Bristol Tech Education Center Teams with Yankee Harley-Davidson for World-wide Battle of the Kings Competition

Local trade school students from Bristol Technical Education Center partnered with Yankee Harley-Davidson of Bristol, CT, for a unique, real-world training opportunity: helping build the coolest custom motorcycle in the world as part of the 2019 “Battle of the Kings” competition, sponsored by Harley-Davidson.

This year, U.S. trade school students were invited to join their local Harley-Davidson dealership for the builds, with the goal of inspiring the next generation of skilled tradespeople to join the world of motorcycling. The challenge was to take a standard Harley-Davidson model and turn it into something unique.

Over 40 dealers from across the nation competed to create a custom model in either dirt, track or chop, using Harley-Davidson parts and accessories, with a budget no bigger than half the cost of the original model.

Over a 3-month time frame, the Bristol Tech/Yankee Harley-Davidson team took a 2019 Road Glide and transformed it into an All-American spectacle, customizing everything from color, exhaust, to handle bars. Under the guidance of experienced, local Harley-Davidson mechanics, students were introduced to the creativity, customization prowess and technical precision of motorcycle customization.

Project support was provided by Explicit Airbrush, Shoreline Coatings LLC, Melnick Metal Works Inc., The Hometown Foundation, Inc., and Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

The public will decide the ultimate winner of the Battle of the Kings bike build. Voting is open to public until May 15, 2019. The Bristol Tech/Yankee Harley-Davidson team’s bike can be viewed and voted for at https://customkings.harley-davidson.com/en_US/bike_detail/215?fbclid=IwAR3rlaR4oZvWDrld4n5Ad6fuPGqxqNlbJU73eGL-nm0YnVe0j-Qjga9GeJo.

The winners of the public vote will compete in front of a panel of Harley-Davidson judges, who will narrow the finalists to three. These top bikes will then be voted on by Harley-Davidson dealers during this year’s Annual Dealer Meeting in Milwaukee. The U.S. Custom King Champion will be crowned and travel to Italy to compete for the World Champion crown.

For more information on the rules of the competition and to vote on the bikes, visit H-D.com/BattleOfTheKings.

Bristol Technical Education Center is part of the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS), a statewide system of 17 diploma-granting technical high schools serving approximately 11,200 high school students, two Aviation Maintenance Technician schools and a Technical Education Center. Learn more at www.cttech.org.