comes from Minnesota’s mountains, and farming of all kinds is big business. Key industries include electronics, plastics, scientific and medical instruments, and publishing.
To that list now add motorcycle manufacturing.
Minnesota-based Excelsior-Henderson and Polaris both plan to have motorcycles for sale in 1998. Cycle World readers already know about Dave and Dan Hanlon’s resurrection of the grand old ExcelsiorHenderson nameplate (see “The X Files,” January). And last month, we brought you confirmation that Polaris, the world’s largest snowmobile-maker, is getting into the motorbike biz, via its Victory VTwin cruiser. So, when an invitation to attend the groundbreaking for Excelsior’s new factory arrived, it seemed like a good time to board a jetliner and look into all these Gopher State goings-on. Next stop, Minneapolis International.
Fifteen miles east of town sits the typically nondescript corporate headquarters of Polaris Industries, Inc., a booming $1.1 -billion-ayear business. Besides 41 models of snowmobile, the company pops out 16 different ATV models and 10 types of personal watercraft. These people know about motorized recreation.
They also know that Harley-Davidson can’t meet the demand for its products, and that Japanese cruisers, competent as they are, still are seen by some as lesser imitations of the real thing. Which leaves a hole in the marketplace big enough to drive an allAmerican V-Twin through.
At Polaris, I met with Matt Parks, general manager for Victory Motorcycles, who showed me a couple of fuzzy, not-for-publication snapshots of the bike. It’s a lot less retro than the artist’s conception we ran in Roundup last month, much more of a sleek, two-wheeled hot-rod. It will be unveiled to the press this summer.
“We’re not counting on nostalgia to create an image,” Parks said. “We just want to build a better cruiser. We never intended to build a (HarleyDavidson) copy; we intend to do better in terms of power, ride quality, handling and braking.”
Power is provided by a 92-cubicinch (1508cc) Vee motor with chaindriven single-overhead cams managing the four valves in each cylinder head. As evidenced by a goodly sized oil radiator mounted up front, the engine is truly oil-cooled, each cylinder ensconced by its own heat-extracting (and sound-deadening) oil jacket. Fuel injection will be standard.
Asked about bhp levels, Parks would only say that, except for Honda’s hundred-horse Valkyrie 1500, the Victory has “segment-leading” horsepower. I’d take that to mean between 75 and 85 at the rear wheel. Current Harley Big Twins eke out just over 50, and setting the Valky Six aside, the most powerful Japanese cruiser is Yamaha’s Royal Star, with 63.
Pricing has not yet been fixed, but when the bikes hit showrooms in early 1998, expect their price tags to bridge the gap between the Japanese Big Four on the low end and HarleyDavidson on the high side.
Thirty-five miles southwest of Minneapolis on Highway 169 lies the tiny township of Belle Plaine, population 3200. Under sunny spring skies, some 2500 people showed up for ExcelsiorHenderson’s groundbreaking ceremonies. The atmosphere was Midwest county fair, what with a big-top tent, waving pennants, the local highschool band, skydivers, fireworks and various smiling politicians vying for microphone time.
“This is a great story for the state of Minnesota,” said Lieutenant Governor Joanne Benson. “It’s an economic development story because Excelsior-Henderson is creating highly skilled manufacturing jobs. It’s a story about revitalizing rural Minnesota. And, from a broader perspective, it’s a story that proves we can manufacture high-quality products, made in America.”
The $50-million, 170,000-squarefoot facility, which will house E-H’s assembly plant and corporate headquarters, should be completed by November and will eventually employ 500 people. Plans call for Super X cruisers to start rolling off the production line sometime in 1998.
In all, 12 states wooed the Hanlons with grants and tax incentives, but Minnesota and Belle Plaine may have had an inside track. The brothers grew up on a farm nearby and attended Belle Plaine High.
“The Hanlon family has been in this area for 130 years,” Dave told the enthusiastic crowd. “Hopefully, you’ll let us stay for another 130.” Applause, applause, applause.
“Minnesota had the best financial package,” said Jennie Hanlon, Dave’s wife and an officer in the company. “Besides, with all the support shown by this community and the state, it would have been hard to go elsewhere.”
Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakesand two motorcycle companies.
