OFFERED JANUARY 28 AT LAS VEGAS 2023 Laura Klock, Helping with Horsepower founder/facilitator, along with Chris Degen, director of Mitchell Technical College Powersports Program, work on the bike. MTC student Evan Juracek works on the bike. THIS ONE IS SPECIAL BECAUSE THE RALLY CONNECTS GENERATIONS, AND THIS PROJECT IS MEANT TO HONOR 83 YEARS WITH A NOD TO THE HISTORY OF RACING THROUGH OUR PERFORMANCE BAGGER STYLE.” “ “The Helping with Horsepower bike rebuild program adds a marketing, design and teamwork aspect that pairs perfectly with the student’s hands-on mechanical course work. These programs have a significant impact on the future of powersports, and the students are excited to be working on a project of this caliber,” he said. The students train on a variety of brands, including Harley-Davidson, and as South Dakotans, are honored to promote the world’s largest Rally, Degen said. The project brings in a motorcycle, and the students get to be creative and try some fabrication ideas with no additional cost to the school. The students are working on the project in addition to their regular coursework. The Helping with Horsepower Bike Rebuild Program at Mitchell Technical College launched on September 22, 2022, when Klock and Degen introduced the project to the students during class. When presented with a 2018 Road Glide to customize, the group unanimously approved the performance bagger style as the theme. Design ideas began, and the team has enlisted Tex McDorman of TexEfx to draw the concept. The original concept drawing will be auctioned off with the motorcycle at the Mecum auction. Other industry leaders dedicated to the project’s mission include Todd Dozart, local painter; official Sponsors of the City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, including Custom Chrome USA and Rockford Fosgate; and other parts donations have been provided by Paul Yaffe’s Baggernation, Klock Werks and Vance & Hines. The students are even doing custom fabrication to make this motorcycle more unique, Klock said. The finished motorcycle has been accepted as a consignment for the Mecum auction in Las Vegas, January 2023. Not only will the money from its sale benefit the city’s Sturgis Rally Endowment Fund, but it will also be matched by an anonymous donor. “For years, a part of the profits from the City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have been donated to local charities. In 2021, the City of Sturgis set up the Sturgis Rally Endowment Fund, a part of the Black Hills Community Foundation, to ensure that the Rally tradition of charitable giving endures for the benefit of future area residents,” Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen said. In 2021, the Sturgis Rally Endowment attracted the attention of a generous anonymous donor who agreed to match donations to the fund, in the form of cash, pledges or deferred gifts, including the city’s share of net proceeds from the city’s motorcycle build program to a maximum of $100,000. “If possible, we would like to recognize the person who buys the bike during the opening ceremony of the 2023 City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally next August,” Mayor Carstensen said. Follow the progress of the build on social media pages and websites, and plan to attend or watch the Mecum auction for a chance to own this one-of-a-kind custom motorcycle. MECUM.COM // 87 MECUM.COM // 87
