No bids for IHS motorcycle

A motorcycle built by students at Incline High School didn't receive any bids for purchase by Thursday's deadline, something IHS assistant principal Kevin Taylor said is disappointing.

The custom motorcycle, built by the IHS automotive class over the school year, went up for a silent bid process in early March and Thursday's deadline for the bids came and went without a taker.

Proceeds from the bike's sale, which was originally paid for by a federal education grant for the school, would have gone toward parts and tools for the class to build another bike next year.

"Not to have sold it is a downer," said IHS automotive teacher Bryan Thornton. "But we'll have some chances to show it off and I expect it will be sold."

The motorcycle, which Thornton said has a retail value of about $20,000, was built by the students in the automotive class with help from Aaron Greene, a 1994 IHS graduate who owns the custom motorcycle shop Paramount Cycles in Reno.

"The students got so much out of building the bike. They got experience from working with Aaron and the pride and recognition that came from building the bike," Thornton said. "It was such a cool project to build a custom bike, even if these students don't want to get into bike building, it's great they have the experience and know how to work with these bikes."

While the bike didn't sell, Taylor said not all is lost. He said the school plans to show the bike at upcoming functions over the next few months, including IHS' 40th anniversary celebration in May.

"I absolutely think we can sell it," Taylor said. "Bryan and I have heard a lot of compliments about the bike and we have supporters."

He said the bike is tentatively scheduled to go back up for auction this upcoming fall. Once the bike is sold, Taylor said, 100 percent of the proceeds will go back into the bike program so students in the automotive class can build a new one next year.

"It's unfortunate we won't be able to start in on the bike as soon as the kids get into school, but once we sell it we'll buy the parts and get ready for the next bike," Taylor said.

Thornton said he plans to tweak the design for the bike next year to make it more attractive to sell.

"The point is to sell the bike, and while its fun to build a custom bike, it's just not what's selling because they are more expensive and the economy is in the dumps," Thornton said. "Next year we'll look at something more practical, a commuter bike. They sell for less and it will be a great experience for the kids."

Thornton said building a commuter bike will be a benefit for the students because it will provide them with a breadth of knowledge in addition to their experience building this year's bike.

Thornton also said Greene is excited about working with the class again and has committed his time and expertise to next year's bike.