In Conversation with Dick Powell, Designer of the Rotary-engined Norton F1

Above, from left: Richard Seymour and Dick Powell, designers of the legendary rotary-engined Norton F1, a quite unique motorcycle from the early-1990s, which still has its own dedicated fan base today

Dick Powell is co-founder of Seymourpowell, a well-known UK-based design company with a formidable portfolio of work. Set up in 1984, Seymourpowell has designed everything from cordless kettles mobile phones, cars, trains, planes and, yes, motorcycles. Along with the other co-founder, Richard Seymour, Dick Powell designed the rotary-engined Norton F1, an iconic machine and one that I’m a big fan of. Back in 2016, I had an opportunity to do an interview with Dick Powell and ask him a few questions about the legendary Norton. Here are some excerpts from the conversation.

From the Archives: In Conversation with Pierre Terblanche

Pierre Terblanche has done some phenomenal work for Ducati and other motorcycle brands

For motorcycle afficionados, the name ‘Pierre Terblanche’ needs no introduction. Born in South Africa, Terblanche is one of the most well-known, widely respected motorcycle designers in the world. With a Masters degree in transport design from the UK’s Royal College of Art, Terblanche has, over the last 40 years, worked with Volkswagen, Cagiva, Ducati, Piaggio, Confederate and even Royal Enfield. The bikes he has designed include the Cagiva 900 Gran Canyon, the 1^st generation Ducati Multistrada and Hypermotard, the Ducati SuperMono, the Ducati SportClassics, the Ducati 999, the Ducati MH900e, the Confederate X132 Hellcat Speedster and the 1^st generation Royal Enfield Himalayan. He also redesigned the Ducati 851 which then became the 888, and he designed a spectacular bunch of concept bikes for Moto Guzzi, which were shown at the 2014 EICMA. More recently, Terblanche designed a futuristic concept bike, which you can read about here.

In 2013, I had an opportunity to do an interview with Pierre Terblanche (who was working for Confederate Motorcycles at that time) for one of my other websites, Faster and Faster, which I had to shut down in 2017. I wanted to preserve this interview, hence putting it up here, where I hope it’ll remain forever.

From the Archives: In Conversation with Damien Basset

French designer, Damien Basset, who is currently design director at Peugeot Motorcycles, used to work with Ducati earlier. He’s the man who had designed the first Ducati Streetfighter, which was launched in 2009 and which was offered with a choice of 1099cc and, later, 849cc V-twin engines. I had an opportunity to do an interview with Basset in 2009, for Faster and Faster, a motorcycle website that I used to own at that time. I had to shut down that website in 2017, but wanted to preserve this interview, hence posting it here, where it will hopefully remain forever.

Reading By Design: Professor G.V. Sreekumar

Prof. G.V. Sreekumar loves books and is an ardent reader

A dear friend and former colleague from my days with CHIP magazine, G.V. Sreekumar is a Professor and former Head of IDC School of Design at IIT Bombay, and his specialisations include typography, calligraphy, publication design, information graphics, design pedagogy, and visual semantics. Prof. Sreekumar studied Applied Art at M.S. University, Baroda, and Visual Communication at IDC, IIT Bombay. Since the year 2000, he has been a faculty member at IDC, IIT Bombay as well as a design consultant with many corporate houses.

Since Prof. Sreekumar is an ardent reader, I thought it would be interesting to talk to him about his favourite books and authors. Here are some excerpts from the conversation.

Target Design: In Conversation with Hans-Georg Kasten

Hans-Georg Kasten was one of the three men at Target Design who were responsible for designing the 1980s Suzuki Katana. He is now the Managing Director of Target Design 

Launched in 1981, the Suzuki Katana 1100 had relatively conventional mechanicals – the engine, chassis and suspension were pretty standard for its time – but the styling was radical, and made the motorcycling world sit up and take note. The bike was Japanese, of course, but was designed in Germany by Target Design. There was a three-man team that worked on the Katana’s design: Jan Fellstrom, Hans-Georg Kasten and Hans Muth. Back in 2012, I had an opportunity to do a brief interview with Hans-Georg Kasten, who is now Managing Director of Target Design. Here are some excerpts from that conversation.