Hello from Central VA!

[mormonator44]

I go by smitty, and yes, i am a mormon (if you were wondering about the name) and i have a delema. I love riding. i was riding dirtbikes when i was little but they were never mine becouse my family couldnt afford them. i am 19 now and have always loved the idea and feel of bein out on the road. but i could never ride one myself because even now moneys a little hard to come by. i love working with my hands and workin with anything mechanical and i was tryen to turn my love into a career and go to a vocational center for bike maintanence. but as of now im going to be serving a mission for my church for the next two years. everytime i mention this the schools seem to turn me away. what should i do? where can i get the best and erliest start in this field? i also want to know as much about riding as possible. thanks in advance.
smitty

[Myself002]

Welcome to the site. As far as learning goes this is the right place to come. Lots of knowledge packed in so be sure to look.

What kind of mission?

[motogirl]

Welcome!!!

I see that your are located in Virginia, but where will you be spending the next 2 years on your mission? Stateside? Overseas? Multiple locations? This will, of course, have a lot of bearing on any responses we can provide re: vocational training...

~Janet

[mormonator44]

i just sent my paperwork to the church headquarters in utah. itll take about 2 or 3 weeks till they send me back a package with details as to where im going. so it could be anywhere world wide, and while im gone ill be pretty devoted to the mission. were basically the mormons who ride bicycles and knock on peoples doors and try to teach people about or church. like i said ill be gone for 2 years

i believe i have picked a school i would like to go to, but its extreamly expensive. MMI? from what i understand its a few semesters of basic training then a semester of brand specific training. i also found a bike shop, big bore cycles down the street from my place... but in saving for this mission i dont know if i can afford to start anywhere new. i also want to try this harley outlet in orange here in virginia... but im sure they wont take a person 19 years old with almost no riding/mechanical expieriance ya know, i just really wanna break into this but im trying to find the best way possible

[Scoutmedic]

Good luck with your mission and with your "other mission" of becoming a mechanic.

[roscowgo]

Howdy, pretty country around orange.

[CORSCO]

MMI is expensive but they teach you right. I went right after high school to the Arizona location. The only thing I knew how to do was change the oil in my bike...that was it! In class they would pass around valves and pistons and it was like I was the only one who never saw these before.
The school is geared towards this type of student.
But beware!! It was no easy road, at least for me. I was young and it was my first time away from home. You have to figure the kind of crowd that goes to this kind of school. There were many, many drop-outs. In my Honda class there were 16 of us...6 graduated. From drug-addicts, suicides, accidents and even a "friend" of mine that killed his roomate!
I did well in the classes but the atmosphere made it tough.
You have six weeks of Theory, which is all note taking. Then there are six courses that are three weeks long each, the third week being the test week. A final course is three weeks of testing on all the areas taught. From there there are some performance and advanced classes before going into your manufacturer specific class, which is another 8 - 12 weeks.
If you are serious about going into this profession, I believe MMI is the way to go. I have worked with some guys from AMI and it seems there training was not as vigorous/informative.
Good luck with what you decide.

[mormonator44]

sounds pretty intense, but if they teach you the way you said they do im sure its well worth it. how difficult was it to land your first job after mmi?

[Wizzard]

Good Luck ! & welcome to the forums Smitty .
Regards, Wizzard