You have to admire the initiative; high school teacher Mark Mazerolle formed a class to teach troubled students how to build custom bikes.
Created in 2004 and called the Bike Klub, the class originally built custom bicycles but moved to motorcycles in 2006.
The Bernice MacNaughton High School in Moncton, NB, has an after-school youth program designed to teach “at risk” and “introvert” students motorcycle mechanics and customization, but it also focuses on the development of people.
“These kids learn about themselves, their self-worth, respect and confidence” says Mazerolle. “Once in the program, all the kids are the same, there are no labels here, they work together, they work as one in all aspects of the build, fundraising, promotion and learning.”
The program’s first build, a bobber called Betty, took 18 months to complete and in 2009 it won the Overall Trophy at the Donnie Smith Chopper Class Challenge, a competition held in St Paul, Minnesota, that pits high school builders against each other.
The class is currently working on two projects, a 1969 BSA A65L-based tracker/bobber and a Harley Evolution-based bobber using a Maximum Metals rigid frame. The class is currently seeking funds to complete the builds and participate in the Chopper Class Challenge again.
You can contact Marc Mazerolle at marc.mazerolle@nbed.nb.ca if you’d like to help these kids.
