Bert Hopwood, renowned British motorcycle designer, died in 1996, aged around 87 years.
Hopwood left school early 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 that influenced many later designs.
Hopwood’s success led to an offer from the rival Norton in April 1947, where he designed the 500cc engine. This came to an acrimonious end when Technical Director Joe Craig refused to release the complete machine for production, based on the allegation that the engine lacked power and the performance was below par. It was subsequently produced, following modifications to the cylinder head, after Hopwood had left the company.
In May 1948 Hopwood joined BSA, which subsequently purchased Triumph in 1951. Then, in April 1955, he returned to Norton under the aegis of AMC. When Gilbert Smith retired in 1958, Hopwood and the financial director, Alec Skinner, were allowed to take this part of AMC forward. With Doug Hele as Chief Engineer, good results were achieved. However, the parent company absorbed 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. Hopwood was installed as Triumph Director and General Manager.
Hopwood retired in the 1970’s.