Crocker OHV 61" V-twin: 1941. (Retrospective).

Publication: Rider

Publication Date: 01-AUG-03

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COPYRIGHT 2003 Ehlert Publishing Group

When the Great Depression descended on these United States, most folks hunkered down, warmed themselves over a small fire, opened a can of beans, and waited for it all to be over. But not our Albert H. Crocker; he was a man who had the notion of building a better mousetrap, or in this case, better motorcycle, and hang the rest. Back in the late 1920s he understood that overhead valves were more efficient than sidevalves, let alone that antiquated inlet-over-exhaust system that a few machines were still running.

Backing up a few years, we see Al Crocker arriving on the motorcycle scene as a good enduro rider back in 1910. In 1913 he began a relationship with the Indian Motocycle Company, and in 1928 he bought the Indian dealership in Los Angeles. Working with him was his chief engineer, a fellow named Paul A. Bigsby, who liked...

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