Bert Hopwood

British motorcycle designer

Bert Hopwood

Born| 1908

United Kingdom

Died| 17 October 1996
Nationality| British
Occupation| Motorcycle Designer

Herbert Hopwood (1908 – 17 October 1996) was a British motorcycle designer. He was, at least, partly responsible for some of the most influential designs for the British motorcycle industry and worked for Ariel, Norton, BSA and Triumph.[1]

## Motorcycle design career

[edit]

Hopwood left school at an early age to work for Ariel under designer Val Page. Following Jack Sangster's purchase of Triumph in 1936, Hopwood moved there under Edward Turner and assisted with the design of the Triumph Speed Twin which influenced many motorcycles of the time and since. His success led to an offer from rival manufacturer Norton in April 1947, where he designed the 500cc Norton Dominator engine. This came to a somewhat acrimonious end when the Technical Director, Joe Craig, refused to release the complete machine for production, despite Norton's financial situation. This was based on the allegation that the engine lacked power and the performance was below par as a result. It was subsequently produced, following serious modifications to the cylinder head, after Hopwood had left the company.[2]

In May 1948 he joined BSA,[3] which subsequently purchased Triumph in 1951. April 1955 found him at Norton once more, still with Gilbert Smith as MD, but now under the aegis of AMC at Woolwich. When Gibert Smith retired in 1958, Hopwood and the financial director at Bracebridge Street, Alec Skinner, were allowed to get on with taking this part of AMC forward with much improved results. Together with Doug Hele, as Chief Engineer, good results were achieved. However this was to no avail, as the parent company was in a situation which absorbed all the modest profits made by Norton & Francis-Barnett, the only profitable members of AMC. With the AMC implosion imminent, both Hopwood and Hele left for BSA-Triumph. Recruited by Edward Turner in May 1961, supposedly as his successor, Hopwood was installed as Triumph Director and General Manager.

The Norton Dominator, BSA Golden Flash and the BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident motorcycles were amongst the best known Hopwood designs.

## Writing career

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Hopwood wrote Whatever Happened to the British Motor Cycle Industry which was published in 1981 by Haynes.[4] A significant work of 315 pages with hundreds of illustrations, it was intended to provide a definitive account of the demise of the British motorcycle industry but has been described by reviewers as an "autobiography of Bert Hopwood, who attempts to distance himself from the events leading up to the industry's demise."[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Currie, Bob (1993). Classic British Motorcycles. Chancellor Press. ISBN 1-85152-250-6.
2. ^ "Norton Dominator" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
3. ^ "The BSA Owners' Club Library archives". Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
4. ^ ISBN 0-85429-241-1
5. ^ "Whatever Happened to the British Motor Cycle Industry? by Bert Hopwood". Retrieved 20 December 2008.

## External links

[edit]

* Comments from his book on the collapse of the British motorcycle industry
* Bert Hopwood and the Norton Dominator
* Doug Hele on Bert Hopwood
* Reference to the "late Bert Hopwood"

* v
* t
* e

Triumph motorcycles (Coventry/Meriden)

See also: Triumph motorcycles (Hinckley)

Post-war
motorcycles|

| 1000 cc|

* Quadrant

|

750 cc|

* T140 Bonneville
* T140 TSX
* T140W TSS
* T150 Trident
* T160 Trident
* TR7 Tiger
* TR7T Tiger Trail
* X-75 Hurricane

650 cc|

* T120 Bonneville
* Thunderbird
* 6T
* TR6 Trophy
* TR65
* TR65 Thunderbird
* TR65T Tiger Trail

600 cc|

* Daytona 600

500 cc|

* TR5 Trophy
* 5TA Speed Twin
* Tiger 100
* T100
* Tiger Daytona T100T
* Tiger T110

350 cc|

* Twenty One
* 3TA
* T90
* Bandit

250 cc|

* Tigress (250 cc)
* TR25W Trophy
* T25T Trail Blazer
* T25SS Trail Blazer SS

200 cc|

* T20 Tiger Cub

150 cc|

* T15 Terrier

Two
stroke|

* Tina T10
* Tigress (175 cc)

Pre-war
motorcycles|

| 650 cc|

* 6/1

|

550 cc|

* Model H

500 cc|

* Ricardo
* 5T Speed Twin
* T100 Tiger

350 cc|

* Tiger 80

Designers|

* Doug Hele
* Bert Hopwood
* Norman Hyde
* Brian Jones
* Val Page
* Edward Turner

Other|

* Les Harris
* List of Triumph motorcycles
* Norton Villiers Triumph
* Triumph Bonneville

* v
* t
* e

BSA motorcycles

Post-war
motorcycles|

| 750 cc|

* A70 Lightning
* A75 Rocket 3

|

650 cc|

* A10 series
* A10 Golden Flash
* A10 Road Rocket
* A10 Rocket Gold Star
* A10 Spitfire Scrambler
* A10 Super Flash
* A10 Super Rocket
* A65 Firebird Scrambler
* A65 Hornet
* A65 Lightning
* A65 Lightning Clubman
* A65 Lightning Rocket
* A65 Spitfire
* A65 Spitfire Hornet
* A65 Rocket
* A65 Star
* A65 Thunderbolt
* T65 Thunderbolt
* Unit twins

500 cc|

* A7
* A7S Star Twin
* A7SS Shooting Star
* A50 Cyclone
* A50 Royal Star
* A50 Wasp
* B33
* B50MX Moto Cross
* B50SS Gold Star
* B50T Victor Trail
* BB34 Gold Star
* CB34 Gold Star
* DB34 Gold Star
* DBD34 Gold Star
* Gold Star Catalina
* M20
* Unit twins
* ZB34 Gold Star

441 cc|

* B 44
* B44 Shooting Star
* B44 Victor Enduro
* B44 Victor GP
* B44 Victor Roadster
* B44 Victor Special

350 cc|

* B31
* B40 Star
* B40 Sportsman SS90
* B40 WD
* BB32 Gold Star
* CB32 Gold Star
* DB32 Gold Star
* Fury
* ZB32 Gold Star

250 cc|

* B25FS Fleetstar
* B25 Starfire
* B25SS Gold Star 250
* B25T Victor Trail 250
* C11
* C12
* C15 Star
* BSA C15 Sportsman SS80
* C15 Starfire
* C25 Barracuda
* Sunbeam

Two
stroke|

* Bantam
* Sunbeam

Pre-war
motorcycles|

| 770 cc|

* Model E

|

600 cc|

* M33-10
* M34-12
* M34-13

500 cc|

* M20
* Q8 Empire Star
* Sloper
* W33-7
* W33-8 Blue Star

350 cc|

* Model L
* R5 Empire Star
* R33-5 Blue Star

250 cc|

* B21
* B22 Empire Star
* B33-3 Blue Star
* C11

Designers|

* Doug Hele
* David Garside
* Bert Hopwood
* Val Page
* Edward Turner

Other|

* BSA Company
* BSA motorcycles
* Birmingham Small Arms Company
* List of BSA motorcycles
* Norton Villiers Triumph

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States

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