Motorcycle mechanic Dat me dat iz dumbest carrer move I ever made
WHy? Its a sunset industry, Years ago you were motorcycle engineers , with skill thats were handed down and practiced day after day , Anyone remember making a surface plate with a scraper ???
Now its oil and oil filter , chain and sprockets and out the door ,
Punctures i like , quick easy and makes money, Electrical I like uses the brain ... but try charging for a week of thinking
Race bike prep I like, because its a test of your overall skill and knowledge
I did my training in england , started of working at a bike shop and studying my city and Giulds 3 year course then I worked for Honda and did every damn course they did at the time then worked a few bike shops in a couple of countries
Finally did my NZCE ( mech) in NZ ...That was something I should have done a long time ago, I thought a bout Uni , but I am a mechanic and the NZCE was the right choice
Then I came over here and worked as a bike mech for a few years, Then gave it a rest as the working conditions here are crap ( read long hours one day off a week and crap money )
Now I earn good money and can play with bikes in the morning , ( I can finally do all the stuff I wanted to do , like design parts , make mistakes and gain a bucket load of experience, another thing I should have done 10 year ago !)
At the end of the day ??? I love bikes , I am very happy , just being around bikes .. People I like, just love chatting to different people about bikes
Rich???? No a big NO ,,,you will always have pocket money but money ,,you can kiss that good bye
Shaun.
I have an immense pride in my work. I get a great satisfaction seeing the peoples faces when for example their bike has stopped and they have taken it to a bike shop who has said No , and I fix it and knowing me never charge for it !. You cant get a better feeling in the world than that .
On saying that I have worked for too many arsehole bosses who for example... worked oversea during their big OE , or raced a few years Know absolute Jack about bike but walk around intimidating everyone ,
I swore I would NEVER work with such people again EVER,
At the moment I have a great employer , very supportive and a pleasure to work for ( now I know how some people enjoy working )
Finally Its taken me 20 years to actually realise HOW I work and what I enjoy about bikes, and that means specialisation. Most mechanics are clueless about either Electrics or Supension ( Especially electrics ) So If you specialise, you get an easier life ???
Good luck I hope my ramblings give you something to think about, Do the course anyway ,,,its an investment either way you look at it ,, but raise your sights become an engineer ,,,Then go back to working on bike as a specialist
Stephen
"Look, Madame, where we live, look how we live ... look at the life we have...The Republic has forgotten us."
Bookmarks