CROFT CAMERON
Although Croft Cameron only existed for three years, its Super Eight – which was basically the only model it ever built – is now much sought after and commands the sort of prices we have come to expect from Brough Superiors and CoventryEagles. That’s hardly surprising for JE Cameron Croft pitched his machine at the very top end of the market, which was, in 1923, already claimed by George Brough.
At a time when many manufacturers were still using a single tube bicyclestyle frame, Croft Cameron utilised a twin tube duplex loop frame which encircled the engine and provided excellent rigidity. Brochures of the time claimed it was
‘as rigid as a pillbox’ – remember, this was just five years after the end of the First World War when the term ‘pillbox’ would immediately bring to mind solid gun emplacements rather than small containers for medications.
The Croft Cameron Super Eight was a true superbike of its time. Croft Cameron chose a 996cc ohv British Anzani V-twin and, with its Montgomery leaf-sprung forks and cable-operated drum brakes, it was one of the fastest and most advanced motorcycles of the time. The Croft Cameron Super Eight was available in eight-valve form at £140, or four-valve at £125 with the option of a slightly larger
‘Plus Power’ engine. That was slightly less than a Brough Superior but still a year’s wages for the average worker.
Croft Cameron operated in St Michael’s Road, Stoke, Coventry but, other than that, virtually nothing is known of the company which was only in business from 1923 to 1926. It’s not even known how many of its luxury and rather beautiful machines it built during that time.