Retrotrials.com was priveledged to meet Jordi Permanyer . Mr Permanyer allowed us an interview and also showed us around his family's motorcycle collection which is now on display at the Museum de la Ciencia i de la de Catalunya in Terrassa. We were also lucky enough to be accompanied behind the scenes in the museum's private areas, and shown some of the Montesa exhibits not on display.
Fans of off road motorcycle sport will immediately recognise the name Permanyer as being the surname of Montesa founder Pere Permanyer . Pere Permanyer was the founder and owner of one of the key stones of the Spanish motorcycle industry , in fact the largest independant Spanish motorcycle manufacturer , Montesa .
Pere's son Jordi Permanyer gives a unique perspective and recalls his earliest experiences with Montesa , working for Montesa as factory manager , right through to the talks with Honda , that he helped negotiate. He describes his father's character which , as you will discover is usually misinterpreted. Jordi also talks about family life , the challenges , his favourite role in Montesa , the company strategy , the success , the profits , the bikes and his fathers relationship with Paco Bulto , before and after Bultaco was formed.
It an interesting interview interspersed with many many photos of the Permanyer family's private motorcycle collection. In fact there are so many photos of this wonderful motorcycles collection that they will be presented on a separate page as well. You will find the link at the end of this interview .
The Permanyer collection also includes details of all Montesas that were sold before the company became Montesa- Honda. They have each record for each motorcycle identifiable through the chassis number. They also have a vast collection of thousands and thousands of photographs, catalogs, references and trophies.
The interview also features photos provided to Retrotrials by Jordi Permanyer.
Fans of off road motorcycle sport will immediately recognise the name Permanyer as being the surname of Montesa founder Pere Permanyer . Pere Permanyer was the founder and owner of one of the key stones of the Spanish motorcycle industry , in fact the largest independant Spanish motorcycle manufacturer , Montesa .
Pere's son Jordi Permanyer gives a unique perspective and recalls his earliest experiences with Montesa , working for Montesa as factory manager , right through to the talks with Honda , that he helped negotiate. He describes his father's character which , as you will discover is usually misinterpreted. Jordi also talks about family life , the challenges , his favourite role in Montesa , the company strategy , the success , the profits , the bikes and his fathers relationship with Paco Bulto , before and after Bultaco was formed.
It an interesting interview interspersed with many many photos of the Permanyer family's private motorcycle collection. In fact there are so many photos of this wonderful motorcycles collection that they will be presented on a separate page as well. You will find the link at the end of this interview .
The Permanyer collection also includes details of all Montesas that were sold before the company became Montesa- Honda. They have each record for each motorcycle identifiable through the chassis number. They also have a vast collection of thousands and thousands of photographs, catalogs, references and trophies.
The interview also features photos provided to Retrotrials by Jordi Permanyer.
Retrotrial's opinion
I can't tell you how excited Josep and I were , in anticipation of getting this interview underway. Its not every day that you get to meet , and talk bikes with a member of the Permanyer family , whilst he shows you around his collection. To put it into perspective , i love history , but i am passionate about Spanish motorcycle even more !. Meeting Jordi Permanyer is equivalent to meeting the Spanish motorcycle industry's Royal family.
Over the years my love of Montesa has grown. Initially my journey into the World of Retrotrials followed the path of the more obscure marques somehow disregarding the larger companies as being corporate drones .But as time has passed i have been introduced to some wonderful characters from the larger firms and have visited some amazing places dripping with motorcycle history from these larger Spanish companies.
Like a slow cooker , over the years my former belief has been changed .I've learned from witnesses that passion is not exclusive to companies with a small turnover. Everyone struggled to make it big. Everyone followed a dream and whilst some lost , some ....a few , succeeded and became financially viable. Talking to these passionate men and women, hearing their stories, seeing their screwed up faces describing the competition , difficulties and determination and the success at the end of a hard fought year simply inspires me. The passion of Pere Pi is something i will never forget. He has Montesa oil forging through his veins and a Cota engine for a heart. If you criticized Montesa to his face i swear his eyes would cut into you , then blast you with words, winning your heart. This passion can soften the hardest ,most resolved and narrow minded man into believing .
Occasionally you feel as though you've left their company with part of them , branded on you .After hearing their story of having NOTHING, leading onto what they achieved you feel that the World really is your oyster and that "I can do anything".
Reading it here is one thing , but hearing the voice of many of these die hard Motorcycle winners is incredible.
Over the years my love of Montesa has grown. Initially my journey into the World of Retrotrials followed the path of the more obscure marques somehow disregarding the larger companies as being corporate drones .But as time has passed i have been introduced to some wonderful characters from the larger firms and have visited some amazing places dripping with motorcycle history from these larger Spanish companies.
Like a slow cooker , over the years my former belief has been changed .I've learned from witnesses that passion is not exclusive to companies with a small turnover. Everyone struggled to make it big. Everyone followed a dream and whilst some lost , some ....a few , succeeded and became financially viable. Talking to these passionate men and women, hearing their stories, seeing their screwed up faces describing the competition , difficulties and determination and the success at the end of a hard fought year simply inspires me. The passion of Pere Pi is something i will never forget. He has Montesa oil forging through his veins and a Cota engine for a heart. If you criticized Montesa to his face i swear his eyes would cut into you , then blast you with words, winning your heart. This passion can soften the hardest ,most resolved and narrow minded man into believing .
Occasionally you feel as though you've left their company with part of them , branded on you .After hearing their story of having NOTHING, leading onto what they achieved you feel that the World really is your oyster and that "I can do anything".
Reading it here is one thing , but hearing the voice of many of these die hard Motorcycle winners is incredible.
The point i am trying to make , is that Montesa had passion in bundles.
Passion for competition and passion for manufacturing.
Passion for competition and passion for manufacturing.
The meet -
Parking can be difficult in Terrasa , but not when your a little late. The choice where to pay an expensive road side meter becomes easy. And so Josep and I left our abandoned car and entered the building where Jordi Permanyer was waiting. We entered the foyer of the museum and we made a phone call through to Mr Permanyer . He then appeared from the museum to meet us .
Mr Permanyer is a major contributor to his museum and as a result is known to many of the staff here. He let a couple of staff members know that we were with him and where we were going and we followed him in to the Museum de la Ciencia i de la de Catalunya. |
As we walked , we talked and he introduced us to the museum
As is usual with Retrotrials.com interview , the interviewee text is in black and any editorial is in blue coloured text.
The Interview and all interviewee words are typed up word for word. If you want a more realistic experience crack open some olives and ask your partner to read it out in her best Spanish accent :).
As is usual with Retrotrials.com interview , the interviewee text is in black and any editorial is in blue coloured text.
The Interview and all interviewee words are typed up word for word. If you want a more realistic experience crack open some olives and ask your partner to read it out in her best Spanish accent :).
Meet Jordi Permanyer
Remember - The interviewee text is in black and any editorial is in blue coloured text.
Please remember that this interview flows back and forth through the years. From the old days to more recent times , then back to the old days. This is often how conversations sometimes materialise .I have presented this interview in this original way without editing the structure in order to preserve its integrity.
Please remember that this interview flows back and forth through the years. From the old days to more recent times , then back to the old days. This is often how conversations sometimes materialise .I have presented this interview in this original way without editing the structure in order to preserve its integrity.
This place was an old woollen textile factory from the beginning of the 19th century. At this time the textile industry was very big and popular.There was a large textile industry in this area and they exported a lot of products to Europe and further afield. This factory was called “The Vapor”, because of the steam engines that provided the power. It completed the entire process and produced finished garments from raw materials.
The construction is very very nice with some beautiful features. The factory changed its purpose in 1990 and became the Museum de la Ciencia i de la de Catalunya.
This is science and technology museum and is a great Centre and Hub for the education of people within the area. Many school children visit each day and learn from the many permanent and temporary exhibitions on display here.