The Busted Knuckle Scholarship Fund is dedicated to helping individuals who express a serious interest in learning the art of restoring vintage motorcycles. Many schools and scholarship opportunities exist within traditional scholastic career paths. Young motorcycle mechanics need a well rounded education but beyond that, learning the art of vintage restoration and maintenance is a difficult process. The Foundation sees a void in the system that ignores the restoration arts dedicated to vintage or antique motorcycles. Motorcycle mechanic candidates are often ushered down the path of modern bike maintenance without proper guidance or tutelage in the fine art or restoration. The foundation members, active in the motorcycling community, see the people skilled at maintaining and restoring old bikes growing older. The big technical institutes show little interest in passing on these dying arts to young mechanics. We have identified a large number of younger aspiring mechanics who would otherwise apprentice with the vintage masters but have little guidance, support, or financial backing to keep the ‘old iron’ running. Motorcycle mechanic training institutes touch on the vintage, however, generally dedicate a majority of course study to modern motorcycle maintenance and repair.
This organization dedicates itself to raising money within the motorcycling community and reaches out to qualified young candidates who illustrate a sincere passion for the restoration arts. Our overall goal is to help deserving individuals who are aspiring motorcycle mechanics achieve career goals and keep and learn proper restoration techniques. As motorcyclists, it is only through the restoration of our classic bikes that we can truly advance our motorcycling culture and heritage productively into the future. Through our past, we understand our present and map our future. The Foundation hopes to positively influence those motivated people who share that passion for vintage bikes and help them gain the formal training, certification, and experience necessary to build productive careers and keep the old stuff rolling down the road.