Here in central Wa our closest dealer (36 miles) lost their only Harley tech to an accident he survived but may not be back, he was ancient. The next dealer is 80 miles they have one that works part time. Looks like Sparkey is going to get a ABS tool and do my own brake fluid flush, the only service I’ve had done at the dealer.

Youngins’ not interested in the scooter repair trade? Dealers not willing to pay a good wage for a certified tech? If I was going into the repair trade I’d rather wrench on bikes than cars or trucks much easier on the hands and body as the years roll on.

 

With electrification of everything that moves I would have a hard time encouraging a young person to invest in the tools and education needed to work on internal combustion engines. And yes that is going to be an issue in the future

 

Unless/until George Jettson's nuke powered get-around happens, ICE will be around for the next 100 years minimum


..L.T.A.

 

Harley owners are part of the problem in the equation. If the technician changes a taillight and later on the bike develops an oil leak, the customer blames the technician. If I were to go back to work, I'd rather be working at a small engine shop than a Harley dealership just because of the customer base.

 

It's not just harley-davidson, industrial maintenance technicians in manufacturing are a lost breed
Nobody want to get there hands dirty and do real work.

 

True that!

Nobody even wants to show up for work. COVID, and other things, trained/conditioned people not to work. Every sector is challenged by a lack of folks that want a job and want to support themselves.

You want to talk about searching for techs? My son is an airplane mechanic, (FAA A&P), want to talk about head hunters on the hunt?

Back in the day, the lessers went to "VoTec" (Vocational Technical School), and the smart kids went to college; now, things are different. A Masters in pre-Mid Evil art culture and $100,000 in student loan debt don't put meat on the table or beer in the fridge - let alone pay the rent or work towards home ownership.

 

Man, isn't this the truth. Flat rate techs screw up occasionally, but owners think they're so smart because they read something on the internet. If they're so smart, why don't they do the work themselves?

 

My local dealer had their Master Tech retire recently. I don’t know if they replaced him.

Their satellite store poached a tech from Arizona!

Fortunately there is a wealth of indies around me.

 

Maybe it's just the area you live? There is no lack of Harley dealerships or people/techs working at them around me. 4 huge dealers all within 30 minutes of me. Closest one is 8 miles away.

 

The dealer I deal with has a least 3 master techs between two dealerships. They also train the new techs. They the big one here is THEY PAY THEM WELL. And keep up with the times as far as pay, that's why they keep them.