Tom Dixon creates custom motorcycle for Moto Guzzi named Tomoto

So we’re stripping down this Moto Guzzi. I am then putting some very rough models on. It’s called Tomoto because it’s a collaboration between me and Moto Guzzi. I’ve always had a passion for motorbikes that are a bit rougher, a bit more workmanlike and multipurpose, and I’ve often preferred motorbikes before they get painted, before they get slicked up, when they’ve been a bit bashed around The reason I’m a designer is because I learned to weld and the reason I learned to weld is because I thought I would repair my motorcycle. I never got round to repairing my motorcycle and I started making things, and that proved to be a completely new career. So the reason I’m a designer is because of my love of motorcycles. There’s a series of advantages with Guzzi, not only that they’re very robust and a relatively simple mechanism. Still unusual in contemporary motorcycles, you’re able to take bits off and the motorbike still runs. The V-twin is also something which is very attractive in many different forms. I think in a world where there are many brands and products, and people are trying to refine things all the time, there’s something nice about something which is a bit rougher, a bit rawer and a bit more personal. So in a lot of things I’m exploring at the moment, it’s how to give a personality or character to an object. Now here it’s just an exercise in materiality where I find that the unpainted petrol tank is more attractive than the slickly painted one. So the materiality will be exposed, the workings of the engine will be exposed. Some of the more complex items have been removed, we’ll lose a bit of weight, which always helps with speed, but it will also just reveal the beauty of the engine and the structures that really have to be there. This is a V7.