A local man who admits he “had never picked up a spanner in his life” until two years ago, is now using his newfound motorcycle maintenance skills to transform lives in rural Kenya.
In 2023, following a 30-year career in global events management, Ed Tranter (pictured above) faced a life-changing decision when his business collapsed. At 50, he began searching for a new direction and turned to a long-time interest: motorcycles. The only problem? He had no mechanical experience.
“Before I started at North Kent College, I’d never done anything mechanical in my life,” Ed admits. “I liked bikes, but I couldn’t have named a single part on one.”
Noticing a course was offered close to his home in Ashurst, Ed enrolled on a Level 2 Motorcycle Maintenance and Repair course at North Kent College. Here he was immediately faced with another challenge, many of his classmates immediately assumed he must be lecturer!
“I was quite nervous starting the course, as it was me and a number of 17- and 18-year-olds and I was 50. So they came in and saw me with my tattoos and beard and thought, ‘oh he must be one of the lecturers’!” he said.
Despite the initial nerves, Ed quickly settled into college life. “It turned out to be a blessing,” he said. “I really enjoyed what I was doing and loved learning new things.”
“In the first week, I was stood in a garage, with a Harley Davidson that I was going to take apart the front of in order to do the head race bearings, and I didn’t even know what a head race bearing was until the previous week. So suddenly I am out there being trusted to put it on a ramp and basically take the whole front off of it! It has been such a joyful thing for me, being at College.”
Ed completed his Level 2 qualification and is now in the final months of the Level 3 Motorcycle Maintenance and Repair course. But his journey has gone far beyond the classroom.
Above: Some of the sights Ed saw during his time in Kenya.
Last August, inspired by a connection through his church, Ed travelled to Homa Bay in Kenya—one of the country's poorest counties. He witnessed firsthand the vital role motorcycles play in everyday life, from transporting goods to ferrying entire families, and the dangerous conditions riders face, with no safety gear, little to no lighting, and minimal mechanical knowledge or support.
“The roads are chaotic, the bikes are overloaded and under-maintained, and many riders are risking their lives daily,” Ed says. “They don’t have crash helmets, they don't have protective gear of any kind, the bikes aren't usually in very good condition, they're not well cared for because they can't afford to service them, and there is no annual MOT or checks, or anything like that.”
“The roads are incredibly dangerous, there is no right of way because everyone has right of way. At night they're riding and most of them don't have any lights, so it will be pitch black and the riders are all dressed in dark colours and they might have a family on the back of their bike.
“But these young men are trying to provide for their families with the little they have and I just wanted to help.”
Ed organised a free maintenance and safety event for local riders. Working alongside local pastors and mechanics, in a single day, his small team serviced 75 bikes, replaced vital parts, distributed high-visibility jackets, gave basic mechanical training and provided the riders with free food and refreshments.
“The response was overwhelming,” Ed says. “For many of these riders, it was the first time someone had ever done something just for them.”
He is now working with the community to establish a permanent, locally-run motorcycle servicing garage. The aim is to create employment, improve road safety, and provide ongoing mechanical and business training.
Above: The free event was very well attended.
“I want it to be sustainable,” Ed explained. “This isn’t about a bloke from England handing out money and disappearing. I want it to be run by Kenyans, for Kenyans.”
His charity work also highlighted the level of support available at North Kent College.
“When I was trying to find a service manual for the bikes in Kenya, my tutor, Alex, was writing to the main company in India, unbeknownst to me, saying ‘one of my students is coming over to help repair and maintain some of these bikes, have you any information you can send us?’, and doing it all off of his own back.”
“And that is sort of a summary really of my entire experience of everyone I’ve worked with on the teaching staff, they want to help you.
“Whatever you are trying to achieve, which ever area you want to work in, they will support you with all of it, in a way which is above and beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.”
“They genuinely care and a lot of the joy they get is from seeing the success of other people and you can’t ask for better teaching than that in my opinion.”
And the course has taken Ed on a journey he would never have predicted, he said: “I’ve gone from not knowing the names of any parts of a bike in September 2023, and less than two years later I am servicing bikes on a dirt track in Kenya, it has been incredible!”
Above: The first wave of riders after their services and free hi-vis
Alex Worsfold, Course Manager & Lecturer for Motorcycle in North Kent College Automotive Department, said: “It’s always a pleasure to see how the students grow, moving into their dream careers and following their progression but Ed has taken his time with me at NKC and has made a real impact to a lot of people in a way I couldn’t have imagined.”
It’s amazing to see those transferred skills being put to the most honourable of uses, and it has been my honour to work with Ed over the last couple of years.”
“Every student leaves an impact on us as teachers, but Ed’s has been an intercontinental one!”
Students studying a Motor Vehicle course at North Kent College benefit from top class facilities that include a fully functioning garage, diagnostic centre and workshops. All staff have worked in real commercial garages and retain contact with industry.
To learn more visit the Motor Vehicle page of the College website.