A Brief History of the Marque
Manufactured: 1902~1908, 1929-1939
Excelsior Fahrradwerke, Conrad & Patz AG
Brandenburger Fahrrad- und Motorrad-Werke, Excelsior GmbH, Brandenburg (Havel), Wilhelmsdorfer Str. 66
Established as a bicycle factory in 1896 by the brothers Conrad, at its peak the firm produced some 70,000 bicycles annually. Motorcycle production began in 1902 or 1903 and ended around 1908. In 1929 the firm resumed manufacture using JAP 350cc engines in OHV and sidevalve configuration. In 1935 these very successful engines were dropped due to the government's isolationist policies. Replacement engines were 200cc Bark two-strokes, and later models with Bark four-strokes of up to 500cc were marketed. There were also F&S-powered machines of 74cc and 98cc.
Factory production slowed to a trickle in 1938, and very few were constructed in 1939. The Schell Plan introduced by the Nazis in March 1939 ordered manufacture of motorcycles to cease.
Sources: motor-lit-berlin.de, brennabor-brb.de et al
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