Those that follow the worldwide merry-go-round of classic motorcycle sales at auction will know that Bonhams sold three Crocker motorcycles last August at Quail Lodge. Seen by many as the finest pre-war American motorcycle it is rare to see a Crocker in the flesh let alone have three in the same auction.
All three of these machines ended up in the hands of one buyer and made their way over to Australia. The buyer was a gentleman by the name of Brendon Child from Sydney. The selling price of the Crockers can be easily accessed, suffice to say that Mr Child must be a man of considerable means. He already owned two of the 65 Crockers in existence and his successful truck and agricultural equipment leasing company allowed him to buy the three further ones.
This could be just the story of a slightly over exuberant collector, however the interesting bit is that Brendon Child owns the rights to the Crocker name is Australia and is going into limited production with replicas.
There has been another attempt to resurrect Crocker from the States, an endeavour that has been ongoing for some twelve years and doesn't seem to yet have a bike to market. The Australian concern has not been going anything like so long and is very much publicity free and under the radar but claims to have four machines under construction and aims to produce twenty five a year for five years. The price? Upwards of $100,000. A fair wedge of cash in anyones' book but very reasonable compared to the other replica pre-war glamour bike projects such as the Brough and certainly not excessive given the effort required to build. Apparently the first four are already sold.
Let's hope it is a success and we can see more Crockers out and about on the road.
All three of these machines ended up in the hands of one buyer and made their way over to Australia. The buyer was a gentleman by the name of Brendon Child from Sydney. The selling price of the Crockers can be easily accessed, suffice to say that Mr Child must be a man of considerable means. He already owned two of the 65 Crockers in existence and his successful truck and agricultural equipment leasing company allowed him to buy the three further ones.
This could be just the story of a slightly over exuberant collector, however the interesting bit is that Brendon Child owns the rights to the Crocker name is Australia and is going into limited production with replicas.
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| An original Crocker, one of the examples sold by Bonhams in California and now residing in Australia. |
Let's hope it is a success and we can see more Crockers out and about on the road.
