If you’re a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, you have the option of taking an elective course with the objective of learning to ride a motorcycle, specifically a Harley-Davidson Street 500. This class would have had way more practical real life application than the electives I took in college, namely Snowboarding and History of Rock & Roll. I might remember the lessons better than I remember my four years of Mandarin Chinese, as well.
Students must have a valid drivers license and the ability to ride a bicycle before signing up, but course completion results in one general elective credit and an MSF completion card, which many states will accept in direct exchange for a motorcycle endorsement.
“Harley-Davidson is committed to building the next generation of riders and meeting them where they are – in this case on campus – is a natural extension of that strategy,” said Claudia Garber, Harley-Davidson Marketing Programs Manager. “While many may consider college itself to be the ride of a lifetime, we’re looking forward to broadening horizons even further with a real-life skill and access to a mode of transportation that they may not have considered before.”
Motorcycles are gaining favor among younger folks these days, as cars have become too expensive and motorcycles offer a less expensive and simpler way to get around. With younger generations moving to cities, the fact that lane splitting can cut commutes in heavy traffic, that’s not much of a surprise. And with more Americans riding now than ever before, Harley wants to attract facilitate riding to people while they are young.
This helps Harley, as it gets new riders on its machines, and could attract a whole new market. I would not be surprised to see classes like this proliferate at colleges around the country.
Anything to improve and incentivize rider and driver safety training is good in my book. Advanced driver training should be a full high school course, if you ask me. We as a country need to instruct young people to be better and more cognizant drivers. This seems like a good move for H-D to me. I hope the program continues to grow.
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If you’re not a student in Milwaukee, you can still take a Harley-Davidson new rider course or advanced rider training.
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