About us

Tom Simpson | Owner | Designer | Builder | Barista ! 

Tom was a blacksmith with an interest in motorcycles that stretched back to when he grasstracked on mopeds around a field. 

“The seed of my bike obsession took hold when my dad brought home a knackered Suzuki GT250 Ram Air,” he says. He’d been given it as part payment for some work but couldn’t get it going so after a lot of pestering it was given to me. My uncle and I got it to start, but a stripdown found a bent con-rod.

“That was it for that bike but I was hooked. Smoking around on a mate’s GS500 was the precursor to my first big bike, a Hornet 600. Then, when I was into my blacksmith work fulltime, I was also riding, welding hardtails, making occasional bits and gradually it progressed into full time work.”

What makes Foundry Motorcycle machinery stand out is Tom’s philosophy to incorporate new ideas with every build. “By not formalising what I do it means that it keeps everything fresh. I love coming to work and I try to build different things.”

But how does Tom define his style? “I think my smithy background comes through. It’s more organic rather than bolt-on. Most of the stuff on my bikes I make right here. I always make the exhausts flow in a particular way. I make all my own subframes. If I keep building the same over and over I could make more money but each time I try to do something, it’s different.”

Thank you to Built Magazine for the interview and write up on Foundry Motorcycle, you can read the full story here.