Xenophya Towers was host to freelance pen pusher and Sideburn supremo Gary Inman a little while ago. Gary spent the day with us to have a go at clay modelling and have bit of a chat about what we do for a feature in ‘Bike’ magazine. Coinciding with the first road tests of the Triumph Explorer, the feature is published in the May issue which hit the shops this week. Grab a copy for a 3 page spread all about the joys of working at the ‘Phya station.

Thanks to Gary and Bike for the write up, a fun day was had by all.

Bike Magazine

Monday night saw Mark in surroundings which his old teachers at ‘Dartford West’ would never have believed. An invitation was extended to us to give a talk to Eton College’s Design and Engineering Society. It was such a rare opportunity to visit such an historical and prestigous school that we couldn’t pass it up.

Along with friend of the ‘phya, Greg Taylor of GTME, Mark gave a presentation on our design process and how we integrate with Engineers such as Greg to overcome the challenges of creating excellent products that are both functional and desirable.

There was an excellent turnout of enthusiastic boys (who might have been forgiven had they chosen to see the College’s other speakers on the night- Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent CBE!) to see the presentation and get their hands on the selection of prototype parts and components from the Xenophya archive.

Thanks to Jack Williamson, Secretary of the Design and Engineering Society, and Kevin Ross, Head of Design, for the invitation and their kind hospitality.

Help to stop the EU destroying an industry they don’t understand. Motorcycle anti-tampering legislation could prevent owners from modifying their bikes in ANY way and, in turn, massively impact the aftermarket parts industry.  That includes several of our good, long standing customers.

It only takes a minute to put down your name, address and email:

http://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/22251

More details here: http://www.ridersarevoters.org/how-the-eu-anti-tampering-regulation-is-progressing/

One of our most recent and most exciting projects  has now been released.

We were approached in October 2010 to redesign elements of the Explorer after development tests and reviews had deemed the existing prototype unsatisfactory. This was a very fast turnaround project, going from first sketches to a finished clay model in just 12 weeks.

Xenophya were asked to submit design proposals for the fuel tank body work and seats. Initially the team at Xenophya submitted numerous initial design sketches for the product planning team at Triumph to review. The concept drawings presented a range of different design directions as the designers sought to embody a design
direction that emphasises the characteristics of the package.

Soon, a development theme emerged, within this strong image the team identified a number of design elements that support the design theme. We tried to create a dynamic, aggressive and rugged surface treatment to set the Explorer apart from it’s obvious competitors and clearly relating it to its 800cc sized brother. Crossover, SUV typology, taut surfaces, crisp lines, technically crafted details and distinctive graphic elements hopefully give the Explorer the ‘tough, assertive, commanding and quality’ characteristics Triumph were looking for.

After numerous 3-D sketches were created a direction was chosen and an agreement was reached to proceed with a final clay mock-up model. Full-size clay allowed the design team to appreciate immediately the translation of the design theme into reality. At the same time, it enabled the engineers at Triumph to consolidate their structural and component packaging design by monitoring progress on the full-size clay development both visually and by processing the digitised data generated as the clay model developed.

After approval from the senior management team the finished model was next scanned using a white light scanner. Thousands of data points are taken off the surface of the vehicle and the data fed into a CAD modelling programme. The surfacing engineers at Triumph then worked to join up the measurements and create a surface on screen. Xenophya’s designers worked closely with the surfacers to ensure what is being created on the screen remained true to the original design intent.

The team at Xenophya saw months of hard work come to fruition when we visited EICMA in Milan for the unveiling. Initial road tests and reviews have been very positive, with first customers taking delivery in the near future.

Following the recent press coverage, check out these links for more info:

MCN – How the Triumph Explorer 1200 stacks up against rivals

Ash On Bikes – Triumph Tiger Explorer review

VisorDown – First Ride: Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 Review

Mark will be a key note speaker at this years ‘Design means Business’ conference, alongside senior designers from Aston Martin, Nokia and Proctor & Gamble at the Northern Design Centre on 20-21st March 2012.

“‘Design Means Business’ is a national conference designed to communicate and advance the value and benefits of design to businesses and the wider community.

Over two days, the conference aims to inspire and support businesses to engage with design practices and practitioners through passionate keynote speakers and interactive Workshops and Master classes.

Speakers include senior designers from major industrial companies, top design agencies and leading practitioners who share their experiences of design and how it has impacted the bottom line.”

Mark will be giving a presentation on ‘differentiation by sector’. This is a business strategy employed by Xenophya since the early days to separate us from the many skilled design agencies around the world. For more details on the Design means Business conference and information on how to register click here…

Congratulations to Xenophya’s latest recruits, Roy & Tom, for the amazing response from both press and public to their Speed Twin Concept.

Although STILL not quite finished, it achieved over 1000 ‘likes’ on Bike Exif, one of the best responses in the last year. Take a look at the following articles for more info:

Bike Exif

Hell  For Leather

Xenophya Design are chuffed to be celebrating 10 years in business!

We are incredibly proud of all that we have achieved over the last decade – testament to all the hard work and dedication from directors Ian and Mark.

Over the past 10 years, we have gradually increased our reputation in the industry. Expansion in 2007 saw us move into our specially fitted, 280 square metre unit in Cramlingon. In 2011, our biggest year yet, Xenophya Design become a limited company, as well as taking on 3 new designers, Greg, Roy and Tom.

We have recently completed major projects for large companies including Triumph, Royal Enfield and Rieju, and have some very exciting projects in the pipeline (all hush hush at the moment!). We also have some ambitious plans to further grow the company, whilst maintaining our passion for motorcycles and our drive to be the best.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients. We have very much enjoyed working with them and look forward to doing so for many years to come.

Here’s to the next 10 years!

Greg’s had a busy weekend, sculpting this masterpiece in the medium of vegetables. Impressive as it is, we’ll be sticking to clay in future!

A true racer. Super Sic, you will be missed.

The Rieju RS3 125 is out now. It is the culmination of a lot of blood, sweat (tried clay modelling in a Barcelona summer?) and tears but judging by the first reviews the results were worth it…

“The Rieju RS3 125LC looks drop-dead gorgeous through the impressionable eyes of a seventeen year-old. Through slightly more jaundiced eyes (mine) it look pretty good, too. A beautifully fabricated alloy swingarm, upside down forks, radial front caliper and lightweight alloy wheels aren’t the sort of spec’ that you’d expect on a learner bike. In terms of specification the Rieju knocks the opposition into a cocked Arai.”
-Visordown

“If this bike had been about when I was 16 I would happily have sold my parents for it.”
- MCN