Ex-motorcycle champ Matt Kuhne kickstarts Skills and Safety with Motorcycle Academy

A wheelchair-bound former motorcycle champ has kickstarted a new road safety programme, with a sizeable donation.

Ex motorcycle racer Matthew Kuhne also pictured with wife Kylie and 10-month-old son Levi. His apparel business Shark Leathe...

FORMER motorcycle champ Matt Kuhne is once again using his life experience to inspire and protect other riders on the road.

The 26-year-old role model to thousands of young people and motorcycle riders has launched a Skills and Safety (SAS) program with the Australian Motorcycle Academy (AMA).

The free event will be held once a month in the car park at Metricon Stadium to create greater awareness of the dangers of riding on the road.

Mr Kuhne has been confined to a wheelchair since a horrific motorcycle accident in 2007 while training for the world championships.

During his long rehabilitation, he met other riders who had fallen off bikes and lost limbs, skin and broken bones.

EXPANSION MODE: Ex-motorcycle racer Matthew Kuhne with wife Kylie and 10-month-old son Levi - Mr Kuhne’s apparel business Shark Leathers has also expanded with stores in Sydney and Melbourne.

He said he was amazed that they didn’t have the protective gear that, which his parents and professional sponsors had always supplied for him.

“It blew me away that a full set of leathers cost between $2000 and $3000,’’ he said.

After a few phone calls to sponsors and contacts, Mr Kuhne set up hisShark Leathers business, which sells affordable protective gear.

Mr Kuhne started out with only 12 leather jackets and six jumpsuits, the business now has more than 100,000 items in stock at two stores at Helensvale and Caloundra.

Shark Leathers and the motorcycle academy are the sponsors of the new SAS program, which was launched two weeks ago and will cater for between 80 and 100 riders of all ages.

The course will cost $30,000 to run but Mr Kuhne sees this as an investment in the city’s motorcycle riders and a way to protecting them.

Each year, Shark Leathers pours more than $100,000 into to local motorcycle clubs, gives away protective gear to more than 50 youngsters and donates to other charities.

They have also organised the Matt Kuhne Charity Ride for the Spinal Injuries Association for the past three years - and last year, more than $15,000 was raised to buy more than50 wheelchairs for those with serious spinal injuries.

“People leave hospital with second-hand wheelchairs and mechanics try to fix them,” he said.

“In our situation, wheelchairs are the only way we can get around, so this is really heartbreaking to see,” he said.

Mr Kuhne married in 2011 and he and wife Kylie have a son, Levi.

Mr Kuhne still enjoys extreme sports, has inspired hundreds of school and university students as a motivational speaker and he won a Gold Coast City Council Youth Achievement Award in 2012.

For further details on the SAS program visit sharkleathers.com.au.