Student Experience: Larry Jordan

“I worked 10 years as an aircraft mechanic, so I was used to working on aircraft, but then I switched to motorcycles. At Cedar Valley, I really got how everything is put together on a motorcycle. I work for a boat dealer, working on water sports vehicles like Sea-Doos. Personal watercraft engines are actually more like motorcycles than they are like boats — in fact, people used to call them ‘wet bikes’ because at first they were built with engines developed from motorcycles. 

“The best thing I got out of Cedar Valley’s program was learning how everything is put together. I had ridden bikes since about 1980, but I didn’t know anything about them except how to turn the key and put in gas. I had to learn from the ground floor what makes up a bike so that I could work on them. 

“It’s challenging work. You have to know a little of everything to be able to diagnose and fix a motorcycle. You may have to change a tire, fix an electrical problem, rebuild a motor — it’s challenging on a daily basis.

” Larry Jordan earned a Motorcycle Technology certificate from Cedar Valley. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member in the Engine Technology program since 2001, teaching the courses Two-Stroke Motors, Service Principles and Tuneup.

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