The 1999 Daytona Beach rally turned out to be spectacular for us. Our annual parade went smoothly, and we proceeded to take Daytona by storm with our new Super Xs. Our demo rides were slated to start on Monday, March 1st, at 9:00 a.m. By 7:30 there was already a crowd forming. True to the now-growing Excelsior tradition, we were ready. And we didn't want to keep them waiting. We opened early, and the average wait for a ride that week was several hours.
We were busy. Our Road Crew Demo Team was new at all this, but I don't think it showed. We were passionately inspired. To work at these rallies, we recruited from our Road Crew, their spouses and children, our Excelsior-Henderson dealers and parts suppliers, investors, and some official, unofficial, rally volunteers, like Panhead and Holly. I guess Panhead has a real name, but I didn't know it the first year, he never used it. He was a died-in-the-wool genuine biker, tattoos all over, big and burly, mean if you didn't know better, and a full white beard, he looks like Santa Claus. He was also a diehard Harley guy, obviously with a nickname taken from a Harley engine, until he met the X. It didn't take long for him to become a loyal X-Man, and he rode those Xs mercilessly. I have never met someone who rode their bike so hard. Flat out. Full throttle. All the time. And he and Holly bought two Xs.
Dan Hanlon 2003
Riding The American Dream: Surviving Road Rash & Living To Tell About It: The Official Story of Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycles
