A Quick Chat with Kevin Schwantz

No. 34, Kevin Schwantz, the most spectacular rider on the track in the 1980s

In 2006, when I was working for BIKE India magazine in Pune, I had an opportunity to do a (very brief) interview with Kevin Schwantz, winner of the 500cc motorcycle grand prix road racing world championship in 1993. While some other riders have won more world championships and have more race wins to their name, Schwantz’s flamboyant riding style and his all-or-nothing approach to motorcycle racing stand out to this day – something that legions of his fans will attest to. I have been a huge Schwantz fan ever since the late-1980s, when I first started watching motorcycle racing on television (and sometimes on video cassettes, whenever I could get my hands on those) and often found myself rooting for the Suzuki rider.

This particular interview with Schwantz, which I did in 2006 on behalf of BIKE India, is super-short but I still wanted to preserve it, hence posting it here, hoping it’ll remain here forever.  

Thunder from Down Under: In Conversation with Casey Stoner

Aussie rider Casey Stoner won his last MotoGP world championship in 2011, with Honda

In 2012, I had an opportunity to interview then-reigning MotoGP world champion, Casey Stoner, a month after he’d announced his retirement from the sport. Here are some excerpts from that conversation.

MotoGP represents the most formidable form of closed-circuit motorcycle road racing. With 1000cc engines that produce up to 330-horsepower, MotoGP bikes weigh less than 160 kilos and hit top speeds of about 350km/h. In recent years, advanced electronics and traction control systems have made it a tiny bit easier to control these machines, but you still need superhuman talent to ride these beasts at competitive speeds around some of the most demanding, challenging race circuits in the world.

MotoGP is a demanding sport – physically and mentally – and those who race in MotoGP are some of most capable athletes in the world. Australian rider Casey Stoner, with his two world championships, is right up there with the best. Riding for Ducati, he took an amazing 10 race wins in 2007, winning his first MotoGP world championship, and repeated the feat in 2011, winning his second championship with Honda.

Now 27 years old, Stoner is widely considered to be the fastest man in the world on two wheels – one of the most talented motorcycle racers of his time. In a shock move, Casey announced that he will retire from MotoGP at the end of the 2012 season. In this interview that I did with him [on behalf of Man’s World magazine], Stoner talks about the sport he loves most, the changes he thinks it needs and his rivalry with Valentino ‘The Doctor’ Rossi. Here are some excerpts:

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.

The Lensman: In Conversation with Pradeep Chandra

Based in Bombay, Pradeep Chandra is a senior photojournalist who has worked with the Times of India for more than 25 years. He has also worked for a host of other newspapers and magazines and is the author of five books, three of which are on megastar Amitabh Bachchan. His latest book, Amitabh Bachchan: The Forever Star, was released in 2022. I had an opportunity to speak to Pradeep about his work as a photojournalist and an author, his books and the experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan. Here are some excerpts from that 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.

In Conversation with His Excellency Prashant Agrawal, Ambassador of India to Laos

During the time when he was serving as Indian Ambassador to Namibia, Mr Prashant Agrawal led The Cheetah Project, for reintroducing the Cheetah to India after a gap of more than seven decades

I like speaking to people who are ardent readers and who love books – such people often have interesting perspectives on not just books but also life in general. The conversations that I have with such people, some of which I post here on this website, often make for interesting reading.

Some time ago, I had an opportunity to catch up with His Excellency Mr Prashant Agrawal, Ambassador of India to Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), who loves to read and has an eclectic taste in books. Currently based in Vientiane, the national capital of Laos, Mr Agrawal is a senior diplomat, who joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1998. In addition to having served in various capacities in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, he has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission and India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to UNESCAP in Thailand, and India’s Consul General to Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. Before taking up his current assignment in Laos, Mr Agrawal was serving as India’s High Commissioner to Namibia, where he successfully initiated and led Project Cheetah, aimed at reintroducing the Cheetah in India.

Despite a packed schedule and a hectic pace of life, Mr Agrawal – who also has a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Kanpur – retains his love for books and reading, which has been dear to his heart since his school and college days. I had an opportunity to ask him a few questions about his early days, his love for reading, the books he likes and the authors whose work he likes. Here are some excerpts from the conversation.

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.

From the Archives: In Conversation with John McGuinness

John 'Morecambe Missile' McGuinness has won an incredible 23 races at the Isle of Man

For anyone who loves motorcycles and motorcycle racing, John McGuinness needs no introduction. Also known as the ‘Morecambe Missile,’ Guinness is one of the most successful motorcycle road racers, an Isle of Man specialist, having won an incredible 23 races at the most difficult, most dangerous road racing circuit in the world. Only Joey Dunlop and Michael Dunlop have won more races at the Isle of Man, while both McGuinness and Mike Hailwood have an equal number of Senior TT wins at the IoM, at seven races each.

Born in Morecambe, Lancashire, in the UK, McGuinness started competing in motocross at the age of seven and had his first taste of road racing in 1990, at the age of 18. His first race at the Isle of Man was in 1996, on a Honda RS250 and since then he’s won 23 races and is still going strong, having taken 5^th place in the Senior TT at this year’s Isle of Man races, at the age of 52.

I had an opportunity to interview John McGuinness back in 2012, for Faster and Faster, a motorcycle website I used to run at that time. That website no longer exists but I wanted to preserve this interview, hence posting it here, where I hope it’ll remain forever. It goes without saying that I’m a huge fan of McGuinness. Anyone who races 200bhp, 300kph motorcycles at the IoM has to be barking mad and McGuinness is right up there with the maddest of the mad. But anyway, here’s my little interview with the great man.

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.

American Biker: In Conversation with Erik Buell

Erik Buell, genius engineer and builder of some truly unique motorcycles

The United States doesn’t have much of a domestic sportsbike industry. European and Japanese sportsbikes and superbikes are popular in the US, but American manufacturers like Harley-Davidson and Indian stick to making cruisers and touring bikes. For the last four decades, however, one American has been trying his damnedest to change that. He has taken some pretty hard knocks along the way and his company has gone bust more than once. But like an extra-resilient phoenix, he rises from the ashes again, again and again. Most would have given up a long time ago. Not Erik Buell though. The man is indomitable.

Let’s Talk Mutual Funds: In Conversation with Monika Halan

Financial expert and widely respected journalist and book author, Monika Halan talks about investing in mutual funds and the pitfalls that investors should avoid

Ups and downs, highs and lows – they’re all part of life. That’s alright as long as one remembers to prepare for the lows when riding the highs. And financial prudence – proper financial planning – is an important part of that. If I have one deep regret in life, it’s the fact that I paid no attention at all to planning my financial future when I was young. In the early years of my career, I spent money like there was no tomorrow and made no effort to save anything, much less invest any of whatever little I earned.

While I started working in my early-20s, I only started thinking about saving and investing money when I was already in my mid-40s – a colossal mistake. But in any case, even if it was already very, very late, I did realise my mistake and set about rectifying the situation as best as I could. And for me, that was investing in mutual funds, which has since then provided me with some decent returns. I’ll never make up for those 20 years I lost – spending indiscriminately when I should have been saving and investing. But for whatever little it’s worth, I hope I’ve mended my ways for good and now there might perhaps be some hope for my financial future.

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.

Western Media Narratives on India: In Conversation with Umesh Upadhyay

Published earlier this year, Western Media Narratives on India: From Gandhi to Modi explores how cultural imperialism influences the Third-World nations. ‘Media in the hands of the former colonizers that wish to maintain their sway has become a tool to dictate people’s thoughts. Focussed on India, this narrative spans from the nation’s independence in 1947 to the present day, scrutinizing the relentless targeting of Indian leadership by the dominant Western English media. With time, these attacks have intensified, particularly on a resurgent India,’ says the publisher’s note.

In Conversation with Bishwanath Ghosh

Bishwanath’s books provide unique and very interesting snapshots of life in Calcutta, Madras, Banaras and across other, smaller, towns in India. He is one of my favourite authors and I've read all his books over the last few years

Based in Calcutta, Bishwanath Ghosh is an Associate Editor with The Hindu. He’s been a journalist for three decades and has earlier worked with The Times of India and with New Sunday Express. In addition to his work with newspapers, he is a bestselling author and his books – Aimless in Banaras, Gazing at Neighbours, Longing Belonging, Tamarind City and Chai, Chai – have garnered all-around acclaim and have earned huge praise from readers everywhere. Personally, I’m a huge fan of his books, all of which I’ve read and enjoyed over the last few years. Some time ago, I managed to get in touch with Bishwanath and asked him he would be willing to answer a few questions that I had for him. He agreed, which was very kind of him. So, here are some excerpts from that conversation, where Bishwanath talks about his work, what inspires him to write and what is it about being a successful author that makes him happiest.