March 27, 2013 - MMI Orlando Grad Brings Motorcycle Skills Home to Illinois

Cody Willenborg (center) and his team have built a reputation as a full-service motorcycle shop with the best in customer service.

When Cody Willenborg left his hometown of Teutopolis, Ill., to attend the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI) Orlando, he left behind a close-knit group of friends and family to pursue a lifelong dream. Having talked with an MMI representative and after touring the campus while on vacation, he knew it was the right choice.

The big move paid off. While attending classes at MMI in the mornings, Cody secured a job in the afternoons as a technician at Cycle Sports Center. After graduating at the top of his class in 2007, he continued working in Orlando for about two years. He returned to a Honda dealership in his hometown where he’d worked in high school, rising to the position of head tech in just two years.

“My career was taking off, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wanted to be on my own, doing things my way,” he remembers.

Four years after graduating from MMI, Cody opened his own motorcycle shop, CW Motorsports, in nearby Effingham. What started as a one-person operation with a tiny showroom has grown into a thriving business with several technicians and administrative staff members. Though he’s located in an extremely competitive market, this small business owner credits his success with hard work and MMI’s emphasis on top-notch customer service.

“There are six other motorcycle shops within a 6-mile radius, but we’re the only one with a full staff,” he says. “I know it’s thanks to our reputation for complete motorcycle care and excellent customer service. Treating people with respect — it’s the way I was raised and the way I was trained at MMI.”

Cody knows the continued success of his shop is integral to his goal of becoming a franchise dealer with the up-and-coming brand Can-Am. And he’s glad he didn’t let MMI’s faraway location keep him from pursuing an education with the institution he feels is “hands down the best motorcycle school anywhere.”

“I definitely recommend it to anyone,” he says. “Technicians I know who went to less rigorous schools finished their programs earlier, but now realize that they weren’t exposed to the hands-on instruction, current technical training and customer service skills you get at MMI.”