1937 Crocker motorcycle

Most classic motorcycles simply look ‘old’. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) But a tiny handful still have the power to stop the traffic, decades after they were built. Brough Superior is one such brand; Crocker is another. This is a 1937 ‘Big Tank’ Crocker motorcycle, and it’s going under the hammer at Bonhams' Quail Lodge sale on 16 August. The estimate is a staggering US$270,000—340,000. Rarity plays a big part in that perceived value. Only sixty-or-so twin-cylinder Crocker motorcycles were ever made. And this design, powered by a one-liter (61 ci) V-twin, was the first American-built motorcycle to...