Re: Pierre Terblanche ex-Ducati designer joins Royal Enfield

This news is really big. A designer of such high reputation has been hired by an Indian brand and is been neglected or is bashed with negative comments is disheartening.

Re: Pierre Terblanche ex-Ducati designer joins Royal Enfield

I totally agree with you bro...few are taking this as time pass. RE has taken a huge step in the direct they are going. I can only dream that one day, I should see bikes matching the HD.

Re: Pierre Terblanche ex-Ducati designer joins Royal Enfield

We all wish the same bro.

Re: Pierre Terblanche ex-Ducati designer joins Royal Enfield

So, should we expect Modern Design fused with the Classic cruiser character? If they really made this guy do his heart out, this will take RE to all new levels.
I wish for a better designed Cafe racer and a TB 535.

Re: Pierre Terblanche ex-Ducati designer joins Royal Enfield

I don't think that he's here to retire. Instead, I think we can expect new RE's to be better designed by a good margin.

RE have something on their mind, because:


* hiring specifically this guy is not the cheapest way to handle design department. Think about it. Why the best guy only?
* why would they do that, when their existing production units have strong sales, so much that demand is not fulfilled at any time?


I believe they're concerned about the future. And given that I saw Street 750 in a city like Ajmer itself, RE does have a threat. If small now then it may be bigger later on. And something gives me a feeling that KTM will also threaten RE's sales. Not to mention the 500 and 650 by Honda.

Loyalists are very important, but they're often not a huge number, and the company can't count on their loyalty if the competition gets better.
A Company's survival plan has to be bigger than just counting on a bunch of flag holders.



And finally, this guy won't retire from Europe to India, there are closer places to Europe for retiring peacefully.



See, Cafe Racer wasn't quite expected from the company a few years before its launch. But it did happen, right? And may I say, for a company like RE, Cafe Racer 535 is a radical overhaul, given that the company hardly changes engines and technical aspects... Maybe years later we might have iconic cruisers from RE, probably multicylinder and hugely different from present products. Then RE will be iconic & this moment of the past won't matter much.


PS: Although my bigger fear is, would this guy be able to gel up in the Indian work culture?

Re: Pierre Terblanche ex-Ducati designer joins Royal Enfield

Being negative seems to be the latest trend now a days, observing it everywhere. For me this sounds like a very good news and step in the right direction.

Re: Pierre Terblanche ex-Ducati designer joins Royal Enfield

The Thunderbirds have done a world of good to RE. But seems, they are now somewhat threatened by newer entrants. They have to try something new. It's 'Survival of the fittest'!
Nevertheless, the end user will get benefited the most here.

Re: Pierre Terblanche ex-Ducati designer joins Royal Enfield


RE's entire linup is old (the Conti gt is retro and that means old). The bikes while still very appealing to loyalists have begun to look dated. Not to mention the fact that they lack the feeling of nostalgia now (my personal opinion). Maybe now that one of the best designers in the world has joined RE maybe they'll finally make their linup of international standard.
We can only hope.