I want to be able to work on motorcycles, what to study?

[Tailwag]

So my gap year is nearing an end and having a job is wonderful, but it's not a long term solution nor is it what I want to do for a living.

This job got me a new pc, sound system, car, scooter and busy getting me a bike.

But next year I want to study.

I want to work on motorcycles, not even neccesarily for a living, just as something I can do. Whether the bikes are new or old.

I was thinking of doing electrical engineering for a year or two. What do you think? Would that be a good start? Would it help?

I would also love to learn how to weld etc.

Where does your knowledge come from?

[Eye_m_no_angel]

If you don't want to take off and go to a place like Wyotech or MMI, (or can't afford it,) I'd look at a local community college and see if they have a motorcycle technician program. Most of them are 2 year programs and also cover things like welding and machining and so forth. Some, like Central Carolina CC have night courses and other shorter courses.

[SpitefulHam]

Originally Posted by Tailwag

Where does your knowledge come from?

The interwebs.

For real.

There's videos and tutorials for just about everything online that can give you a basic understanding of how to do most of what you will want to do on your bike. Nothing beats actual instruction of course. You could see if there's a motorcycle technicians institute (like a trade school) in your area or your local college/university might offer some classes in the same.

EDIT: Eye is too fast for me.

[DachshundUberAlles]

Electrical engineering will be a great benefit........

for working on electric bikes.

[z9nine]

I learned cars by just going out there and doing it, the first couple times I worked on my stuff it cost me a crap load due to me replacing the wrong stuff.

It is all trial and error Haynes, Chilton, and Clymer books as well as FSM's will teach you what you need to know.

I was somewhat lucky, I had a mechanical background, the Navy taught me how to work on jet engines. Doing that taught me crazy good troubleshooting skills.

[zmago]

Originally Posted by DachshundUberAlles

Electrical engineering will be a great benefit........

for working on electric bikes.

Actually, that might not be a bad idea. There are lots of electric scooters on the road here.

[bajakirch]

My local tech school has a healthy continuing education program. These are non-degree courses covering many different fields.

Years ago I learned about a 2-course series called Small Engine Repair I and II.

In SER I they teach you the basics of an internal combustion engine (both 2-and 4-stroke) and teach you how to do a thorough tune up. Classes meet for 3 hours one evening a week for 10 weeks. Classes are split into thirds: Classroom instruction, instructor demonstration in the shop, and hands on experience working on a project you bring in (as small as a grass tirmmer to a full-blown MC engine).

SER II (for which SER I is a pre-requisite) teaches you how to take the engine down to its component parts, then rebuild it. Same kind of class schedule.

Cost of each class was only $80 + any replacement parts I needed for my project (snowblower).

I've taken SER I and learned a ton. I hope to take SER II this winter.

One huge advantage of these courses is that we got access to a shop with every conceivable tool you can imagine.

Another nice thing about a course like this is that it gives you a feel for how the instruction is. If I do SER II and wnat to go further, there's a whole host of actual degree programs I could do, like professional engine repair, motorcycle maintenance technician, auto maintenance, etc.

[Stephenwc]

Originally Posted by Tailwag

I want to work on motorcycles, not even necessarily for a living, just as something I can do. Whether the bikes are new or old.

Why not study motorcycle maintenance?

Seems obvious to me.

Stephen

[Tailwag]

Originally Posted by DachshundUberAlles

Electrical engineering will be a great benefit........

for working on electric bikes.

Sorry, it seemed like it might do some good because modern bikes have a lot of electronics.

Originally Posted by Stephenwc

Why not study motorcycle maintenance?

Seems obvious to me.

Stephen

I don't know if there is something similar in my country (South Africa), I hope there is. I'll ask around.

Originally Posted by SpitefulHam

The interwebs.

For real.

There's videos and tutorials for just about everything online that can give you a basic understanding of how to do most of what you will want to do on your bike. Nothing beats actual instruction of course. You could see if there's a motorcycle technicians institute (like a trade school) in your area or your local college/university might offer some classes in the same.

EDIT: Eye is too fast for me.

I learned some stuff from YouTube, like how to change oil, CVT belts and rollers but nothing major yet.

Kind of scared, I watched a video on how to bleed brakes and I was like 'wut?'

[Eye_m_no_angel]

If there's no courses available where you are you might could also start hanging around a shop, if you can find one that will let you. We used to always have a few guys that would hang around and sweep up, wash bikes, that kind of thing, and we'd gradualy start showing them how to do some work on bikes. (Not customer bikes, of course.)

You Tube videos and manuals are great sources of information, but there's a lot they don't tell you also, so if you're starting from scratch and don't have a basic mechanical knowledge it can be pretty easy to screw something up. For example if you over torque a caliper pin or dribble brake fluid on your pads you stand a decent chance of crashing on your first test ride.

[ralphlong]

Here's an idea. Get off the couch. Go to a motorcycle garage or dealership. Go into the back where the bikes are being worked on. Ask the people there how they learned to their craft.

Be nice and not cocky and willing to listen. Chances are you will learn much.