Pictured above is Toronto Canada native, C. McDonald on his Excelsior 7. Notice that he is carrying three passengers with him, partially on the motorcycle and partially on the wicker sidecar. The four men made the 40 mile trip from Toronto to Hamilton to participate in a motorcycle hillclimb in the summer of 1913. Traveling at 20 miles per hour, it was a dusty four hour round trip.
In 1913, the Excelsior was the hot motorcycle to own. Just a few months earlier in December of 1912, an Excelsior became the first motorcycle to break the 100 miles per hour. The "7" in the model's name referred to the seven horsepower output of the engine. That engine was typical of it's day, being a F-head style 61 cubic inch v-twin. This engine was mated to a single speed transmission and stopping was accomplished by a rear coaster brake.
According to the photo, this motorcycle was actually entered in some events. It's hard to believe that it could have completed a hill climb with four riders, but perhaps that's how they got the slowest time award.
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