I am looking into options to become a certified HD mechanic. MMI has seemed to be the best option so far. Any ideas or thoughts from current grads or HD mechs would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

theres alot more to it than just getting that certificate. Alot of it is politics, Like...who you know and so forth. Not saying that the school wouldn't be good. It would be a pain just to spend that time and money and couldn't get a job with an H-D dealer unless you had to move halfway around the world to china, or something.
I'm not a grad of a mech school nor have the experiences with H-D personnel. Just what I have heard from a couple of Friends who got their certificate, just to be highly dissappointed.
Might help to be friends with the Gen. Manager, service manager, and owners of dealerships and hopefully be on their good side. Good luck.

 

I know a couple of guys who went thru the MMI school...they said it was expensive and no guarantee of landing a job...and neither of them is working in the field anymore...

H-D dealerships are closing their doors all over the country, and Indy shops are disappearing even faster...I know a bunch of real good wrenches working part time out of their garages because there's not many full time good paying jobs out there..

All that, and a major recession going on, doesn't seem like a real opportune moment to try to get into the biz...

Just sayin...

 

Buy an old broke down bike and without spending any significant money . . . . keep it running.

On a serious note; find a job at any rate of pay in the parts department or the service department of a Harley Dealer. There are lots of positions other than a Technician in a Dealership that don't require the tools and the training and the experience that a technician position does. If you're willing to work for extremely low wages and work the hours that no one else wants, you will gain a wealth of experience . . . some of which may include how to wrench on bikes . . . . or that you would rather do something else for a living . . . It's an education that you don't have to pay for and if you decide you do want to work as a technician it'll give you a perspective in any technical training class that can't be bought anywhere.

 

Pretty good advice here.

My first wrenching job was at a GMC truck dealership. They sold everything from 1/2 ton pickups thru semi trucks. The job opening was their entry level position - new vehicle prep.

I had no formal experience, but when I interviewed for the job I told them I did ALL the maintenance on my car myself and the only time someone else touched it was during the annual safety inspection.

This was in 1976 and the car I had at the time was a 1964 Olds Dynamic 88

Another piece of advice is - if you can afford it, find yourself an indy and offer to work for free. Sort of an internship, perhaps Saturday's or something like that.

 

MMI is over-rated and expensive. You don't need the school to be a tech at a dealership. For the most part, a fresh tech from MMI that gets hired in a service department gets stuck doing PDI's and installing accessories all of which come with instruction sheets. Find the one really good tech and watch and learn.

 

Read earlier posts on this. I even posted an email from HD about MMI. Spent 9 months there from Aug 09 until April 10. Waste of money. I knew more from my own experience than they were teaching. Buy a bike and tear it down! The school is all about money and not education. Can't even keep instructors!

 

Probably best to ask around with actual professional mechanics working in the places that you think you'd like to work. Trade associations may be another option to research. Find out where they came from, how they got into what they are doing now, and maybe things they might do differently if they had to do it all over again. Frankly your mileage may vary with internet forums (no offense intended). MMI might indeed suck a fat one... maybe.

Presumably, I'd think a formally educated mechanic (be it military, technical school, or private specialty school) would have an advantage over much of the rest of the field in getting the first job. Self-taught may be a fine option for some but certainly not all.

Maybe if you figure it out you update us here so the next guy with the same question doesn't have to reinvent the wheel.