Jan. 23, 2018
The Automotive Department at Central Memorial High School received an unusual delivery the week of Dec. 11, 2017. Sebastian Reuben and Claude Giguere from Blackfoot Motosport arrived with a number of packing crates. Some of the crates contained Yamaha Power Products and the rest held various motorcycles that had not seen the light of day since being shipped from the manufacturer.
This is an annual opportunity where students of Central’s automotive program can apply the skills they have gained in mechanics and be exposed to another trade that is search of technicians. The class is tasked with unpacking the crates and assembling and testing the operation of the motorcycles and power products. This equipment is unlike automobiles in that it comes only partially assembled. Parts must be sorted and procedures closely followed to assemble the units so that they will provide safe and trouble-free service for the future consumer purchasing the motorcycle or power product.
The students gained real world experience when they were exposed to some of the challenges Blackfoot Motosports deals with each day. Experiences such as working cooperatively and collaboratively with others, organizing parts and tools, on-the-fly problem solving and logistical challenges, such as what do you do with the leftover cardboard or the steel structure of the crate? (The short answer is, it’s recycled!)
The students learned a great deal about the assembly of different parts, such as why you need to attach the throttle bracket in a certain way to the handle bar prior to bolting the handlebar to the upper triple clamp. They also gained an appreciation for the care one must take with new equipment and the high level of quality expected when a product is being delivered to a customer.
A few days after the class began this learning opportunity, Claude and Sebastian returned and everything was loaded into the Blackfoot Trailer for its return to the shop.
The students and staff of the automotive program at Central Memorial High School would like to thank the Service Department at Blackfoot Motosports led by Tobi Langer, Gavin Birchall, the owners, Doug MacRae, Jason Mitchell and Pat Chambers for their decades of support to education in Calgary. We are very thankful to Blackfoot Motosports for trusting in the abilities of Central’s students, for providing us with such a valuable experience and for being a part of our learning community.
