Albert Crocker
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Albert Crocker (b. 1882 — d. 1961) was an American inventor and the founder of Crocker Motorcycles. His innovations had a substantial influence on the motorcycle and racing business.
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[edit] History
[edit] College and racing years
Crocker graduated from Armour Institute, part of Northwestern University, with an engineering degree. His first job out of college was with the Aurora Automatic Machine Company; he worked in the motorcycle division, engineering new products. Although he was an engineer, he loved motorcycles and racing, competing in and winning many endurance contests.
During his racing years, Crocker met Oscar Hedstrom and Charles Hendee, the president and chief engineer of Indian Motorcycle of Springfield, Massachusetts. A close friendship developed between Crocker, Hendee and Hedstrom that eventually evolved into a full-time position for Crocker at Indian.
[edit] Marriage and move to the West Coast
Crocker's personal life was deeply affected by the 1911 incident in which motorcycle racer Eddy Hasha was killed. Crocker later met Hasha's widow, Gertrude Jefford Hasha, in 1919, while both were working at the Indian branch in Denver, Colorado. They were married in 1924 and had one son.
In that same year, Crocker took over the Indian motorcycle dealership in Kansas City. The dealership functioned as a distributor for several Midwest states. Eventually, however Crocker moved to Los Angeles, selling the dealership.
[edit] Crocker motorcycles
In Los Angeles, Crocker bought Freed, an established Indian dealership. Crocker and Paul Bigsby must have spent many of their spare hours designing and developing their own bikes, for in 1931, they introduced their dirt track racing bikes to the world of racing.
Crocker, a very capable designer and engineer, invented the Crocker 30-50 cu. in. single-cylinder speedway bike. It became the bike of choice for many of the best riders on the Pacific coast when speedway racing was at its height. Crocker ultimately built about thirty speedway bikes, giving the big-name speedway bikes some tough competition.
[edit] The Crocker Twin
In the mid-1930s, Crocker and Bigsby began to work on a heavyweight, high-performance, overhead valve, v-twin motorcycle. Crocker knew there was a good market for high-speed touring bikes, but even he was surprised when he received more orders than he could possibly fill for his new invention. The 1930s-era Crocker Twin was widely regarded as the best performing motorcycle produced in the United States at the time. However, as Crocker was producing during the height of the Depression, it became increasingly difficult for him to produce vehicles in small quantities and he later abandoned production of the Twin.
Many Crocker Twin motorcycles are still in existence and are among the most highly prized collectible motorcycles today. Crocker parts are still sought after and coveted. The most recent conservative estimate of the value of an original Crocker in restored condition hovers between $225,000 and $300,000 U.S.
[edit] The company
The Crocker Motorcycle Company was resurrected in 1999. It continues to produce the two original Big Tank and Small Tank models that were manufactured by Al Crocker in his factory at 1346 Venice Blvd in Los Angeles.
