Riding The American Dream: Surviving Road Rash & Living To Tell About It: The Official Story of Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycles (Hardcover)

by Dan Hanlon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A Great Ride! He does it again—with great aplomb. Honest, educational, and a compelling read." -- Kristen Heimerl, Faculty, Metropolitan State University

"American culture is driven by personal courage and entrepreneurial spirit--our greatest heroes are those who have followed their dreams." -- Ed Youngblood, former CEO, American Motorcycle Association, October 2003

Product Description
This true story is the remarkable, modern-day story of a brutally intensive business start-up—that dared to cross swords against the industry giants. As told by Dan Hanlon, founder of Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycles, this book gives an insider’s view of the company that set out to accomplish what no other independent American start-up had achieved in nearly a century. This amazing saga, which has been compared to the Tucker Automobile company of the 1940s, and the DeLorean Motor company of the early 1980s, chronicles the good, the bad, and the ugly while raising nearly $100 million—from a public offering on Wall Street, to burnouts on Main Street. And, not one dollar from a venture capital firm.

It is the story of the passionate grassroots heroes who endeavored to achieve the impossible.

The pioneer spirit is alive and well in America today. Entrepreneurs, inventors, and everyday citizens alike pursue the American Dream with the vigor and determination of our founding fathers, blazing new trails across dangerous territory to accomplish their goals—except the wilderness now is the modern-day business world. These visionaries inspire us to reach higher, to battle the odds and live our dreams, to achieve our own levels of greatness.

Rediscover the pioneer spirit in the Excelsior-Henderson family story as told in this true, compelling, often humorous tale written by company founder Dan Hanlon. With unequalled passion and a devotion to creating a top-quality product, this team built, from the ground up, a new American motorcycle company that raised nearly $100 million in capital from investors around the globe. Learn how they conquered the elements, battling industry giants, skeptics, and critics to bring their vision to life. Share in the Road Crew’s boundless energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to their pursuit and savor their moments of victory—an endeavor that reminds us what it means to dream, and more importantly, how to achieve our dreams.

This poignant, behind-the-scenes tour of the company’s operations is one Ride you will never forget.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 401 pages
• Publisher: Union Hill Press (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097423026X
• ISBN-13: 978-0974230269
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #655,859 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Failure" now reviewed in MBA class, January 3, 2007

By	Markus E. Mangold "Markus \m/" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We read the book as part of a business strategy class in my MBA program.
The book is very insightful. Besides the fact, that the venture ultimately went belly-up, Hanlon describes his methodology for raising capital. He raised +$90 million over 7 years - a significant achievement, considering that he did not have huge investors right away, but focused on "grass-roots" fund raising.
I was impressed and took many lessons learned away from his approach.
He details his milestone fund raising and the principles he founded the company on. The book furthermore is an application guide on how to identify your target customers and on how to market towards them, so that they will not only buy your product, but also help you finance the venture that designs and manufactures the product - quite impressive and an absolutely novel approach.
Before you pass judgement, based on what you have read in the press, I recommend highly to read Dan Hanlon's account of the dream he lived and embarked on realizing. If you still think Hanlon was full of it, well that is an opinion, too, but at least you have exposed yourself to both sides.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pro Editor required, February 2, 2004

By A Customer

Not sure of the complete story of what happened with EH, I was curious to learn more. The history of the start up venture was interesting as were stories from Sturgis. Even the section of the "gearhead" related topics weren't too hard to follow, as I was afraid I'd be confused. But overall, I don't really understand what happened except that the financing options ran out. But why? That area is foggy and seemed condensed in the later chapters. It makes you wonder what the 2nd side of the story is. I think some professional editing would've helped in the story, as well. The writing was obviously as Dan Hanlon would speak aloud. But that tone gets tiresome and he sometimes gets off on tangets. Perhaps the book wouldn't have been as long either.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening and Educational, December 18, 2003

By	Jeff SKI Kinsey (Hilton Head Island, SC USA) - See all my reviews

Some of the best books ever, are the ones that friends give me. Of course, it helps to have smart friends! My brother bought an Excelsior-Henderson motorcycle. He loves it. Convincing my other brother to buy all three of us Dan Hanlon's book.

It is first of all, a great recap of the seven plus years of E-H's struggle from the man at the helm. But is really is a great business "how to" or perhaps "how not to" launch a capital intensive manufacturing business. The tales of fund raising are not for the faint of heart.

Serious about a startup business? Read this book first. It is so fast paced, that I was able to read the whole 401 pages in just two sessions. Some great photos included, as well as some corporate documents like the list of E-H dealers.

Even if you are not going for a capital intensive venture, it will still help. The passages on corporate culture were great. And the interaction with Wall Street was fun reading. Oh yea, everyone that knows anything about E-H has second guessed Hanlon. He convinced me that every single criticism was for the most part, untrue. One example is the building. It just "looks" expensive. The true costs were amazingly low.

If you are serious about business and enjoy motorcycles [riding or watching them ride down the street], this is a must have. One of my top twenty picks.