A group of career and technical education (CTE) students from LaVergne High School have completed a massive undertaking. They have built a custom motorcycle in a mere 174 days.
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Now, that motorcycle will go on a victory tour that includes stops at a race track and at one of the world's biggest automotive industry events.
"It was like a weight falling off of my shoulders, because once it was done, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I don't have to worry about meeting the deadline anymore,'" Talley Barber, student co-captain of the build team, told FanBuzz after revealing the finished project.
Last September, Northern Tool + Equipment partnered with LaVergne High School in Tennessee through its Tools for the Trades program. It donated tools and a 2025 Harley-Davidson Nightster to the students and gave them 174 days to convert it into a race-ready XR750-inspired motorcycle.
Photo credit: Northern Tool + Equipment
These students went through the process while working with such prominent figures as nine-time AMA Grand National Champion Scott Parker, seven-time AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr, and chopper builder/owner of Choppers, Inc. Billy Lane.
"It's been nice," Barber said. "It's like when you see a little kid get to meet their favorite character at Disney World, that's what I feel like."
Other industry experts stepped in as the massive project continued, including Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Famer Berry Wardlaw who spent extra time at the school as the students dealt with time crunches and other challenges.
"I mean, you know, we always knew from the very beginning that the size of the engine, the physical size of it, and the electrical sophistication of it was going to cause issues, so we needed resources," Lane told FanBuzz.
"Whether it was material parts that we needed, we were able to bring in so many people that just said, 'Yes, whatever you need for these students, we're going to give it to you.'
"And then other people like Berry said, 'Well, we're gonna give you our time and our knowledge and our wisdom.' And this is just really, really cool to see how many people wanted to step in and help and wanted to be a part of the future of these students in this team."
Kyle Petty also joined in the project, although he acknowledged that he took on less of a hands-on approach. He got to enjoy watching these students take on a significant challenge and grow from it. He is the member of the group who is sad that the project is over as he will miss the updates.
Still, Petty knows that while the project is complete, these students took part in something that millions of others will never experience. They built a foundation early while learning to work with their hands and put their hearts and souls into a project.
Just like learning to ride a motorcycle, it's often better to start at a younger age and build on that knowledge base throughout the remaining decades.
"Listen, learning to work with your hands, learning to solve problems, I think that's what the Northern Tools Legends Build is all about for these kids," Petty said. "Because you take it and you have a vision of what you want something to be, and you get into it, and then it's like, 'Oh man, that vision changes.'
"And you've got to be adjustable and be able to figure that out, where that wire goes, where that oil tank goes, where that fuel tank goes, where that swing arm goes. And I lived it firsthand, working on my dad's race car. I learned to weld when I was 12 and would go to the race shop, and they would let me weld stuff up."
Welding became a prominent part of this project at LaVergne High School, which only started its welding program two years ago. The electrical work also challenged the students because they had to remove the kickstand, turn signals, and other components to make the motorcycle race ready.
In the modern era, this posed a problem as Harley-Davidson's computer sought for the cause of the "electrical failures." Yet, the students worked through this with the help of the experts.
Another challenge surfaced as the end date approached. The students had a goal to fire the engine by noon in late May. This would be the final on-site filming day for an upcoming documentary series about the project.
Yet, they set this timeline at a time when the motorcycle remained far from complete. They had to bring in some more experts to help, but they ultimately got the project where it needed to be by this deadline.
As Petty and Lane both said, learning to work on this motorcycle and adapting to unexpected challenges while still in high school set these students up for success later in life.
They learned valuable problem-solving skills, and they built the confidence in themselves.
"I learned in my early 20s, I always learned to be a mechanic as a kid, just watching my dad work on cars in the yard," Lane added. "But then I learned how to weld and run a lathe and a milling machine, just self-taught, or by hanging around the motorcycle shop in my early 20s.
"And every day I'm grateful that I have those skills that I've learned, and this is all I've ever done in my entire adult life. And if you just slap a couple spoonfuls of hard work on top of that, it's a lot of success, and dreams come true. And I hope that's the same for some of these students, all of them in this group."
Now that this project is complete, what is next? The motorcycle will make its way to multiple destinations while on what is essentially a victory tour.
First up, it will make its on-track debut at the Sons of Speed Nashville Short Track. Champion rider Chris Carr will climb aboard and take a victory lap before the American Flat Track races.
After that, the motorcycle will head to SEMA, the world's largest aftermarket automotive show, in November. This custom bike will be on display in Las Vegas while hundreds of thousands of people see the results of the students' hard work.
"It's gonna signify like the end of an era for all of us," Barber said. "It's just good to look at, because it'll be like, 'Wow, that bike actually runs.'
"Like, if you had asked us about Christmas time if we thought it was going to make it, we probably would have told you no. But like (fellow student) Jeremiah said, 'We got our poop in a group,' we really buckled down, and got it done. It's just going to be like a bunch of memories that I'll be able to watch."
