Motor Museum of Western Australia – The ExhaustNotes Blog

An Aussie Salsbury

In the post-War years of the late 1940s and early 1950s, a number of scooter manufacturers emerged in the United States. Cushman was probably the biggest one. Mustang was the exotic one, and it was arguably the coolest bike of the bunch. Salsbury was yet another. Salsbury scooters were made right here in California (as was Mustang), but Salsbury production numbers were much smaller. I’ve only ever seen three…one was at the Motor Scooter International Land Speed Trials about 10 years ago, another was at the Peterson Museum, and much to my great surprise, the third was just last month at the Motor Museum of Western Australia…

It was cool seeing a Salsbury, and doubly-cool seeing it in Australia. Imagine that…a product made in my own back yard, and seeing it on the other side of the world in Australia.

Dream Bike: 1920 Excelsior-Henderson

A cool story, this is: An American (that would be me) goes to Western Australia to find vintage American motorcycles in a fabulous motor museum…or something along those lines.

I haven’t spotted any kangaroos yet (although eight of them did run across the front lawn of the Motor Museum of Western Australia while I was photographing this stunning 1920 Excelsior-Henderson). I missed my chance to photograph the ‘roos…but you can always get photos of kangaroos. How often do you encounter a 1920 Excelsior-Henderson?

The short story here is that Excelsior-Henderson made motorcycles from 1907 to 1931 in Chicago, they made the first motorcycle that could hit 100 mph, and they were done in by the Great Depression. Beyond that, I’ll let the photos of this magnificent motorcycle do my talking…

I am enjoying Australia immensely. Joe Gresh, you got it right…this is an awesome place. The western shore along the Indian Ocean, the food, the people, the scenery…it’s all amazing, and it’s not that different in feel, look, and climate than southern California. But the vintage motorcycles at the Motor Museum of Western Australia: Wowee!