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First off, all credit to this awesome blog by Sameer Kumar, here's the link where he's posted an interview with Mark Wells and Ian Wride of Xenophya Design.
www.fasterandfaster.net
Here are the most interesting bits of the interview of which I had to have a say on.
"A 250cc concept bike designed for a bike manufacturer based in India..." says Sameer.
The client list, though a major part of it is confidential, mentions Bajaj Auto. It wouldn't be pretentious to assume this concept, the fairing more importantly resembles our Pulsar 220. I vaguely remember Rajiv Bajaj insisting that the tank of the Pulsar is its most characteristic bit and hence I'm assuming the front half fairing was creased to flow with the tank design. I might be wrong, since I also remember that Glynn Kerr was the design consultant for Bajaj Auto when designing the P220, so if anybody else have better ideas, do pen it down here. So this belief built on assumptions, gives me one reason to worship Xenophya.
Then, this, her, it, whatever. Reason number two, to worship Xenophya!
I'm sure they've nothing to do with the fact that we can't buy the Classic in India, so spare them the brickbats.
Ok. So they were here. Did Bike India or any other mag mention Xenophya anywhere? I'm not sure, so if anybody does remember an article, please let me know.
Coming to the point. They were here. Wouldn't it have been awesome if they had interacted with aspiring designers in this country? Who do you think should take responsiblity for organizing stuff like that? Should we leave everything to NID and sit back with a cuppa? Something has to be done to grab all those last-page-of-maths-classwork-doodler and drop them into formal training as early as 15. We sell so many bikes in this country and yet most of them are drab contraptions that would push all your blood to your head unlike those Italian beauties that push the blood, er.. somewhere below your waist line.
Talking about Italian design,
That to me is a revelation! I thought all those pretty lines on the Ducatis came from years of eating authentic Pizza and drowning your hair in Olive Oil! Come to think of it, it should have been obvious. Designers work towards keeping the spirit of the brand alive and kicking in their design. Designs influenced by their roots is more of a hobby than part of occupation is what I would guess.
Again, due credit to Sameer Kumar for his awesome blog, one thats updated as regular as clockwork compared to what other journos do with their blog.
Faster and Faster
Other 250cc concepts designed for 'that' bike manufacturer based in India...
www.fasterandfaster.net
Here are the most interesting bits of the interview of which I had to have a say on.
"A 250cc concept bike designed for a bike manufacturer based in India..." says Sameer.
The client list, though a major part of it is confidential, mentions Bajaj Auto. It wouldn't be pretentious to assume this concept, the fairing more importantly resembles our Pulsar 220. I vaguely remember Rajiv Bajaj insisting that the tank of the Pulsar is its most characteristic bit and hence I'm assuming the front half fairing was creased to flow with the tank design. I might be wrong, since I also remember that Glynn Kerr was the design consultant for Bajaj Auto when designing the P220, so if anybody else have better ideas, do pen it down here. So this belief built on assumptions, gives me one reason to worship Xenophya.
Then, this, her, it, whatever. Reason number two, to worship Xenophya!
More recently the Royal Enfield Bullet Classic was great fun. Being British, it was a real opportunity for us to work on an old British brand which is one of the longest in continuous production. Royal Enfield really recognise the value in their brand and have made a real effort to embrace it and retain the heritage which I think shows in the product. It also meant we got to travel to India and were introduced to their domestic market which is now a key part of our business.
Ok. So they were here. Did Bike India or any other mag mention Xenophya anywhere? I'm not sure, so if anybody does remember an article, please let me know.
Coming to the point. They were here. Wouldn't it have been awesome if they had interacted with aspiring designers in this country? Who do you think should take responsiblity for organizing stuff like that? Should we leave everything to NID and sit back with a cuppa? Something has to be done to grab all those last-page-of-maths-classwork-doodler and drop them into formal training as early as 15. We sell so many bikes in this country and yet most of them are drab contraptions that would push all your blood to your head unlike those Italian beauties that push the blood, er.. somewhere below your waist line.
Talking about Italian design,
That to me is a revelation! I thought all those pretty lines on the Ducatis came from years of eating authentic Pizza and drowning your hair in Olive Oil! Come to think of it, it should have been obvious. Designers work towards keeping the spirit of the brand alive and kicking in their design. Designs influenced by their roots is more of a hobby than part of occupation is what I would guess.
Again, due credit to Sameer Kumar for his awesome blog, one thats updated as regular as clockwork compared to what other journos do with their blog.
Faster and Faster
Other 250cc concepts designed for 'that' bike manufacturer based in India...
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