PICTURE SOON TO COME!

JOE CAPRIOGLIO

MASTER TECH

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I was born in December 1983 in Valencia, Venezuela. From an early age, I had an affinity with anything that had wheels, always riding my bike and making motorcycle sounds. I remember my Dad had an RV with a 150cc Yamaha scooter attached to the back of it and I took it for a ride a few times. Many memories come to mind. In 1998, my family and I moved to the States and lived in Miami Beach, FL. I took a Yamaha XT550 from the garage and went for a 20-block joyride around Miami Beach with my buddy on the passenger seat, fun times. 

 

As an adult, I owned several motorcycles, from sport bikes to cruisers. After several different jobs that did not bring me joy, I knew I wanted to be around motorcycles and get into the motorcycle industry no matter what. So in early 2016, I got a job as a Porter at the local Harley-Davidson dealer in Clermont, FL.

 

This new journey allowed me to find the passion I wanted to feel for what I wanted in life, to feel like work was not a job at all, instead, it was something I enjoyed doing. After a short time working there, I got myself a 2000 Road King, loved fixing the bike myself, realizing that this is what I want to do as a career. Having the support of my wife and family, I took the next step and enrolled at Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Orlando, FL. There I enrolled in the Harley-Davidson Late and Early model courses, where I was able to achieve many recognitions. I graduated MMI on the Directors List and received six "Student of the Course" awards, two "Perfect Attendance" awards, and received nomination for the Alpha Beta Kappa Honor Society and assessed in both Harley-Davidson Dealer Service Operations 1 and 2 achieving Tech level.

 

Right before graduating in 2018, I started turning wrenches at the local Harley-Davidson store in Clermont, where they recognized my potential and sent me through several Harley-Davidson tech courses to further my career. Sadly, the dealership closed in early 2021. My next step was an independent motorcycle repair shop in Leesburg, where I learned the metric side of this industry. In September 2024, I literally searched the internet for the best motorcycle repair shop in Central Florida and this independent shop in Apopka came up as number one and decided to bring my talents over, and now I am proud to call Southern Cycles my new home. I am so lucky to be part of this team, whose number one goal is to handle every motorcycle rolling through the shop like their own. 

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