Motorcycle Service Technology

Intro to Motorcycles,  the class where it all begins.  I was pretty excited upon enrolling into the program and had positive thoughts, that finally I was going to do something that I actually had a interest in.  Unlike most people that go to school for 4-8 odd some years for the sake of an unhappy salary, rather than their own genuine interest of things.  I can speak on behalf of myself, being in school for three years straight building up my general education credits in hopes that I would know what I wanted to do in life at the half way mark.  I do have a few field of interests that I had in mind, but nothing intrigues me more than motorcycles.  Not being born a natural motorhead unlike the majority of certified mechanics out there, but in the process of becoming one.  So for the time being, instead of doing something that I think “should” do, I’m going to go with the what I “want” to do path.

I didn’t know what to expect at first before the first class session, but after  the first day of class I knew I was going to have fun.  A couple loud but funny classmates made up part of it along with hearing the professor’s stories about running off from the cops made everything seem pretty laid-back.  Everything is just more fun at 100mph anyway.  There are times when to be serious,  but you got to have your laughs in too to make the best of things especially when it comes to learning something new. 

My motivation for entering the program wasn’t just for the hell of it, but because there really isn’t room for just being an everyday motorcycle rider without knowing how to fix your own bike.  Every seasoned rider should at least have an idea how their bike works.  Then again, if every motorcycle rider knew how to fix their own bike, there wouldn’t be money to be made when it came to motorcycle repair.  Really though,  that belief is more of my own self expectations and standards. 

Like any other kid growing up, I’ve had a pretty good general interest in motorcycles but I’ve only been riding for about a year now.  And up until now, I’ve had five bikes since then.   Despite that duration maybe that’s a bit bike whore-ish but really it’s because my dumbass self didn’t know how to fix my own bikes.  I would buy something for cheap.  Ride it for a thousand miles and then when something would go wrong on the bike, I wouldn’t know how to fix it.  Then after realizing I was over my head when I took the initiative to do an engine repair, I would just give up and posting the bike on craigslist in hopes I would get half of what I got it for.  I was kind of tired of going through that endless cycle, so that’s when I looked up Chattahoochee Technical College. 

 
I don’t actually have plans in becoming a technician, more so upon my own interest in motorcycles and knowing how to fix my own stuff instead of going to the local bike shop and hearing an $X,XXX amount of dollars on a quote.  Where instead of spending on a 4-figure repair job, it made more sense to invest that 4-figure into an affordable motorcycle repair program.  Ideally though, after I get to the point of knowing what I’m doing, I would like to fix broken down bikes for cheap, fix them and then flip for profit.  And thanks to online websites like craigslist, there is money to be made during the right seasons.  Buy for cheap during the winter time, and then flip for big bucks during the summer.  But whatever happens, happens.  If I finish the program (that in which I hope) and get offered a job on the spot, I might just take it.