During the past century there have been hundreds of motorcycle manufacturers in North America alone. Worldwide motorcycle production has seen countless numbers of motorcycle manufacturers come and go. Indian, Excelsior-Henderson, Triumph and Norton are a few of the more famous names to have been resurrected. Few have stayed the course however. Triumph is one resurgent who has prospered and has seen record sales in 2004. Norton has planned to begin production on the long awaited Commando and has sold out all of their initial 100 Signature unit production forecast. Indian and Excelsior-Henderson on the other hand only lasted a few short years after resurrecting the once proud marquees. Indian, in my mind, went at the whole production of their motorcycles the wrong way. Trying to rebuild an American legend from a catalogue is not a fitting way to launch North America's second most famous motorcycle name. In contrast, maybe Triumph is successful because they designed and manufactured their own parts before selling their product to the public ensuring originality and keeping true to their heritage as the maker of a fine product.

I'm getting ahead of myself here though. First let me tell you a little history for those who are unaware of America's first true "Superbike". Al Crocker first worked for the Thor Motorcycle division of the Aurora Automatic Machine Company. Although he was an engineer designing new parts, he loved to endurance race. While racing he met and befriended Oscar Hedstrom and Charles Hendee, president and chief engineer of the Indian Motocycle Company. Crocker worked at Indian for a number of years and eventually moved west to Los Angeles from Kansas City where he bought an Indian dealership.

Crocker developed his own single cylinder speedway racer in the early 30's. The Crocker speedway racer cleaned-up in race competition. In the mid-30's Crocker developed a high performance V-Twin engine with a three speed transmission which proved to be the fastest American production motorcycle of the era. The Crocker V-Twin was so fast in fact that the company offered a full refund of the cost of the motorcycle if it was beaten by a stock Indian or Harley-Davidson. No refund was ever asked for. Generally the big twins of the day were 85mph machines while the Crockers were 105mph machines that could go 0-60mph in first gear. Crocker became a big thorn in the side of Indian and Harley-Davidson.

Crocker would produce each bike individually and build it to the customers specifications. Engine displacement was 61ci (1000cc) but the thick cylinder walls meant the big engines could displace as much as 90ci (1500cc). Customers could also specify colour, trim and gear ratio. Crocker made two models of V-Twin powered bikes, the Small Tank and the Big Tank. The Small Tank had a wheel base of 58 inches and a steeper rake aiding in quicker steering while the Big Tank had a wheelbase of 60 inches and better suited to highway riding.

Orders were coming faster than the bikes could be made but unfortunately making bikes one-at-a-time as well as the economic downturn and World War II proved to be a financial burden forcing Crocker to cease production in 1942 after only a six year production run. According to Crocker designer and shop foreman, Gene Rhyne, there were less than 100 V-Twin Crocker's built. They are one of the most sought after motorcycles in the world by collectors. A restored Crocker could sell for as high as $125,000 USD.


The Modern-Day Crocker

Walking into the nondescript north Toronto industrial unit makes it obvious that Crocker is not a business that deals with walk-in traffic. The locked door simply has a small Crocker name plate on it. The first thing you notice upon entering into the building are the bookcases on top of counters along the opposite wall. Adorning the bookcases and counter space are dozens of new and original parts including the polished one third inch thick cast aluminum gas tank halves of the two Crocker models, the Big Tank and the Small Tank. The weight of the fuel tanks surprised me, they were quite heavy even though the Crocker was lighter than the Indian and the Harley-Davidson.

Crocker's low production numbers and the fact that they were built on the west coast meant most of their clients are from the American west but the company does boast a worldwide client base. "People tell us what they need for their restoration projects and we produce parts on a priority basis. Our customers are willing to wait for parts as they become available. This year we should have a completely finished parts catalogue and inventory", Markus states as he shows me parts order forms from various customers. About two thirds of the parts are checked off meaning the parts are in stock or have been shipped. "We add parts almost daily to our catalogue" Michael says proudly as he points to the full 3 inch binder on the counter that contains all of their engineered CAD designs. "Every time we get as close as possible to having a complete bike someone buys it on us" Markus says smiling.

It's obvious that the office space takes up minimal room as we go through the doors that take us into the production area of the building. The racking on the right, reaching to the roof holds the casting patterns, each carefully standing in rows on one shelf, new parts on a few other shelves and original parts neatly placed on the remaining shelves. Rolling carts holding perfectly stacked thick walled engine cylinders are parked in front of the racks waiting for their position on the shelving. To the left are the frame jigs. "The original frames had cast junction points like the steering head and integral transmission housing at the bottom rear of the frame. The frame tubes then slid into the corresponding holes on the junction and then they were brazed. We are building the frames a little different. The cast junctions and steel tube is still being used but we are silver soldering the joint and then brazing where the casting and the steel tube meet. The result is a stronger joint because silver soldering is stronger than welding and because of the braze, it will still look original." says Markus. "Our engineers and machinists operate the lathes, milling machines and CNC machines that are constantly running producing parts and we are regularly sending new patterns to the foundry for casting such parts as cylinders, heads, engine cases and frame castings" Michael says as he continues with the tour of the production area.

The parts that are being reproduced are so accurate that there is no question about them fitting the original equipment. "Alex designs everything in Solid Works to very exacting standards so every part that we make is an accurate replica but because of the CAD design we can stress test it and make the parts better and stronger than the original" Michael says as he shows me an original shifter fork that has been welded. "This shifter fork had an inherent weak point and it's not uncommon to see them welded. We are able to add a web to it for strength but it will still fit perfectly inside the transmission and function properly with original cases, gears and shafts. The hemi heads also had a problem cracking for a number of production years due to casting procedures of the era. Valve seats were also known to fall out of the heads. Today we make them from better metals using state-of-the-art casting practices. We also have a number of Crocker's original drawings on site to compare to the original parts we have".

Markus, being the engineering genius behind Crocker is also a research junkie. He scours endlessly over old magazines looking for any reference to Crocker whether it's in the racing news, buy and sell classifieds or advertising. He has accumulated an enormous amount of reference material all gently placed in sealed plastic sleeves in a binder. One piece he was particularly proud of was a letter from Harley-Davidson head office in Milwaukee on August 28, 1936 to its dealers condemning Crocker and stating that anyone who has anything to do with the Crocker motorcycle will loose their dealership. Markus called Harley-Davidson Archives in Milwaukee and found it odd that they deny any such letter or that there even was a motorcycle company called Crocker. Markus flipped the pages to some promotional brochures and we got a chuckle when Michael commented about one of the models sitting on a Crocker being a hottie in her day. All I can say is today's standards have come a long way in defining the term hottie. Another interesting piece of literature was an owner's manual. "Crocker would have shipped the bike to the owner in a crate in a number of pieces and the new owner would have used the manual to put it together", Markus commented.

What happens when those relatively few Crockers are all restored and no longer need the reproduction parts? It means anyone with deep enough pockets will be able to have a brand new 'old' Crocker of their own. By the time you read this there will be a complete running engine and within a year it is Markus' and Michael's plan to be able to offer complete kits of the Crocker Big and Small Tank models. The kits will sell for approximately $45,000USD and the pair already have orders pending. "People in the industry who are aware that kits will be available are surprised and thrilled about being able to build their own Crocker. They will be exact replicas meaning a very limited number of tools will be required to build and maintain these bikes" Michael says.

Michael tells me one of their short term goals is to have their own bikes built and they look forward to "beating the bark off them". Another goal is to have an original restored Crocker and a reproduction on display side-by-side and they will challenge anyone to tell them apart. "We think the only way someone might be able tell is by the wear on certain parts or the patina on the cast pieces that only comes from natural wear and tear over time."

"It's interesting that the old timers would not accept a reproduction, they just wouldn't go near them. A lot of the oldtimers are gone now and reproductions are becoming acceptable", Michael says and he continues. "There is a guy in the States that is reproducing Harley 45's and people are eating it up, another guy is reproducing a 1912 Henderson. Timing is everything and we are entering into a very exciting time for Crocker."

I was unable to attend the Guggenheim Museum that did have a Crocker on display. Crockers are so rare that I may never get to see one in person. After the news of Crocker's reincarnation I am, however, looking forward to seeing a Crocker roll around the corner someday. I'll always wonder though, is it new or is it 70 years old.

Then again, does it really matter. MMM


Check Crocker Motorcycle Company out at www.CrockerMotorcycleCo.com.