Never Ending Crocker BS

[HarleyCreation]

Hmmm, Maybe I'll have to buy it back now that I know it's history! Thanks!

(Psst. When you buy it back, however, keep in mind that John originally paid $75 for it.)

Whatever happened to those big magnificant Waverley (Jefferson) ohv twin motors that John had?

[c.o.]

O.K. now I would like to know whether the story about Crocker guaranteeing that his product would beat a Harley or Indian with a promise to buy back the Crocker if it won the race is true. Any thoughts on that Barry?

[c.o.]

Here's an interesting clip...........Barry did you have this kinda trouble starting yours??? Jay really worked up a sweat....ha...ha...

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/...tml?vid=211465

[Barry Brown]

That sure got me laughing. My last big tank Crocker had distributor ignition and always started one kick. Everyone around these old bikes knows that besides compression you need a REBUILT magneto and a REBUILT linkert to make starting a snap. When the scammers are "restoring" these bikes for rich suckers to buy at auction do you think they are going to fix these 2 items and cut into their bottom line? My hemi head custom Crocker also starts ONE kick ( well we all know a prime kick is needed too) but it has a REBUILT MAGDYNO and a Mike Millay PROPERLY REBUILT MC6 CROCKER LINKERT which most Crockers do NOT have.
Alain De Cadenait also helped perpetuate the myth that the thick bores were for overboring convenience. They were NOT. they were incorporated to prevent distortion .

[c.o.]

I figured you'd get a kick out of that video! So, you've got the Crocker finished have you? It seems to me when I got to see it, it was just a motor in frame. Now you've got me curious. Got any pics? Oh, and do you think it could outrun the Koslow???

[Barry Brown]

Like the old saying goes there's no replacement for cubes and the Koslow has 84 compared with the Crocker's 61. The Koslow will smoke it but the only thing more beautiful than a hemi head Crocker is a Brough ss100. That's why I have all 3.

[Pete Gagan]

Crockers?

I may be, by accident, one of the few people alive today that has had a chance to ride all three styles of Crockers, namely the speedway bike, the hemi twin, and the later parallel valve twin.
I owned the speedway bike for a while, before trading it for a Brough Superior Black Alpine which I found more useful. I juiced it up with methanol, tried it out, and it was frightening, mostly due to the fact it’s the only speedway bike I’ve ever ridden, so can make no conclusions there.
On the Death Valley Run some years back, Richard Morris gave me a short blast on his hemi, just before he sold it to Dale Walksler. The engine certainly was very snappy, although Dale treated me to a ride on a knucklehead bobber he had with him the same day, and it seemed just as quick to me, and a lot more user friendly, certainly in the clutch and gearbox department.
On a later road run, Jack Silverman let me ride his later one for most of a day, while he rode my street legal short stroke Manx Norton. We rode together, and although I could keep the Manx in sight on the straights, it was no match in corners, or in stopping, obviously. I found the cornering clearance on the Crocker pretty abysmal, in fact. It didn’t have quite the snap of the hemi, although it was still quick, but I will say it didn’t leak a drop of oil anywhere, which was impressive.
On the downside, the Crockers seemed rather heavy. I did have occasion to pick up a set of forks off a twin once, and they seemed to weigh almost as much as the rolling chassis of the above mentioned Manx.
The mystique around Crockers is derived from their rarity, and that it was the only large American motorcycle option at the time apart from the big two, Indian and Harley Davidson. Also, Al Crocker, like George Brough, was a colorful character who is still marketing beyond his grave.
Rarity in itself isn’t everything. I once had a Brough Superior car. The bikes are sought after by motorcycle enthusiasts, but car people don’t know who George Brough was. There were only 37 cars known, but if only 36 guys want one, they aren’t worth all that much, I discovered. More guys want Crockers, it seems.
Pete Gagan

[AFJ]

Rare Classic?

What was that old definition of a "Rare Classic"?

"Rare Classic - A bike nobody liked when they were new."

AFJ

[Barry Brown]

I think with Crockers, which were for the most part all prototypes with inadequate development, the problem was also price. At twice the price of a Harley or Indian there were few takers. The ss100 was also pricey but George Brough was smart enough to offer several "economy" Broughs as well, like the ones you have Al! Sorry about that, just trying to egg you on to build that late ags! We all know the less expensive Broughs were the real reliable work horses. Homer Wood told me Al Crocker didn't like sidevalves so that is presumably why he didn't make one. The post war Crocker scooter was a short lived anomaly .

[AFJ]

The ss100 was also pricey but George Brough was smart enough to offer several "economy" Broughs as well! ..... We all know the less expensive Broughs were the real reliable work horses.

Only about 16% of Brough Superior production from 1919 to 1940 was of 1,000 cc OHV bikes.
A further 23% were the smaller 680cc or 500cc OHV v-twins. The rest were nearly all side-valve V-twins, most of 1,000 cc but just over 300 with the 1,100 cc 60 degree motor. A 1933 road test of the then-new 1,100 cc model indicated a 101 mph top speed on a 3.75 to 1 top gear. The late 30s SV 1,000 are good for about 90 - 95 mph depending on the gearing and the late model SS100s were timed at 102 mph on a 3.5 to 1 top gear.
Not much difference, one could say.
AFJ

[Barry Brown]

Al, No doubt you have read Titch's 1960's series on Broughs in Motorcycle Sport. He is quite clear in his disappointment with the Matchless engined ss100 , or at least the one he owned , saying the only great pleasure he derived from it was visual so he got rid of it.

[Tom Lovejoy]

A question for you guys who know, I have heard and read great things about the Brough Superiors. But have rarely if ever seen one, only once on a actual ride, the Hansen dam ride and much to my dissappointment. It was along side the road broke down, never even got to hear it run. Are they over rated to? Just hype or are they a fantastic machine? just curious, what your experience's have been. The Crockers I have seen and heard and ridden with seemed like impressive machines, maybe just the awe factor.

[King T]

Not to divert from the Brough discussion but, regarding Crockers, how are the valves actuated? The single tube leading up to the head suggests that it is a "tower" gear for an overhead cam but I think they were a pushrod type motor. Any ilumination will be appreciated.

King

[Barry Brown]

TWO PUSHRODS SQUEEZED INTO THAT NARROW TUBE. TOO BAD THEY WEREN'T OHC.
Broughs are/were no more or less reliable than any other classic bike, it all comes down to proper maintenance and condition. Just like Alain DeCadenait's Crocker that Jay Leno couldn't start, my Brough ss100 and Crocker both start ONE KICK. Lots of rich guys buy Broughs and Crockers at auctions and don't know what they are buying and don't know how to twist wrenches as well. You have to be 100% involved with these machines to glean 100% satisfaction not just a status symbol to park next to your Ferrari.

[AFJ]

A question for you guys who know, I have heard and read great things about the Brough Superiors. But have rarely if ever seen one, only once on a actual ride, the Hansen dam ride and much to my dissappointment. It was along side the road broke down, never even got to hear it run. Are they over rated to? Just hype or are they a fantastic machine? just curious, what your experience's have been. The Crockers I have seen and heard and ridden with seemed like impressive machines, maybe just the awe factor.

As a happy Brough owner, mechanic and rider for 39 years, I can say that they are a very good motorcycle which were certainly a fair bit ahead of their time when made. There is a good support network in terms of technical information and parts through the Brough Club in England. The bikes are very pleasant to ride, relatively easy to work on, and go very well for their era and now, of course, their age - the last ones being made in April, 1940 - after which George Brough made camshafts and crankshafts for the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines which went into Hurricane and Spitfire fighter aircraft.

I abhor the hype such as was (and is) generated by the "Art of" and "Legends" type of Concours/Auction/Exhibition events since it paints an inaccurate picture of what many of our treasured old bikes really were made for. They were motorcycles made to be ridden for transport and pleasure - not artistic "icons" to be put on a pedestal and worshipped.

AFJ