Certified Mechanic

[Geronimo]

How does one get certified to work on scooters? Let's say I have a scooter dealership. Do I get certified from one of the brands I carry or do I just get certified in small engine repair? If I sell Kymco scoots do they offer certification? Just curious.

[hillbilly]

That is an interesting question.

In general the China scoots seem to have no dealer standards or at least no enforcement of standards. If the dealers shop consists of a hammer, screwdriver, and pliers that is excellent. A sign saying "don't let the door hit ya...." seems to be an acceptable alternative dealer strategy.

I have friends that work for Japanese dealers and they have to send mechanics to product classes in order to maintain warranty service authorization.

Our local Kymco dealer has a nice shop and both he and his son seem knowledgeable and well able to take care of a scoot. I suspect that Kymco probably enforces some minimum standards but it would be interesting to know what they are.

[medman1952]

I would suggest you find a course for motorcycle repair. You might also become a Honda or Yamaha certified mechanic if that is possible, since they both have scooters you should be pretty well qualified to work on them.

[swampsniper]

I used to have to run around, here, or there, and sit in on a Briggs and Stratton, or an OMC, certificate class. Thing is, had I been a total idiot, it wouldn't have made a difference, I just had to be there, and put in the time, and I was "certified"!
Once upon a time I hired a ''certified Briggs and Stratton mechanic", first thing he always did was take some sandpaper, and polish the flywheel! If that didn't work he would start replacing parts, and praying to get lucky! ;D He had no clue at all about what was going on inside a damned engine. ;D

[hillbilly]

swampsniper said:

he would start replacing parts, and praying to get lucky! ;D

I've seen F-15's repaired that way too. At least it seems less dangerous on a Briggs and Stratton.

[fulltimerart]

Just remember---if it aint broke, fix it til it is. Too bad that is some "mechanics" slogan. Seriously tho, go to dansmc.com-its a "free motorcycle repair course" and there is a lot of information there. Art

[swampsniper]

Thing is, if you are just a little Redneck turd, oh well!
We are run, and controled ,by a bunch of politicians, who couldn't dump piss out of their boot!

[hillbilly]

swampsniper said:

Thing is, if you are just a little Redneck turd, oh well!
We are run, and controled ,by a bunch of politicians, who couldn't dump piss out of their boot!

You mean the internets is not a series of tubes after all?

Swamp, maybe you just need to learn to start paying more attention to important stuff like Britney, Paris, and OJ and just ignore the bridge in the river, the deficit, and other silly things like that. ;D

[newc77]

I think certified mechs actually take course work and I know there are different organizations that offer certification. Manufacturers as well offer course work on their particular engines. I assume (big mistake?) that mainline scooter lines offer some kind of certification as well. Chinese cheapies? I doubt they would require much if anything. I would think some kind of formal training in general cycle repair would be a good place to start.
Tom

[YellowScooter]

I don't know of a scooter shop that deals souly in scooters around here. The motorcycle shops that sell the chinese scoots have the mechanics but the only way parts are had is by stripping down a new machine and parting it out.
The in store prices could easily cover 2 partially assembled machines purchased online. That seems to be the way it's done around here. So in actuality you paid for your parts machine up front already. I guess you do what you gotta do to keep parts on hand and customers happy. That does explain how the hell Rick got my side panels so quickly.
I don't know if thats crooked or not, but it does seem to work out for the best in most cases around this area. And it does give Rick the appearence of being a miracle-worker. lol

[Enviromoto]

This is true, when I place a order for my most popular roketa maui-gl, I will order a extra one and strip it down for parts. I know its a long way to go for spares but if you had to deal with the hassel of getting parts from the dist you would do the same. I break even on the scooter most generaly.

[burtonwilkins]

I have read your comments and concerns as to those who work on scooters. I share that concern. But there are other concerns. Will the manufacturer stand by its warranty, or will they supply the parts if parts are required? I purchased this year a KYMCO Xciting 500 Scooter. The was the worse purchase I have ever made in my life.

The engine blew up at 70 miles per hour while I was driving in heavy traffic on the freeway. I got away with my life. But then things got worse. KYMCO advertises a 2 year warrenty, but renegged on the warrenty. The bike has not been repaired or replace in 3 months. I call every other day but they do nothing. Selling is a priority, but fixing their product is not.

When you buy a scooter or a bike, be sure that the bike has a warranty and the manufacturer will honor that warranty.

To put it bluntly, I got screwed. The best specific advice I can give is never buy anything from KYMCO, whether a scooter or a motorcycle.

Before you even think of having anything to do with KYMCO, please visit my site at www.KYMCOBuildsBadBikes.com and see the evidence for yourself.

There are some who did not believe 9/11 took place. But when they saw the pictures, then they believed. You can't really show pictures on a forum, so I've placed them on this web site "http://www.KYMCOBuildsBadBikes.com" so that you could see them and then I expect you will believe as well. This I have done for your benefit. I wish I had seen such a site before deciding to buy a KYMCO. At any rate, this may now help someone.

Sincerely, Burt.

[swampsniper]

A head bolt just came out? No warning at all? I don't doubt you have a problem, but this sounds strange.

[tieso]

I've never been certified. I wouldn't work on mine now if technicians didn't turn away cheap scooter owners in my part of NC.

I could take mine to a 'shade tree mechanic' but I'd rather not. I've had mine completely torn down already, and basically learned to diagnose and maintenance it out of necessity. I worked on a lot of engines in my teen years, mostly utility engines like briggs and stratton.

As far as certification goes some scooter manufacturers have there own certification If I understood the online tuning videos correctly. They train you after employment, and you have to have the typical 4 years job experience or certification in this case(degree in others.)

Younger guys go threw certification schools like car mechanics do, and I'm not sure how long that takes, but my friend who is a Suzuki technician went to a school for a while, and then did an internship before getting his first solid job as a technician. It's harder now cause Wyotech students are even getting turned down cause all the veterans and master mechanics are getting laid off, and going back to small timer jobs.

Regarding header bolt: I've been having high grade stainless steel bolts with lock washers just snapping in my exhaust brackets. I'm still working on getting a carbide drill bit to make a hole for a easy-out bit. The frame on my scooter must be having close to ultra sonic vibrations cause it's also fracturing sharp die steel pieces and shotty tack weld on the exhaust mounts.

[swampsniper]

Stainless steel isn't a magic metal, it just doesn't rust as fast. This doesn't have anything to do with tensile strength.

[Andi]

Most established Equipment Manufacturers offer certification programs to their dealers, I have recently been through the first of three Honda Motorcycle Service training courses. John Deere offers exceptional training programs starting online and then furthered in classrooms. Any training of course still has a human component, some have more aptitude then others.

Andi

[Andi]

tieso said:

Regarding header bolt: I've been having high grade stainless steel bolts with lock washers just snapping in my exhaust brackets. I'm still working on getting a carbide drill bit to make a hole for a easy-out bit. The frame on my scooter must be having close to ultra sonic vibrations cause it's also fracturing sharp die steel pieces and shotty tack weld on the exhaust mounts.

The grading in Stainless Steel is only in regards to corrosion resistance the most common grade in fasteners is 304 (18/8) and 316 which is also known as marine grade, as it has a higher chromium content it is more resistant to corrosion. The yield strength of either is very similar to mild steel, but its more brittle. Excessive heat decreases the corrosion resistance in stainless steel.

Something to watch out for is the cold fusion effect in stainless fasteners especially when using stainless nuts and bolts, while tightening a tiny amount of material scrapes of and causes the threading to fuse together (cold fusion) this makes it impossible to separate them again, putting a bit of grease on the threads prevents this from happening.

You may want to use grade 8 bolts on your muffler bracket as they offer a significant higher yield strength, which is equivalent to 10.9 in metric or you even have the choice of going to a 12.9. There are ultra high strength stainless fasteners available (17-4PH stainless steel), but they'll be hard to find and very expensive no doubt.

Andi

[tieso]

I've been getting my bolts from Ace Hardware out of convenience. I don't even think they show tinsel strength. It's usually just like 2-3/8x.8.

I get machine bolts from Bolt Depot a lot cause they have the allen socket head bolts in all standard and metric sizes. They have hex head bolts in stainless steel 18-8 and grade 8 steel.