The Crocker Motorcycle Company is now accepting orders for 100 brand new Crocker motorcycles. The price will be about $65,000 and delivery, due to the hand built nature of the process, will be 6 to 8 months after the order is placed.
The new bikes will be identical to the originals in appearance and most parts, except for the new engine and electrical system, will be interchangeable with the originals. The new Crocker Motorcycles will be built in Los Angeles, California, again, just like the originals.
Thanks for the tip, Robert!
Link: Crocker Motorcycles
hoyt says
Congratulations! This is awesome.
I’d be happy with one of their tailights.
mark says
Such a cool bike, I wish I had the money.
todd says
The original bikes were hand built too. I bet they weren’t the equivalent of $65,000 new.
-todd
Walt says
Given the difficulty so many builders have had (rerun Indian, Kenny Dreer’s Norton, Excelsior/Henderson and numerous chopper builders) I wish them luck but I’ll believe it when I see it. It’s not a “real” Crocker from back in the day. It’s not a modern motorcycle. What is it?
Walt
Sean says
A modernised replica, Walt.
kneeslider says
Walt, this new Crocker is, in my mind, a smart attempt at building on an old name since they are trying to actually replicate the original. The engines, though new, will give you modern performance and reliability but still look like the old ones while many of the other parts will even interchange.
Just taking the name and creating something completely different, like the ones you list, is a lot more risky.
Given that these could be fun to ride and good looking, too, they might pull it off. I’m curious if these were close enough to the originals, they might be thought of as continuations instead of replicas. That could support a premium price and create an air of exclusivity.
How big is the market for $65,000 motorcycles? We may soon find out.
Jeff says
I’m sure there are a few out there with the bucks to buy one of these just to have the latest cool toy .
pabsy says
nice bike but i cannot see the market for this
i doubt they will get 100 deposits and for those putting down deposits i would be worried about actually getting the bike
not hating but i dont see this is a sustainable commercial venture
stacius says
I beg to differ, if you’re hardcore enough to either own or just want a really nice old school bike, then nothing could be cooler. ESPECIALLY if parts are interchangeable. You could have an identical bike built to match your collector bike and not have to worry about the real investment getting wrecked.
Heck, I bet they’ll do a nice business selling parts!
todd says
I wonder if they’re in it to build motorcycles or just to make money.
If you can build 100 bikes, you can build 1000. The tooling, what little there may be, is already made. Most other parts are sourced out of catalogs. A small team can assemble those 100 motorcycles in a year, that’s only one every three and a half days. Gross sales will be $6,500,000, parts are $500k-750k, overhead is $15k-20k, tooling, labor, insurance, etc… You’re still looking at a net $5 million for a year’s work.
I think I just found myself a new line of work…
-todd
kneeslider says
Todd,
“I wonder if they’re in it to build motorcycles or just to make money. ”
How about both? No profit, no business, no bikes. If you can build new Crockers for less, you have an opportunity waiting for you.
“You’re still looking at a net $5 million for a year’s work.”
Only if the previous years of preparation, design, tooling, securing trademark rights, prototype building, engineering, building a team and everything else are cost free. Also, what about the risk of doing this in the first place if it doesn’t work out? What about the opportunity cost of not investing the money elsewhere? Again, there is nothing stopping you or anyone else from doing something like this for less.
Skizick says
Everything execpt the engine? The engine is the heart of a bike. How will it differ? I see these “new” Indians with Harley motors in ’em, What’s the point. Crockers weren’t known for their frames.
kneeslider says
Skizick, The engine will be from Accurate Engineering. Same looks as the original with better internals.
hoyt says
Todd: “overhead is $15k-20k”.
That seems very low. Filing taxes alone with an outside firm would eat up most of that.
B. Case says
Todd, you must have been joking right? I’ll bet those motors from Accurate are close to $10k ea. And, I’ll bet the unit cost to build a small batch of Crockers is more like $30-35k, plus overhead and variable costs. That being said, I don’t believe they’re in it for the money.
I met one of the Crocker guys at a show a few years ago, and they had one of these on display. It was beautiful in person and it captured the essence of an original. They made extra effort to acquire original Crocker casting patterns, so the parts aren’t just interchangeable, they’re practically original.
I’ll bet they sell every one of the 100. However, once everybody who wants one has one, I would think they’ll have to have something else to sustain the business. They’ve had the brand for a while now, so maybe the limited run of bikes will be a loss leader for their parts and apparel.
And with Indian going for broke no matter what the state of the market is, the custom American scene might just stay alive for another go-around, which will benefit smaller companies like Crocker, Kiwi, etc…
todd says
My understanding is that the original Crocker didn’t cost much more than a Harley or Indian. There were only 100 original twins made too, all by hand. There is no reason why Crocker is not still building motorcycles today other than WW2 and a large contract to build aircraft parts.
Sure I may be underestimating the cost of building 100 motorcycles out of a garage but $65,000 for a full production motorcycle (no billet one-offs) is a bit out of line. There’s not much engineering involved in reverse engineering. And at Ten Grand per motor per 100 units with a 60HP output is good reason to shop around for another supplier. You don’t pay S&S retail catalog prices when sourcing 100 Accurate Engineering motors.
-todd
todd says
I forgot to note that the Crocker is a KIT. You have to assemble it for yourself and just stare at it since it won’t be legal to sell or register as a motorcycle.
-todd
In the loop says
Crocker Motorcycle Company breaks ties with Barry Wardlaw and Accurate Engineering!
June 2009
Barry Wardlaw and Accurate Engineering of Dothan Alabama are facing litigation for breach of contract regarding the assembly of Crocker Motorcycle Company engines, and could be facing criminal charges for theft of Crocker intellectual property and proto-type parts. Wardlaw is accused of unlawfully selling the Crocker proto type engine to a well known custom builder. Crocker is currently gathering evidence to support its claims and has retained council in Dothan.