Klock Werks Kustom Cycles/Helping With Horsepower
Laura Klock:
Our Helping With Horsepower™ Bike Rebuild Program is actually happening at Pine Bush High School and Lloyd’s Motor Works. The “Starz” program at Pine Bush is a second chances program for teens and a few years back we implemented our program in Pine Bush with Lloyd Greer as a partner. We’ve seen some kids graduate which maybe wouldn’t have otherwise! Kids are hands on throughout this project. Lloyd has done a great job teaching them all sorts of different skills from welding to customizing motorcycles to aerodynamics to working on motors. Teaching them things about motorcycles even if they don’t eventually become mechanics, because through the project they learn team
work, self confidence and problem solving. These are skills that they are going to have forever in their life and in their future. The Pine Bush Schools are really developing. They are getting a lot of new equipment like rapid prototype machines, etc. He is really offering the kids some chances to learn about new technology, which is going to help them with their future. It’s been awesome. What’s really special about the Pine Bush Helping With Horsepower™ Engineering Academy is that and what sets them apart from other HWH programs, is these kids are building race bikes that we take to the Bonneville Salt Flats! My husband Brian and I have each piloted their bikes, and have set records each year we’ve gone with them. This year they have some BIG goals – to go 201.5 in 2015 on a new Victory Cross Country that Victory Motorcycles donated to the program. They’ve completely drawn the body work in SolidWorks, and have worked with Stratasys to print out the body on a rapid prototype machine. The Starz kids are now working with the gifted kids at Pine Bush School, and they are accomplishing AMAZING things!
SKII: What motivated you to start this type of program?
Laura: We have a residential treatment facility called the Abbott House in our town (Mitchell, SD) for girls ages 7 to 17. These girls had a rough start in life. They’ve suffered abuse and neglect. Some of the older ones are dealing with other issues from addiction to self harming and suicide attempts. I was invited to speak with the girls and literally, I just got hooked and just wondered “what can I do”. And in my own world, I have two daughters who are now 21 and 24 years old, but I was able to use motorcycles as a “parenting tool” and I wondered how I could do the same thing with Abbott House girls. Motorcycles as a parenting tool might sound a little crazy to some people but, in 2008, we became the first mother, daughter, daughter trio in land speed racing history to hold records at the same time. And along the way I realized, I was able to use motorcycles, riding, racing, as a tool to teach them about life. My oldest daughter has her own business now and my youngest daughter just did an unveil with Indian motorcycle. She works at our shop full time. Regardless of what they are going to do in their future, we were able to use motorcycle as a tool to teach them about life and I wanted to do the same thing with those teens. I prayed about it a long time. I see these girls and I want to help them but, they can’t leave the facility. I just woke up one day and said, what if we take a motorcycle into the classroom and we repairthe damage – just like they are doing in their lives while in treatment. It’s one thing to have an idea and another thing to have a facility to let you try it. And they allowed me to try it and it worked. They loved it. I took a motorcycle right into their building and worked with the girls to transform the bike from something neglected, banged up, damaged, into a beautiful custom, all the while relating it to the transformation that is happening to their own lives. The kids choose the parts and we have a contest for the name and paint design. They are hands-on through the entire process. Most of our programs end in a raffle to raise money for the facility through raffle ticket sales, and someone ends up winning the bike. Lloyd heard about it and he told me about the STARZ program at Pine Bush and he was actually a drop out at Pine bush. He’d been trying to figure out a way to get the kids involved with something different and this is it. Hands on and project based learning is really very beneficial, especially with at-risk youth because it’s hard to just sit in a classroom and try to just learn something when you got a crazy life going on and things aren’t right in your life. We use the motorcycle as a tool and that was the whole idea. So literally, I came out here three times that first year and met with the superintendants of the schools and with Lloyd and explained the whole program to them, and we brainstormed about ways we could modify our HWH curriculum to get it into their school curriculum. Pine Bush schools are opened minded and want to do whatever they can to help the kids. The whole school district is awesome. So, it’s a modification of our curriculum but it’s taken it to a level I only dreamed about it going.
SKII: You stated that you thought of this concept in your kitchen. Tell me a little about how that started.
Laura: Yes. After we did our very first Helping With Horsepower™ Bike Rebuild Program at Abbott House in Mitchell, SD, and were successful, people started hearing about it and they said, “Hey, I’d like to do something like that.” I wasn’t sure how I could help them, but my husband and I own our own business and I teach motorcycle safety. I’ve never written a curriculum before but, I know how I teach from other curriculums and I just studied it a little bit and just put everything I did down on paper. I had people read it just to get their opinion and actually my insurance agent was a huge help in making sure I was stating things correctly for liability. So in my kitchen, I wrote a curriculum that allows other locations to run a Helping With Horsepower™ Bike Rebuild Program of their own! The curriculum is written as a set of guidelines and each community has it’s own set of talented people so we encourage them to work within their areas and get people involved. Every community is different. Someone might have do a pin stripe demonstration for the kids. We did another one in south Dakota where the guy came in and taught them how to custom sew a seat. So, we have meetings, get them signed up and set them up for success and guide them along the way. It’s worked out great and I’m happy to report we’ve have more than 10 successful programs across the US now. And the HWH program at Pine Bush is one of the most unique one because rather than ending in a raffle, it’s ongoing, and they are setting records on the Salt Flats! I don’t know how to put this into words but, the kids get it. They understand what an awesome opportunity it is. The next thing you know, your just spending time with them. Talking to them about life and encouraging them. You become their friend and mentor. The first year we went to the Salt Flats with Pine Bush, 20 kids we were with! We had tears, we had laughter. We ran up against some problems where we had to work through together. I mean, it’s life changing.
SKII: What’s the names of your daughters and your husband?
Karlee Cobb – is 21 years old now. She started racing since she was 14 years old. Erika is 24 years old. She started racing at the age of 15. Brian Klock – my husband. We got married at the Salt Flats in 2007. So Brian is their stepdad.
On the card is their business on one side and the business she runs with the kids. They added Math, science geology to the classes along with the motorcycle)
SKII: Were you part of the movie “Why We Ride?”
Yes. Bryan Carroll and James Walker are the producer and director of “Why We Ride”. They won an award for their movie. It was an honor to be a part of it, and I encourage everyone to go download it! It’s awesome!
Now, I am speaking to the kids who were involved with the making of the motorcycle which was on display at the Jacob Javits Center Motorcycle Show: The first one I spoke to was:
Whats your name and what part did you make on the motorcycle?
-My name is Taylor and I just got into this program this year and I am 17 years old.
-My name is Tommy and I’m pretty much doing all of the design work and the aero dynamics analysis for the entire bike to try to maximize the aero dynamics throughout it. I’m 17.
-My name is Matthew and I am also working with all of the designs on the bike. We are trying to get the drag down. Hopefully we can get it over 200 miles an hour.
-I’m Joe and I’m helping with the design part of the rear of the bike. We are making it go faster pretty much. I’m 18 years old.
-My name is Chris and I recently joined the program. It’s a great program for the kids. I failed last year but, they actually helped me this year. I didn’t participate in building this bike but, we are working on one in Lloyd’s shop right now. We are also working on another project to get stuff out to a bike if it falls. I’m 16 years old.
-My name is David and I am 16 years old. Going to the academy helped me out a lot. It made me think about what I want to do with my life. I want to become a mechanic or an engineer. I’m new and I just started the program. It’s been great so far.
-My name is Derrick and I am 18 years old. I was part of the main construction and the assembly of the bike it self. And also of the testing of how fast it can go. What will go and what wouldn’t work. Horsepower Academy helped me with skills that I didn’t even understand or think that I would want in the future. The Helping With Horsepower Academy combined with STARS, helped me to graduate this year instead of being a potential dropout. Well not unfortunate but one of the many to drop out unfortunately. It helped me to earn my credits faster and it allowed me to graduate a year earlier than when I was supposed to. This program has brought me a lot of hope and joy. I’ve been in the program for a year. This is my second half year. I will be done with this program in January but, I hope I would still be able to go to the shop and I’ll be able to put my support in to helping other kids in need.
SKII: At this moment I am speaking to the teacher of this program. What’s your name and what’s your dynamics on this bike?
My name is Ken Marshall and I am the engineering academy instructor. So, I help out at the school when they are not at Lloyd’s as far as the design aspect and getting them 3D modeling of the bike so that we can actually make modifications digitally and not mechanically, and actually get the bike to go faster on a computer rather than working backwards and making modifications on the bike itself.
SKII: How fast are you trying to make the bike go?
Basically right now as the bike sits, we have a drag of 500 pounds of force on the front end. With what we are working on with the computer and doing digital models and we’re modeling a new rear section for this bike this coming year. We’re taking our drag
and we brought it back down to about 240 pounds on the front end at 200 miles an hour. So, if you think about it, we’re taking that drag force and cutting it in half. This is all done by the kids with me kinda pushing them. If your taking that drag force and cut it in half, right now, we are at 173. If you cut it in half, we should hit that 201.5 work with no problem.
SKII: How long have you been with the school?
I’ve been teaching for 8 years. I’m 29 years old.
SKII: Lloyd tell me about your experience with this program?
Lloyd:
I’m a sophomore drop out myself. So I can relate very well with what’s going on with this program. We work well together. We change kids lives. It’s all for the good.
SKII: When did you start this program?
Lloyd:
We are going into our third year. This is our first experience with this program. We are based out of Pine bush, NY.
SKII: So Lloyd, everything falls out of your shop. How long does it takes for one of these teens to graduate?
Lloyd: Well it depends on what grade the kid start with. Some of them are actually sophomore and therefore it requires them another two years to graduate. It depends on when they end up in the program. How many credits they need to graduate. The only graduation that actually occurs is through the school system for the diploma. We don’t have any graduation as far as our academy. So those students what we’ve had going on three years with us.
SKII: Is this a regular school?
Lloyd: Yes. It’s a regular public school. In the STARS academy, there are 12 teachers total but we have a very large school district. We have almost 600 teachers in our school district. Our school district have about 6,000 students. Our course is only meant for at risk kids. Those kids that are in trouble of dropping out, grades, attendance, drugs, pregnancies, etc.
SKII: How do you feel about this program?
Lloyd: It’s awesome. Yeah. I have two young boys myself whose 8 and 11 years old. Their names are Dakota and Kayen. My youngest is in the 3rd grade and my 11 year old is in the 5th grade. So having been a trouble youth myself, I understand what the new generation is going through. So, I am just there to try to help make it a little easier in them making the right choice and choosing the right path instead of going down the wrong path like I did. Right now, I’m the school board president of our district.
SKII: Do you ride a motorcycle? And how long have you been riding?
Lloyd: Yes I do. I have been riding since I was 6 years old.
Laura & Lloyd takes trouble teens and attempts to turn their life around with the tool of a motorcycle. He was in their predicament as a teenager and he was able to turn his life around and today, he is the School Board President of his district.
