H.B. Fuller® and the GorillaPro® Product Line Sponsor the 2023 Helping with Horsepower™ Bike Build
H.B. Fuller and the GorillaPro Product Line are now proud sponsors of Helping with Horsepower Program created to teach life lessons in a personal and professional way with the hands-on experience of rebuilding a motorcycle. For this year’s Helping with Horsepower bike build, second year students at Mitchell Technical College worked together to create a custom bike while partnering with the city of Sturgis, host to the largest motorcycle rally in the world.
“The enthusiasm and work ethic that the H.B. Fuller team, with the GorillaPro line of products, brings to our partnership is unparalleled” stated the city of Sturgis Director of Sponsorship Lance Scherer. “They jumped in with both feet on the 2023 Bike Build Project, supporting over one hundred local charities, and played a critical role in making it a resounding success. The city and the entire Sturgis community sincerely thank you!”
Over the course of this bike build, H.B. Fuller provided training, best practices, and chemical MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operation) tools showing the second year Mitchell Technical College students how and where to use the GorillaPro MRO products. While visiting the students in early December of 2022, the H.B. Fuller Engineering Adhesives Team trained them on how to ensure reliability of their motorcycle build by properly installing components using GorillaPro products in various threadlocking, threadsealing, gasketing, retaining, bonding, and lubricating applications.
"My time with the future mechanics, builders, and dreamers at the Mitchell Technical College was truly rewarding. Volunteering to teach and train these students on how GorillaPro adhesive, sealants, and lubricants can help them build higher quality, more reliable, and more resilient motorcycles was a lot of fun", stated Nathan Whitford, Program Manager for GorillaPro Products. "The timing was ideal since these talented young stars were in the midst of building an amazing bike for 'Helping with Horsepower Bike Rebuild' program which is planned to be displayed at Sturgis this coming summer. It was a perfect opportunity to talk about how our GorillaPro threadlocker materials prevent nuts from vibrating loose, our anti-seize lubricants prevent axle nuts from locking, and our gasket maker creates a permanent seal between the engine blocks. The experience was once-in-a-lifetime and the young professionals I met are now armed with powerful knowledge to lead the next generation into higher performing equipment by using GorillaPro technologies. I am thankful that I was a part of this great initiative".
Their use of the products and techniques taught ensured their motorcycle installation applications were Brute Strength. Professional Grade.®
"We do a bike build just about every year", according to Power Sports Program Director Chris Degen. "Sometimes a ground up build or start with a wrecked one. We were struggling with finding the right one and that is when we were approached by Laura about helping with this build. I thought it was a great idea and I got the green light from the school. The great thing about this bike build is how new it is. The students got to learn a lot about the custom motorcycle industry about finding and sourcing parts. Availability is still an issue. So, a lot of the times the parts we wanted were not available and we would have to do research and find what would work. The students got to build some custom one-off parts on this bike which also ties into their welding class they take. The students used multiple different products from the GorillaPro line, including thread lockers and adhesives throughout the entire build. The students and I really enjoyed Scott and Nathan's very informative presentation. The bike turned out great and the students and I could not be more thrilled".
The custom bike built by the students at Mitchell Technical College was unveiled on January 17th in Sturgis, SD and then headed for the 2023 Mecum Las Vegas Auction. The winner of the auction purchased the custom motorcycle, and along with that purchase was an autographed concept drawing from designer Tex McDorman and a VIP package to the 83rd City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, to be held this August in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Proceeds from the auction will benefit “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,” according to Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen.
Some of the funds raised will be routed to Helping with Horsepower, a Mitchell-area nonprofit providing opportunities for purpose, well-being and growth for individuals born or diagnosed with limitations. The organization’s Bike Rebuild Program is a therapeutic opportunity for participants to rebuild a motorcycle as they acquire tools to rebuild their lives.
“It’s a win-win-win,” according to Laura Klock, creator of the Helping with Horsepower Bike Rebuild Program. “The students got the project experience, which included extra training by some of the sponsors, … [while Helping with Horsepower and the Rally endowment] benefit from the proceeds (allowing) HWH to continue to provide opportunities and hands-on programs.”
“Our Helping with Horsepower Bike Rebuild programs simply wouldn't happen without the support of many volunteers and companies such as GorillaPro. We are thankful for their participation,” stated Klock. “We are so excited that the students had the opportunity to learn about a complete new garage product line, as well as be encouraged to be professional and thorough, using the right product for the job, as they prepare to enter the workforce. What a great partnership where the students received consistent messages.”
You can learn more about this incredible program by visiting https://www.helpingwithhorsepower.com/bikerebuild.
About Products
H.B. Fuller and The Gorilla Glue Company have combined technology, innovation, and unbridled brute strength to deliver the next evolution of solutions for countless industrial fixes, through Gorilla Professional Grade products, a best-in-class MRO product line that includes thread lockers, retaining compounds, gasketing sealants, instant adhesives, epoxies, and urethanes, and anti-seize lubricants. All Gorilla Professional Grade products and packaging in the portfolio are designed to ensure plant uptime and mechanical equipment reliability while helping professional maintenance personnel with best-in-class tools, like a variety of single-use, easy-to-mix DOUBLE/BUBBLE® epoxies, and signature instant adhesives with soft round bottles and clog-free dispense tips, as well as anaerobic gel pump packaging for easier use and handheld dispensing. Gorilla Professional Grade products are sold through a network of distributors and via www.gorillapro.com. Links will be posted by Richard Rawlings promoting this professorial grade product line.
For more information visit hbfuller.com or gorillapro.com.
About Mitchell Technical College
Founded in 1968, it is an innovative leader in technical education and a valued partner in global workforce development, preparing students for career success and lifelong learning in an ever-changing world. The ultramodern campus, found on the edge of Mitchell, South Dakota, is home to thirty-five on-campus academic programs and four online programs. The college prides itself on its regionally unique programs and military friendliness. The Power Sports and Marine Technology is a two-year associate degree program. Students choose to specialize in either powersports or marine in their second year. Students train on a variety of brands, including Harley-Davidson®. Currently, the program has six Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, including a Live Wire EV, and six Harley engine trainers. The program uses Japanese motorcycles, as well as a dozen metric engines. Students learn on machines from the 1970s through current technology.
About Bike Rebuild Program
Helping with Horsepower Bike Rebuild Program began in 2011 by President and Founder of HWH, Laura Klock, who wrote a curriculum because of her desire to share motorcycles as an effective tool to teach life lessons to youth aged 7-17 in residential treatment. The Abbott House in Mitchell, South Dakota, was the first location, and the program was so successful that five projects, which completed six custom motorcycles hands-on in the classroom with youth in care, had a significant financial impact (nearly $500,000) for the Abbott House, and produced measurable results in personal growth and reduced critical incidents while the girls were participating. Inquiries came in so Klock taught and licensed the curriculum to other centers. At its peak, there were eight Helping with Horsepower Bike Rebuild Programs in residential treatment centers across the US. Helping with Horsepower offers additional programming including equine therapy through a partnership with Crystal Young and Reclamation Ranch in Mitchell, SD.
About Laura Klock
A self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur, Laura Klock is President and Founder of the South Dakota non-profit Helping with Horsepower, and most recently, part owner of Farm Life Creamery in Ethan, SD. She has been involved various successful start-up and business transformations. In 2022 she was asked to facilitate a class for entrepreneurs. Klock is well known in the motorcycle world for her bike rebuild program, and for setting land speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats. She was the pilot of the first “world’s fastest bagger,” a modified Harley-Davidson® Road Glide® that was featured on Discovery Channel’s Biker Build-Off series. While personal records are dear to her, Klock will tell you that being the first in history to do something is more important. Klock and her daughters, Erika and Karlee, are the first mother-daughter-daughter trio in history to set records at the same time on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The story is told in the documentary “Klocked: Women with Horsepower.” The trio reached speeds over 194 mph at the same event. Klock is also a member of the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame, enjoys giving sidecar rides to her two grandchildren, and loves helping others achieve their dreams in both business and life. She travels for speaking engagements sharing information to encourage you to follow your passions and create the life you’d love to live and a business you enjoy.
About the City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
When Clarence “Pappy” Hoel purchased an Indian Motorcycle® franchise in the depths of the Great Depression, he had no idea that he was about to begin the most famous motorcycle gathering in the world. It began in 1938, when Pappy, his wife, Pearl, and his Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club decided to host a race in Sturgis. Nine participants and a mere 200 spectators attended. Today the city of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is one of, if not “the” largest gatherings of motorcycle enthusiasts in the world. The annual Rally turns the town of 7,020 into a city of more than 450,000 each year. In 2015, Sturgis hosted the 75th Annual Rally with an estimated attendance of 739,000! The Rally takes place every August in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, home to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial® and Devil's Tower Monument to name a few of the area's most well-known landmarks. The 2023 Rally, August 4th -13th, celebrates the 83rd Anniversary of an event known to motorcycle enthusiasts around the world as the “Granddaddy of 'em all.” From the Governor of South Dakota to entertainment and sports superstars, to motorcycle industry legends, to your friends from down the street, you are likely to find them all in Sturgis enjoying The Ride. The Roar. The Rally.®
Unless otherwise noted, trademarks are property of H.B. Fuller Company or one of its affiliated entities. Gorilla, GorillaPro and Gorilla Professional Grade are registered trademarks of The Gorilla Glue Company. Helping with Horsepower is a trademark of Helping with Horsepower at Reclamation-Ranch. The Ride. The Roar. The Rally. is a registered trademark of the City of Sturgis. Harley-Davidson and Road Glide are registered trademarks of H-D, U.S.A., LLC. Indian Motorcycle is a registered trademark of Indian Motorcycle International, LLC. Crazy Horse Memorial is a registered trademark of The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. Discovery Channel is a registered trademark of Discovery Channel Communications, LLC.