Some engineering careers start in a lecture hall. Gavin Hardman’s started on a farm, with a nine-year-old boy, a spanner, and an engine his dad handed him with a warning: “Take that one apart, because I don’t want you taking anything else apart.”
That single act of childhood curiosity set in motion a career that has taken Gavin from the fields of Simonstone in the Ribble Valley to the top of one of Britain’s most beloved motorcycle brands.
Today, as Triumph Motorcycles’ Director – Design (Engineering Services), he leads engineering teams spanning the UK, Thailand, India and Spain — and he credits Coventry University with giving him the foundation to get there.
A Hands-On Start
Long before he was designing components that would end up on production motorbikes, Gavin was the kid who couldn’t leave machinery alone. Tractors, engines, anything with moving parts, if it could be taken apart, he’d take it apart. Evenings spent restoring classic cars in local garages turned that instinct into genuine skill, and by the time he arrived at Coventry University to study Automotive Engineering, he was one of the first in his family to go into higher education.
It was a decision that paid off in ways he couldn’t have predicted.
Where Theory Meets the Real World
Gavin is quick to point out that what made Coventry University’s course so valuable wasn’t just the engineering theory — it was learning how to use it. His year in industry, spent at Triumph Motorcycles itself, proved pivotal.
“You learn a lot of engineering theory, but the value is knowing how to apply it,” he says. “Coventry University prepared me really well for that. The year in industry helped me take what I’d learned and actually use it properly. I came back for my final year more organised, more driven and much clearer about what mattered.”
That placement wasn’t just a stepping stone into the industry, it was his foot in the door at the very company he’d go on to help shape for decades.
Even now, years into a career built on cutting-edge technology, Gavin returns to the fundamentals. “We genuinely use them,” he says of the solid mechanics, forces and vectors he learned as a student — alongside something just as important: the soft skills. “A lot of my job now is management, and the principles we were taught still apply. Group work taught me how to operate as part of a team, and that’s been invaluable throughout my career.”
And university gave him more than technical grounding — it gave him lifelong friendships, forged over shared passions like grass-track racing, many of whom have gone on to build their own engineering careers alongside him.
A Career Built on Landmark Motorcycles
Gavin’s career reads like a highlight reel of modern Triumph history. He helped redesign the iconic Bonneville range. He engineered the frame of the Daytona 675 — now regarded as a modern classic, and a bike he still owns and cherishes. He led electrification work on Project Triumph TE-1, the brand’s pioneering electric motorcycle initiative. Along the way, spells overseas with KTM in Austria and HeroCorp in India broadened his understanding of motorcycle cultures across the globe, experience he now brings back home to Triumph.
But ask him what still stands out, and it’s not necessarily the biggest project — it’s the personal milestones.
“I still remember the first component I ever designed — a small bar-end weight — and the feeling of seeing it on a production bike. That was as satisfying as anything I’ve done since,” he reflects. “Being responsible for the frame of the first-generation Daytona 675 was a real highlight — as a chassis engineer that’s about as good as it gets.”
As his career has evolved into leadership, so has his sense of fulfilment. “Moving into management brought new rewards. One of the most satisfying parts is seeing people in my team grow into senior roles. Opening new global facilities has also been incredibly rewarding.”
Timeless Fundamentals in a Fast-Changing Industry
Few people are better placed than Gavin to comment on how engineering is evolving — and he’s clear that the fundamentals still matter, even as the industry embraces software and electrification.
“Software-enabled vehicles are a major part of the automotive future, and working in this space means understanding how electrical, electronic and hardware systems come together in increasingly complex ways,” he explains. “But core engineering skills still matter. Solid mechanics, materials and processes don’t disappear — software and electronics can’t function without the hardware people interact with. The real skill lies in integrating both.”
It’s a mindset built on adaptability.
“We’re living through unprecedented technical change — from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles — and even in motorcycles there’s now software and hardware integration that didn’t exist when I was a student, so we have to keep learning. Even in my role, I’m still constantly learning.”
His Advice to Future Engineers: Get Stuck In
For anyone dreaming of a career like his, Gavin’s message is refreshingly simple.
“I’m always looking for engineers with hands-on practical experience as well as academic theory. If you get opportunities outside your lectures — projects, clubs, hobbies — take them. I want to see that you understand things with your hands, not just on paper.”
And after more than two decades in the industry, his enthusiasm hasn’t dimmed one bit.
“Engineering has been an incredible career for me. It’s rewarding — you get to see what you’ve created, and there’s nothing better than seeing the smile on someone’s face when they ride a motorbike you helped bring to life.”
From a farm in Simonstone to the design studios shaping Triumph’s electric future, Gavin Hardman’s journey is a brilliant reminder that curiosity, hands-on graft and a solid engineering education can take you anywhere, even to the very top of a brand loved the world over. Coventry University is proud to count him among its graduates, and prouder still that his story might just inspire the next generation of engineers to pick up a spanner and start taking things apart.
Ready to start your own career in engineering? Find out more at: https://www.coventry.ac.uk/course-structure/ug/eec/automotive-engineering-mengbeng-hons/
