Total Motorcycle Community Forums

So if i wanted to learn more about building, modding, fixing, and all around working on bikes is there a good school to goto?

The school of hard knocks?

Seriously, there are schools out there for anything you want ... it's more a matter of whether or not you want to shell out the money for them. Some Bike mags have adverts for do-at-home courses which cost a few hundred, and then on the opposite end there are professional technical schools like AMI or MMI which cost thousands.

The professional tech schools are more interested in teaching you how to be a certified mechanic (And both do a good job.) If you are more interested in building customs, I'm not sure if there are any schools out there (I know there's one in the midwest for building hot rod cars, not bikes tho) It wouldn't surprise me if someone has started one up recently tho due to all the hype.

read this

:- viewtopic.php?t=27

damned good start!

I know that there is a good school in the states for harley trained techs if you want to specialize

MMI (motorcycle mechanics Institute) is supposedly a pretty good school, if you watch the speed channel Im sure youve seen there ads, if not than just google it.

well i already did wyotech for cars now mmi looks like another step

I know a guy here went to the Hot Rod School of MMI in Chicago. They taught him on the cars, but he just transferred all that to bikes. Works at the Harley shop here, and does all the custom work to bikes. Last time I ran into him was at a stoplight, on some Cushman scooter he built with some crazy engine and exhaust on it. It was one fast little scooter.

Keyoke wrote:read this

:- viewtopic.php?t=27

damned good start!

WHAT THE "fudge"

i posted that a while ago ping that bloody thing

i think i may go to AMI but i don't think i have the skill to pass the scool.........

lowlux wrote:

Keyoke wrote:read this

:- viewtopic.php?t=27

damned good start!

WHAT THE "fudge"

i posted that a while ago ping that bloody thing

i think i may go to AMI but i don't think i have the skill to pass the scool.........

Yup - was re-posted by Skier after the Hack

(well done at finding it in the first place - is a great resource)

Allright. I'm an AMI grad.

If you don't have the skill to pass the school then you need to seriously consider changing your banner there in your sig, cuz it ain't conducive to keepin the brain cells intact

Seriously, The insructors at AMI are great and will do anything to help you pass _If you are willing to work for it_ . That being said, from a mechanical aspect I would choose AMI over MMI because the instructors at AMI are real bikers who have been in the business for decades and know there machines inside and out, where as MMI, while being more expensive, also has instructors that only know about bikes from reading books. They are more into the "Corporate" motorcycling approach (following manufacturers accepted guidelines - NOT THINKING OUT OF THE BOX) whereas AMI is For Bikers, By Bikers... Get the thing running right every time, manufacturers be darned.

While I'm being fatmouthed and opinionated, I will also say that if you need to go to a school to build a custom bike, you're probably not getting the point. Go to school to learn the basics of mechanics and engineering, but for customs, you just have to freakin do it - not pay someone to tell you how they do it.

Books are your friend. Check out Motorcycle Design: How and Why by Gaetano Cocco. There's more learning in that book about building a motorcycle properly than any school... If you can get through that book, you don't need anything else except imagination and a welder. (And a FAT WALLET helps alot...)