How much does a motorcycle mechanis make?

Question

i was think abount going to mmi for yamaha and sazukie and i was wonder how much could i make.

Answer 1

Not near enough, Ive never seen a rich one yet...

Answer 2

Been doing it for more than 20 years.

If my wife didn't make great money I'd starve to death.  The only way you make good money is by lying, cheating and stealing from your customers, or by OWNING the business and also being the mechanic.

I'm not lying, either. I've no motivation to decry this profession because I don't want competition- there are TONS of jobs available becasue so many people do it and then quit. That's why MMI and AMI stay in business. "Make money!" "Do what you love!" etc. I AM doing what I love, but I'm making (get ready) about 180 bucks a week, BEFORE taxes. I am not jerking you around. Ya, I've made more at other dealerships, but the more you make, the more you discover shifty goings-on in other parts of the dealership and if you're honest you just can't stomach it. Hence the turnover.

Bottom line, don't do it for the money. And please, Suzuki is not spelled "sazukie"

Answer 3

the only way you'll make any money at it is owning the shop, working for a shop, you'll never get ahead.  you need to make that labor rate all yours, not just a cut of it

i make money with wrenching bikes, but i also buy them with problems, fix them myself and resell them

Answer 4

Not much.

#1 - in much of USA, there's no motorcycle riding in the cool / cold climate

#2 - people don't like to spend lot of money on vehicles they only spent few thousand dollars.  On a car they spent $30K, $5k may sound expensive but not crazy.  But on a bike that only cost $7K, that same $5K sounds absolutely crazy.

#3 - here in NYC, people only put on about 1K miles per year.  So there's very little "old" bike work

#4 - for many people motorcycles are toys not a daily commuter.  If they break down, they just don't fix it if they don't have the money right away.

#5 - lot of motorcycles are totaled beyond repair.

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But then again, motorcycles are in more accidents than cars.  And they are much higher maintenance vehicles.

Good Luck...

P.S.  I thought about MMI.  But in my opinion, it is probably better to check out your local community college for auto mechanic course and become a car mechanic (cheaper too).

Answer 5

If I enjoyed the grease more than I do I would consider getting into the business here. In an area with over 1 million residents and only one old-bike mechanic running a legal (formally organized) business, the market is ripe. I like working on my bike, but I couldn't do it for a living.

Still, people that tell you it can't be done don't know how to get it done. Here's the secret to running a small business: You CAN NOT do it all yourself. If you try you'll end up making $180 a week or less.

You need to own the business and understand finance. You need to outsource everything at which you do not excel. Accounting? Sales? Customer Service?

Here's the rule: If you're doing someone else's job you're neglecting your own.

Study marketing (basically any book by Seth Godin) and build a business to help your market, NOT to help you. When a business is designed to meet the needs of others, so long as it is based on a sound business model (how to get money from someone else's pocket into yours), the business will come.

Seasonal area? Focus on ALL small engine work. Don't limit yourself to "bikes". Do ATVs, snowmobiles, jetskis/waverunners, snowblowers, lawnmowers, etc.

In the Spring you'll be overrun by tuneups. You MUST market to those people when you see them that you take on big projects (like customizations, or performance tuning, or engine rebuilds, or whatever) in the Fall & Winter months.

Every dealership will work on new bikes. Be the guy in town who works on old bikes. Get a stack of your business cards (GET THEM PROFESSIONALLY DESIGNED!!!) on every parts counter, dealership service desk, and machine shop in town. They don't make money on old bikes because they don't know how, so they're happy to send people to you.

Or focus on a very specific market, so that you are always the first name on anyone's tongue for that subject, like performance tuning or classic rebuilds. There's a reason specialists like oncologists and neurologists make more than general practitioners. They both went to the same amount of school and work roughly the same number of hours.

Make friends with the parts counter managers and employees. They get you business because you get them business. Surprise them with lunch. Your business should be based on helping others, not about selling your services. Think of your relationship with your customers & vendors as the same as dating: play for the long run. No s*x on the first date. Don't cheat or treat them badly for a quickie. You need them so you need them to need you.

Again, most of this is basic marketing concepts applicable to any business, with a few specific ideas for a bike mechanic.

Spend no less than 1 hour a day reading about business development. Study more about how to improve your business than you do about fuel, air, and spark. Pay more attention to your marketing than the Snap-on guy.

AND DON'T CONFUSE MARKETING WITH ADVERTISING! Good marketing doesn't cost money. Even really good advertising can be a complete waste of money.

Finally, as soon as your growth slows down hire a consultant to help you understand your constraints. Make sure the consultant is competent with the Theory of Constraints.

Master the fundamentals of marketing that Seth Godin teaches in the books listed below and you can pick any viable market and you'll excel. How much you make will then be determined by how much you want to put into the business. If you market yourself effectively you won't have a slow season.

Answer 6

I've worked for three different shops and each one had a different pay scale. The most common method of payment is stub pay. This is were you are paid a certain amount of hours per job. If the customer is charged 2 hours you are paid for 2 hours labor. This is regardless of how long it took you to do the job. If you ran in to problems and took more then 2 hours to do the work you still only get paid for 2 hours. If you are skilled and do quick work you can make more money. The other problem is how the shop covers mistakes. If you scratch a fuel tank will they cover it or does a new factory part (not a repaint) come out of your pay? Then there's warranty work. If a new bike is in for warranty work the stub pay can be 75 percent of book time. Plus you will need to buy a lot of tools yourself. Most of them will be generic stuff as a good shop will provide the more expensive stuff.

The hardest part about stub pay is winter when the riding season is over. If you're in the northern part of the country you can count on a lot of low paychecks.

I loved working on bikes but it is not the best job if you are the primary wage earner for the house and have kids.

Answer 7

mechanics are one of the under paid job, but it always depend on how good your are, i still believe in everyones ability to become the best and flourish in their career, every skill has a pot of gold. being a motorbike mechanic myself is not bad at all, its more than enough money from an average working class. and the fun of doing it. cheers

Answer 8

Not much and the newer ones are getting more and more technical to work on. I also suggest you work on your grammar and spelling.