From the April 2017 issue
Gordon Platto joined Ford more than 25 years ago and has worked as a designer on everything from minivans to the Mustang. Since 2011, he?s been the chief designer for the F-series and the Explorer. Away from the office, he turns his eye to vintage motorcycles, with a collection that currently includes the 1948 Indian and the 1931 Harley-Davidson pictured here, as well as a 1978 Kawasaki KZ650, and more.
C/D: You?ve certainly got the ends of the size spectrum covered.
GP: Trucks and motorcycles seem to go together. A lot of the people we get rotating through the studio either have a motorcycle when they come in or end up having one when they leave. Willie Davidson [the former head of design for Harley-Davidson] actually did an internship at Ford. He was always a hero of mine, and through the Ford/Harley alliance, we became good friends. We?ve ridden to Sturgis together. After he retired, one of the guys who used to work for me on trucks, Brad Richards, took over Willie?s position at Harley-Davidson. C/D: What draws you specifically to older bikes"
GP: They?re a lot of fun because everything?s so mechanical. You can hear which gear you?re in. They [the Indian and the Harley] both have foot clutches on the left, but the shifters are on opposite sides. They both have the spark advance on the same side as the shifter, and the throttle on the opposite. They?re archaic, but it becomes second nature. You just gotta remember which one you?re on. And t...