Schoolyard Motorworks project constructs custom motorcycle
By Carol South, Herald contributing writer

"It's gonna roar!"

Solemnly perched on a workbench, with the custom bike they are building taking center stage, students on the Schoolyard Motorworks build team watched the steady flow of traffic. Showing off their hard work Thursday evening during a Bike Night open house fund-raiser, these TBA's Career Tech Center students were proud of the many hours designing and building a custom motorcycle.

The event drew hundreds of interested people for a glimpse of the under-construction bike. Attendees also checked out the concept vehicle designed and built by Dan Webb, enjoyed music by K. Jones and the Benzie Playboyz, feasted on desserts made by students at the school and checked out the sponsor tables.

But the star of the show was the bike, whose gleaming, unpainted aluminum promised better things to come: namely a debut in January at the Michigan Custom Motorcycle Show followed by a gig in March at the Detroit Autorama custom vehicle competition. The project culminates with a raffle drawing in May, with all the proceeds - an ambitious plan of $75,000 from ticket sales - to benefit the Father Fred Foundation.

Heady stuff for these juniors and seniors in high school, but they took it all in stride.

"I ride and I like this bike, it's going to be wild!" continued Karsheena Kuelske, a senior member of the build team. "We had somebody build the engine, we built pretty much everything except the engine. We just finished the fuel tank today - this morning."

The dozen or so members of the bike build team are relishing this unique opportunity. When they come to school for either the morning or afternoon session, they get right down to business. The teachers guide them but they are in charge.

"It's just like a big puzzle, the whole bike and making everything fit together right," said Chris Doornbos, a senior member of the build team who estimates the project is two-thirds complete.

"It's cool because when everyone comes in like right now, it's something you can be proud of, can say, 'I had a part of that,'¡" he added. "It's big, it's loud - we're going for the old school race bikes."

Schoolyard Motorworks is a lesson in vertical integration: seamlessly merging innovation, youth, charity and hard work into one package.

Students and staff throughout the Career Tech Center are involved in the project, which kicked off in June of 2004. From scratch, the students in various programs at the school contributed with everything from building a room at the center to construct the bike and creating a website to making promotional materials and designing the bike.

Now on a tight construction schedule, with January looming large, project director Chuck Hunt said everyone is working harder than ever. Students from all programs at the school volunteered their time and talents Thursday evening, with staff and spouses of staff also contributing their time.

"This is way more than kids building a bike, the project is way more than that," he noted. "Kids from all over the school are involved and the nice thing about this project is that it brings the entire center together."

The proceeds of the Bike Night event will help defray costs of the project, which has taken not a penny of taxpayer money. These periodic fund-raisers further the project's goal of giving 100 percent of the raffle proceeds to the Father Fred Foundation.

"That's when it will all come together, when we have all the tickets sold," added Hunt. "That's really driving the project, supporting charity."

The concept for Schoolyard Motorworks began with Kip Watkins of the Watkins Boyz, a custom bike building operation. He approached Dodd Russell, owner of Tribal Motorworks, which manufacturers custom motorcycle accessories, and they connected with the Career Tech Center. Both organizations have been guiding and nurturing the students during the design and building process.

"I think it's an absolutely phenomenal bike," said Russell Thursday evening. "It's a really good looking bike and the kids have done a great job."

For more information on the Schoolyard Motorworks project, see their website at www.schoolyardmotorworks.org. For information or to purchase one of 1,500 $50 raffle tickets for the bike, contact Chuck Hunt at 922-6291.