Honda 599 New to Now

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#471 Unread post by **Sev** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:47 pm

So, my first day of work was 1/2 what I expected and 1/2 what I wasn't.

I had previously been through the shop with Paul the owner and he showed me a lot of the things that he wanted done (mostly clean up of all the crap that had been pulled off broken sleds and old wheels/treds etc). Plus some general move it around and fixit stuff. I KNEW that as the new guy I would be cleaning that up.

Other then that I expected that I would be doing all PDI's (assembly of new bikes out of the box - it stands for predelivery inspection) and oil/tire changes. Charging batteries, simple stuff like that.

I was right about the clean up. Spent all morning moving bikes and quads out of the shop (so there would be room to work) and then picking up scrap steel and throwing it in a truck. Haha, welcome back to the good old days... used to do stuff like that at both Alberta Truss and Altasteel.

Then in the afternoon I was asked to completely dissasemble the top end of a 2-stroke (racing modified) snowmobile engine, remove a nitrous system, replace the ECU, reinstall the stock pistons/cylinders/head, and replace the clutch. Basically take this race sled and return it to stock so it could be sold.

WTF? My first job is something that took me 4 months to work up to at school. Now that's funny. Between me and Tyler (guy who has been working there for 3 weeks) we managed to get the whole thing disassembled and the pistons put back in. We'll do the rest tomorrow.

Then I got to move all the bikes back into the shop for the night.

Everything hurts, but I feel pretty good. I think I might really like this job.

Paul the owner out and out told me that I wouldn't be a mechanic for the rest of my life. Something about the fact I've got college schooling and all that. He wants me to start helping out with planning and organization in the shop already. I'm confused, I just wanted to wrench on stuff for a while. But it's nice to know that I might have the opportunity to move up in the world.

He also wants me to get through my apprenticeship as quickly as possible which is really cool, because that's something I want to do as well. I think I'm going to get credited for the hours I spent in school (which is pretty rare). And he seems to be in a rush to get me into my third year. I was also asked if I could afford to go back to school for the next session. It's really neat having someone just as invested in my future as I am.

#472 Unread post by **Wrider** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:17 pm

Wow! Congrats Sev! Sounds like you're having fun and are doing well for your first day! Don't enjoy yourself too much!

Wrider

#473 Unread post by **Skier** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:38 pm

Congrats, sounds like everything is on the right track.

Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:11 am

A1, Get as much of the schooling under your belt as possible. allways a demand for qualified tradesmen.

mandyedwards · Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:34 am

That's awesome Sev! Glad to hear your enjoying your new job. And glad to hear your back in etown...now about that servicing...my bike will hit it's 6000km this summer....hmmm...

mandy

Shorts · #476 Unread post by **Shorts** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:43 pm

Sev, that's good news about the job. Your boss sounds like he's pretty interested in keeping you around for some major playing. That's good

Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:19 pm

Sounds Great! Congrats!

#478 Unread post by **Sev** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 5:18 am

So, despite the near freezing weather I went out for a ride again, longer and with more turns then I've taken on previous trips.

I think that I've narrowed down that my bike is slipping around because of cold tires, as turns became easier towards the end of the trip. Stopping and shifting was a "dog" though - my fingers froze almost solid... they still tingle a little today. I'm going to have to install my heated grips soon. But that means I need to get my new bars.

Work is getting to where it should be. I started doing PDI's on Friday, and will probably be doing even more on Monday. It's kind of boring, but interesting to see things come together. LoL, sportbikes come basically assembled in the crate - install the windscreen, charge the battery, check the tire pressure, wash it, and do the safety checks. You're done, cruisers come maybe 50% assembled

GRRRRRR.

I still want a Triumph Daytona 675, those are sexy freaking bikes... but at the same time I want to ride my Honda for the season - and I'm probably going to chop the crap out of it over the winter... YIKES!

Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:44 am

I'm gonna complain before you can...it SNOWED overnight, been dusting the streets ever since and it's -6C now and supposed to be -11C tonight.

Hope you didn't ride in to work this morning... you'd have a lot more to contend with than cold tires today...

Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:19 pm

KarateChick wrote:I'm gonna complain before you can...it SNOWED overnight, been dusting the streets ever since and it's -6C now and supposed to be -11C tonight.
Hope you didn't ride in to work this morning... you'd have a lot more to contend with than cold tires today...

its a skills challenge... only a dusting here, you can keep all that youre way eh?