I couldn't even study Spanish in high school. But thanks to Harley-Davidson, the students at Tomahawk Wisconsin can learn how to build motorcycles from scratch. More specifically, the 'Hatchet Choppers' teamed up with Harley to learn about tech skills as a byproduct of assembling motorcycles.
Speaking about the formation of the Hatchet Choppers, Mentor and Harley-Davidson employee, Jim Brown, said, “I called BuildMoto and I contacted them and said, ‘I noticed all your teams are in Milwaukee, we’re up here in Tomahawk, can we have a team?’”
After this conversation, it wasn't long before the Hatchet Choppers were tasked with turning a street-legal motorcycle into a flat tracker. All of this is done in conjunction with Build Moto, which is a non-profit organization that helps to build trade and life skills through motorcycle fabrication and lays the foundations of the build competition.
The project is an opportunity that most of you reading this would likely jump for, but this program offers the Tomahawk students something far more than a cool experience.
"Welding, fabrication, repair, and design. So that’s one main thing that we’ve been working on and continue to be working on,” Tomahawk HS Senior Makayla Schiltz said, before adding, "Being a senior, being able to leave this to the younger classmen, is a cool experience... It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You might not ever get this opportunity ever again.”
So, while students are having the time of their lives building racing machines, they're also building experience that could lead to a career in engineering or R&D. And for those who want to end up in the motorcycle industry, this couldn't be a better opportunity.
“Right now, there’s a lot of job openings in engineering that aren’t being filled because people aren’t going down that path,” Brown added. “Some people might see this as a way that they might get involved in the engineering process.”
I don't just think this is a great idea for students, I think it's a brilliant play by Harley too. By providing mentorship to the next generation of riders, Harley could capture the attention of the next wave of riders. And this is a brand that needs it because its demographic is aging out of motorcycling.
But even if these projects don't convert the next generation into Harley buyers, they could produce the engineers Harley needs to help the brand become relevant once more. Essentially, Harley is investing in its own future. And that's good for everyone.
