Triumphrat

You should really talk to a graduate of MMI or one of the others. Some really hated attending those and really got nothing out of it. Another factor, check the schedule they offer in accordance with your current situation.

One person I know worked on bike, now he sells them and gets paid more. You like to work on a bike as a hobby right? Take your hobby and make it your work and it will probably no longer be as fun.

You should really talk to a graduate of MMI or one of the others. Some really hated attending those and really got nothing out of it. Another factor, check the schedule they offer in accordance with your current situation.

One person I know worked on bike, now he sells them and gets paid more. You like to work on a bike as a hobby right? Take your hobby and make it your work and it will probably no longer be as fun.

airplane

Why bother, they wont really teach you anything you couldn't learn on your own and they will take your hard cash in the process. It all boils down to this. If you wanna be, then take your cash, buy junk bikes somewhere with it and
build the stuff sooner or later, 5 years of so you'll start to get
better and then you can sell your skills. Got it?

Diego

> Why bother, they wont really teach you anything you couldn't learn on your own...

Assuming you are already aware exactly what it is that you don't know.

But when you don't know what you don't know, it will take longer. Not everybody has 5 years available for puttering before they're ready to sell their skills. And while it's true not everyone learns as well in a structured environment, it's just as true that others don't learn as effectively without a structured curriculum.

I think GaryD's advice is best, and it ties in well with what jerrysussman and Lanbrown said too. Talk to as many mechanics as possible. Find out what those who attended MMI think of it, for instance; but I bet you'll also uncover some pretty good advice on technical college programs that you weren't even aware of.

Interesting you should mention John Deere, Gary. One of the schools they have teamed up with is Fort Scott Community College in Kansas. They've got quite a John Deere training center. And, as of this past year, the college also has a Harley-Davidson factory sponsored training center! All at junior college tuition rates, considerably less than $10 grand per year.

If we can have something like that where I grew up, out in the middle of nowhere, very likely there will be some useful training available within a reasonable distance of most anyone.

__________________
John

gypsy56

Iv'e made my living as a certified motorcycle technician since the mid seventies. Now retired, I work on them one at a time in my basement to break the boredom and keep myself up to date. If you can get your foot in the door at a large dealership doing light work, and you do well, most will send you to school for that particular brand.
Money can be good if you're fast and don't have comebacks. The downside is that everyone thinks you are a grease monkey and should be making minimum wage. New motorcycles are very complex, we should be wearing lab coats. The mindset of the public needs to change.

Diego

Well put, gypsy56.

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John