Motorcycle builder shares dream with students

It measures nine-and-half feet, it took three months to build, it's worth $200,000 and has a unknown top speed (purportedly somewhere in the 250 mph realm).

Last Tuesday, Reno-based motorcycle builder Aaron Greene rolled his one-of-a-kind creation called "White Knuckles" into the halls of Incline High School.

Greene, a 1993 graduate of IHS, and world-renown bike builder featured on the Discovery Channel, said he came to talk to students about motivation and goals.

"Everyday, I get to use my hands and my mind to do the things I love," he said. "Building bikes is a very satisfying job and it has all come from not being afraid to try."

Greene, who started working on bikes at age 14 in an Incline garage, now holds three U.S. design patents and manages 23 employees in a Reno-based custom bike shop that spreads through three buildings.

Greene told students in Larry Rumball's welding and drafting classes to think about the "why" in everything they do.

"Why do things go together they way they do? That's how we invent," he said. "That's how I got where I am in life, by asking why and then knowing that I could connect the dots any way I like to create something."

Rumball, who watched Greene as a teacher's assistant more than 10 years ago, said his students were simply in awe of the 29-year-old craftsman.

"(Aaron) looks like a Hell's Angels guy," he said. "But once you sit down and talk with him you realize he's a lot more than his image."

Rumball said the most important thing Greene told students: "It's not who you are, but what you can do that sets you apart."

"For him to take time out of his busy schedule to come here is exceptional," Rumball said. "I can stand up in front of the class all day and talk to these kids, but his visit was more motivational than anything I can do."

Thirteen-year-old Chase Rebholz said if he had the chance he would love to build bikes like Greene.

"He graduated from Incline," Rebholz said. "And now he's famous for doing what he loves. That's cool."