Document Warehouse
Tim Breidenbach and sons

Listed here are some rare and commonly known documents of the Company, including some rare documents from the inception of Hanlon Manufacturing Company. From startup, to design and production, building a factory, going public, building a dealer network and building and selling motorcycles, the documents would literally fill...a warehouse. Like many company's perspective (and one's life), the time should be invested in the present and the future, for the past is...well the past. As time progressed, the company did hire a Heritage Guardian, Tim Leary, so certainly the company did recognize the importance of history. In our perspective, history occurred one-second after the moment.

Here is a snapshot of some documents that will continue to grow with time, and this site is a handy reference for you to access the documents all in one place. If you are looking for something and it is not here, let us know. Also, if you have documents you would like to add, please forward to us...


  1. MISSION and PRINCIPLES: These are the company's--Hanlon Manufacturing and Excelsior-Henderson--Mission and Principles that were created prior to incorporation. The goal was to have a timeless mission and principles that would transcend time and not need to be updated for whatever was in vogue, but rather something permanent and of lasting importance. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  2. 1999 FACTORY BUILD ORDER LIST: Okay, you probably have heard about this list and maybe have never seen. This is an internal list that was put together by the factory Dealer Support team, managed by Dave Danielson. This specific list was created by Shawn Bailey in an effort to provide support to dealers and riders so that he would know the timeframe the bike was built as there were running changes on the assembly line, and not all serial numbers were in perfect sequence. Dealers and Road Crew, investors, etc... all had various serial number and build order sequence, so the numbering may be linear however the build schedule is not. Note the last 2 bikes made of the 1999 Super X production are serial numbers 0003 and 0002 made for Dave and Dan Hanlon....Document is 40 plus pages and a large file, so you will need to give it time to load. If you own a 1999 Super X, you'll want to locate it here and get the exact build date. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  3. NEW MODELS: This is a really cool *confidential* document of new models on the drawing board, from late 1999 and into 2000, and was intended to be part of the go forward plan...that never really developed into a go forward plan. However, provided with the proper funding and leadership, the execution of these models were next by the Hanlons/Excelsior. The Art of Manufacturing is, the first model required an investment of let's say $90 million, the next 10 models required about $350k each! The company was just entering the races... Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  4. NEW MODELS: This is the same file as above, only in high-def type mode for those that have the patience for it to load and want to zoom in on more details. Larger file size so if you have high speed and a minute for it to load, you'll enjoy it. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  5. ROAD TO GLORY: Brochure that the company put together (FYI-was modified yearly as re-printed) listing the milestones of the company, and the history of the Excelsior and Henderson brands, AND, all other known motorcycle manufacturing companies ever in the United States. Pocket sized so everyone could carry. Thousands of these were distributed for free. Great marketing. Does anyone know why this was put together? With a purposeful intent to show many things: 1. that HD was not the only USA brand with heritage as there were hundreds others, and 2. Excelsior-Henderson had rightful American heritage and we pay homage to all brands of the past, and 3. What other company but us could and would do this???? That was and is part of the key defining culture of EH. Do what others couldn't or wouldn't do--would HD do this? No. How about Honda? A louder NO. How about the Polaris Victory? Who? Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  6. FACTORY BUILDING BLUEPRINTS: Here is an inside look at the blueprints for the Belle Plaine, MN headquarters and assembly operations, better known as The Factory. Designed by Pope Associates of St. Paul, MN, and constructed by Ryan Companies of Minneapolis, MN. All contractors did an excellent job, and came in on budget and on time. What more can you ask for? The design strategy of the building was to have a new building that looked old, hence the open and high ceilings, and cobblestone and cement floors. Walking inside was like stepping forward into the past... The original blueprints are 42" x 30", so to get them on the computer screen they will not have full clarity, however should be enlightening. Interesting, and again give some time for this to download as a 4mb file size... Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  7. CODE OF CONDUCT: Hard to believe in the motorcycle industry, that you would actually need a Code of Conduct manual?! Well, human resources (and the legal department) were really doing their job protecting the company as it was growing and hiring rapidly. When the company was smaller, a document such as this didn't exist, as conduct and expectations were easier to manage. As the company grew, a formal Road Crew Manual was developed and part of it being the Code of Conduct. Notice again the reference to the Road Crew...and not employees, and the word fire or terminate was not used. Even when in uncomfortable situations...the term discontinuation was preferred. The culture of Excelsior-Henderson expected honor and integrity in the treatment of each other. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  8. ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION: After completion of the original Business Plan and prior to tradmark filings and capital raising, the sole proprietorship status of Hanlon Manufacturing was changed and incorporated as Hanlon Manufacturing Company. Dan Hanlon's attorney, Frank Farrell, drafted the paperwork effective December 20, 1993, and filed with the State of Minnesota on December 22, 1993. Company address is Dan Hanlon's residence. This was the first public document filed of what was to come... Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  9. FIRST SHAREHOLDER MINUTES: As part of the legal formality of incorporating the company, shareholders hold a meeting to elect directors. Dan Hanlon as the sole shareholder elected himself as the sole director. In 5 more years, there would be over 15,000 shareholders joining in. No mystery here... Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  10. FIRST BOARD MEETING MINUTES: After shareholders elect the Board of Directors, then the directors hold a meeting to appoint officers and adopt the company bylaws, stock certificate, etc... This is where the tire meets the road and where it all started. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  11. ORIGINAL FIRST STOCK CERTIFICATE: Stock certificate issued in 1993 to the shareholder. Subsequently, during Q1 1994, the stock was split and adjusted as others became shareholders. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  12. ORIGINAL BYLAWS OF HANLON MANUFACTURING COMPANY: These are the company Bylaws that were adopted at the first Board of Directors Meeting on December 22, 1993. Twenty-six pages so will take a few moments to load. For those interested in the legal aspect, this about does the initial setup, and everything else was rolled out in real time going forward...doing whatever it took to "live to fight another day..." Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  13. PRESS RELEASE ON FIRST REVENUE MOTORCYCLE SHIPMENT: A press release issued on February 1, 1999 regarding the first motorcycle shipped to a dealer, thus launching the first official motorcyle sale. Everyone was awaiting this day, and although seemed like an eternity to some, was a mere short time for others... Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  14. COMPANY OPERATIONS OVERVIEW: This is an internal *confidential* document that was used by senior management to have a 1 page FLASH REPORT that would detail out the status of the company, of all key functional areas. Senior management tracked the activity each day, summarized into a weekly format, and then monthly summarized. This allowed for solid decison-making as one could monitor the details while still keeping the big picture in perspective...Note how the BOM (Bill of Material) was at $13,996 at start of production, and in 10 months of production the costs were lowered by 26% to $10,335--not unusual. With the plan to build 4,000 bikes in year 1, a savings of $3,661 per bike amounted to a $14 million dollar savings. We were close to meeting the goal however the cash time clock was running low... Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  15. PRODUCTION MODEL BUILD AND YEAR CROSS-OVER: An internal company document of how many of each model were built and the crossover date/serial number from 1999-2000. May be some discrepancies on the total build as non-production type activity ensued after December 22, 1999. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  16. SUPER X MOTORCYCLE BILL OF MATERIAL: This is a rare *confidential--at the time* document that lists the entire motorcyle parts list out-the-door as of April, 21, 1999. There are over 700 part numbers listed and their individual costs. Total BOM cost was approx. $13.5k at this point in time, on it's way to less than $10,000 per bike had the company continued in production. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  17. PRESS RELEASE ON MEETING EPA TESTS: Press release issued on January 22, 1999 announcing the company was in compliance with EPA. Production would soon commence. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  18. HEADCOUNT ACTUAL BY QUARTER: This is an internal document senior management used to track headcount from 1993-1999. This was used as supporting detail in drafting and reviewing the annual business plan. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  19. CAPITAL FUNDING BY QUARTER: This is an interesting internal document that tracked the external capital invested by quarter through 1999. Averaged a million dollars a month since inception of the company. By plan, the company was in negative cash flow, and was projected to be in positive cash flow in year 2000 provided it had adequate funding to get there. Note the company had around 30 Road Crew when the company went public, having raised a cumulative amount of $53.5 million, so approx. $1.75 million per Road Crew. All were working very hard, and was a small, elite, productive group. Later joined by many others... Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  20. CHRONOLOGICAL BUSINESS OUTLINE: An internal document that was used to track the milestones (achieved and yet to come) since inception. This was part of the business plan and would be updated with each new draft of the business plan. Dan Hanlon drafted the first business plan, and continued to do so over the life of the company, until EH Partners became involved. From a planning perspective, information would be summarized, and this is the summary, with many pages of detail supporting the summary. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...

  21. USDA INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT REPORT DECEMBER 2002: Very interesting rare document that was created post EH/EH Partners as part of a routine investigation by government officials since the loan had defaulted. Some in the governement had questions and concerns about the apparent lack of due diligence that was conducted on the new partners gaining control of the company. Press FIREITUP  to load viewer...


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