Rubber hits the road for chopper team

Valders students unveil motorcycle after months of work for county competition

The veils came off and the engines revved after months of hard work for four high school teams Friday night as the mini-chopper program came to a close.

As part of the Manitowoc County High School Manufacturing Project, students at Valders, Manitowoc Lincoln and Roncalli high schools designed and built motorcycles, or mini-choppers.

Students discussed and unveiled their creations at the 27th annual Northeastern Wisconsin Charity Motorcycle Classic, sponsored by the Ant Hill Motorcycle Club, at the Manitowoc County Ice Center.

Lincoln High School had two teams.  Manitowoc Crane sponsored one team and LDI Industries sponsored the other.  Valders and Roncalli each had one team.

The club gave the best of show award to the Lincoln High School – LDI team.  The yellow cycle features the company’s colors.

All teams were within one or two points of each other on a 50-point scale, said Ken Stubbe, executive director of the Economic Development Corporation of Manitowoc County, which sponsored the program.

Additionally, two celebrity judges, Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels and Paul James, director of product communications for Harley-Davidson and executive editor of HOG Magazine, gave other awards to the four teams.

The Valders team, sponsored by Spancrete, received the award for best representation of company identity.  The Roncalli team received the award for best representation of school identity. 

The Lincoln High School – Manitowoc Crane team received the award for most creative design.  The Lincoln – LDI team received the award for the most appealing design.

The project taught students mechanical design, welding, painting, budget management, scheduling, quality control, safety, marketing, public speaking, teamwork, problem solving and information technology.

Jacob Herrmann, captain of the Valders team, told an audience of about 200 about the team’s work.

“We did not have a kit,” he said. “You make your own jigs and go from there.  Putting the frame together, getting gas to flow through and getting it running right, those were the challenges.”

Students at Valders cooperated with and learned from each other and professionals in the industry, Herrmann said.

Also, he said the team made the best use of each member’s talents, such as those students who knew how to weld.  Meanwhile, Herrmann said Andrew Braun had the tough jobs of doing the electrical work.

Lisa Lehman said the team learned how to overcome problems.  For example, she said, instead of making several small pieces, the team made one big piece.

“It did not exactly go with plans,” she said. “We had to work with what we had and take it from there.”

The Valders team painted its creation fire red and added touches of black and white to honor its sponsor, Herrmann said.

Nick Bushman of the Roncalli team gave his team’s presentation.

In addition to the work at the school, the Roncalli team worked and learned at Lakeshore Technical College and at the team’s sponsor, Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, Bushman said.  This included a four-hour course on safety, he said.

Jill Hennessey of the Manitowoc Company said safety has been an important part of both the process of building the bikes and operating them.

The Roncalli team spent the first semester designing its bike and in the second semester completed the bike ahead of schedule, Bushman said.

“We had the motor ready to put in over Christmas break, “he said.

Dressed in blue jeans and a leather jacket, Valders Superintendent Tom Hughes rode to the event on his motorcycle.

Teams had to build and design a motorcycle from scratch, draw plans on a computer-aided drafting system and come in under budget or find donations.  All came in under budget.

Matt Worley of the Lincoln High School – Manitowoc Crane team said, “We’re beating the government already.”

The motorcycle project unites high school students with industry, Hennessey said.

“It has been a great experience for the kids, teachers, parents, and the community,” she said.