Crocker Motorcycles Speedway Racer 1934
Having proved that he could build a viable racing machine, Al turned his attention to building a heavy weight cruiser.
The first Crocker cruiser rolled out in 1936, and right away it was clear that he had built something far surpassing the current offerings from Harley and Indian. The motorcycle was powered by a 61" V-twin with a number of key features not available from any other manufacturer. Firstly, the cylinder walls were 3/8" thick, so although the standard displacement was 61", the engine could be bored up to 100" without issue. The engine also used hemispherical combustion chambers, and in it's standard configuration, was close to a square engine (equal bore and stroke). The engine was also designed with overhead valves, the first five machines using an exposed valve train and all the preceding machines used parallel valves and enclosed springs.
Although Harley released their first OHV machine that same year, Crocker beat them to it by a few months making them the first American motorcycle company to produce an OHV V-twin engine for street use. All these features added up to an engine that was a real powerhouse, producing 55-60 horsepower—almost double of what Harley's and Indian's motorcycles were capable of. Al was so confident of his machine that he offered a money back guarantee to any Crocker owner if he was beaten by a standard Harley or Indian motorcycle.
The story of Crocker motorcycles has been obscured by tall tales and myths since the very day they were introduced, first as Speedway racers, then big V-twins, and finally a scooter, all built before official U.S. involvement in World War II put a halt to civilian motorcycle production. Wading through the murk around this famous American name, one bumps against vested interests and fast-held opinions, but enough facts emerge to which we can anchor our tale.
Albert Crocker, born in 1882, had an engineering degree from Northwestern University's 'Armour Institute,' an engineering school. His first job was with the Aurora Automatic Machine Co., builders of Thor motorcycles, and Crocker not only developed Thor engineering, he was a keen and successful racer during 1907-09. In the natural course of a racing career, he met and conversed with the pioneers of motorcycle manufacture and racing in those early days, including Oscar Hedstrom and Charles Hendee, the chief engineers and owners of the Hendee Manufacturing Co., makers of Indian 'Motocycles.' Al Crocker developed a friendship with the Indian camp, and soon joined Hendee. He worked at the Wigwam under William Ottoway, who oversaw Thor racing before doing the same for Harley-Davidson later. One of Crocker’s supervisors at Thor was Paul Bigsby; their roles were reversed many years later.
By 1919, Crocker had opened an Indian dealership in Denver, and there met, and eventually married, Gertrude Jefford Hasha, widow of Eddie Hasha, a famous 'Board Track' racer involved in the most notorious motorcycle racing disaster of the era. On September 8, 1912, four schoolboys were killed (along with Hasha), and 10 spectators injured, when Hasha's 8-Valve Indian went out of control, slid along the top safety railing on the banking, and clouted the four boys, who were craning their necks over the railing for a better look. Spectator deaths generally mark the 'end of an era' for races (just as with the Mille Miglia). Crocker surely knew Eddie Hasha, given his employment at Indian at the time. Gertrude and Al had one son (Al Junior) in 1924, the year they were married. The year 1924 was a big one for Al Crocker; with a new wife and infant son, he took over the Kansas City Indian dealer/distributor, but by 1930, the call of the West could not be ignored, and he sold his dealership to 'Pop' Harding, then purchased the Freed Indian dealership at 1346 Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles. This address would become legendary as the home of Crocker motorcycles.
In 1931, Speedway (then called Dirt Track racing) was the most popular and lucrative motorsport in the world, so Crocker built a speedway frame to accept a '101' Indian Scout engine, a lightweight motor with a seemingly infinite capacity for tuning (just ask Burt Munro). The Indian-powered speedway bike proved satisfactory, and in 1932 Crocker built an OHV conversion for his Scout. Crocker’s bolt-on cylinder and head echoed Indian factory racing practice of 1925-26, but the first Crocker OHV conversions reduced the displacement 500cc (30.50 cu-in.), so as to keep within the rules of Speedway. As one might expect from the 125 MPH potential of the Indian’s 750cc OHV ‘Scouts,’ Crocker’s 500cc OHV V-twin engines were faster than the dominant speedway Rudge engine. Al Crocker built ‘a few’ of these Indian OHV kits (nobody seems to know how many), and some were apparently sold to the public.
The Crocker speedway racers first appeared on the Emeryville, California, speedway track on November 30, 1933, and won nine of 12 heats in one evening, prompting The Motorcyclist (December 1933) to rave of their debut, "...two spotless and keen pieces of racing equipment surely worthy of the best the country had to offer as their pilots. The first race was ridden by Jack Milne…speedman par excellence...and Cordy Milne....Two American-built night speedway racing engines swept the boards…9 first places and 3 second spots out of 12 starts…The call came suddenly for the builder, for Al Crocker who was in the pits…[He] came to the microphone. His speech was short, brief; just the sort of thing that the situation called for…He was glad that they [the bikes] were good…They would be better."
With limited production facilities, only 31 Crocker Speedway models were sold. Crocker built a pair of OHC Speedway prototypes in 1936, to counter the rising tide of the 42 HP JAP Speedway motor, but it was clear his OHC Speedway engine would need further development. Rather than continue with Speedway racing, Al Crocker turned his attention to the project which would hammer his name in stone; the big V-twin.
Crocker Speedway racers are very rare, and naturally as the precursors to their infamous V-twin brothers, are highly sought after.
Credit Mecum Auctions