Looking for a good tech support forum for ATVs

[Luffydog]

alot of times it comes down to finding the prob then the hard part the homework of the finding the parts to fix and the cost which one could do for the profit. just of matter of the search. these days the people of have the parts know that it cost .50 to make and they buy for 3.00 and sell for 15.00 but sometimes you just have to do what you got to do to get the job done right where you know that someone will walk out the door and go tell the next what you did for them and mostly how good it works after the fix. thats like now these days a rebuild kit for a carb can be had for 15.00 and under in most cases but the but the rebuild cost your up to a new carb in most cases. just wonder why they even make the kits anymore it seems to me it is a joke to rebuild one when you can get the job done with the new one for the same or close the same with a better job well done. i had 2 guys working for me when they started i told them my box is always open. if you use it clean it put it back where it goes. at the end of everday if it takes you 30 plus mins to clean and pick tools fine do so. one day i searched for a few tools for the job. none was found i was mad. the next was a monday they came in to work my box was locked and they couldnt do the work they needed to be done i sent them home for a few days and it wasnt long they started calling me wanting to work. i told them my tools was the way i make a living and now after being off 4 days you should know. i havent had a problem since they understood how it was to not have them when you needed them. i ended up finding my tools all around with rust and out back where they shouldnt of been left. i made them clean them all up and replace them where they go. i ended up paying them for the days off because thats the way i am but now they know that i love my tools

[creia]

So, on the one hand, yes they ARE hiring idiots that barely know enough to turn a wrench and would actually go looking for a muffler bearing if you showed them a picture of a parts catalog listing one... but on the other hand, there just are not enough candidates that want to actually WORK in the business (Many like creia's son have the interest.. and the keen intellect to learn all about them and be a top tech) .. but all too often, shops are still working in the stone age and expect to hire a top notch tech for $10/hour and still believe they're perfectly happy with the idea that they're gonna get laid off when winter comes around.. eventually those kinds of shops will be out of business and the modernized shops that know how to stay busy year around and pay a livable wage for journeyman techs will start (finally) attracting smarter people that can see themselves making a career out of small engine repair...

Brian,
That is a nice complement and I had my son Jeff (Recently registered under the name "Primer Bulb" on this forum) read what you said. His interest in small engines started when he was 14 (he is 20 now), when he bought his first mini-bike. (He has had 6 more and 3 motorcycles since then) As luck would have it we found a local guy who had a bunch of old, neglected, (and always non-running) Briggs, Tecumseh, and Clinton engines (all 30-45 years old) that he would sell cheap for like $15-25/each . Jeff bought used repair manuals cheap on Ebay and of course went online to learn diagnostic and repair techniques. By now he had REALLY "caught the fever" for small engine repairs. It is really quite astounding how quick a kid can learn when he is interested and passionate about something! Within a year he actually had a small home business restoring small engines. He soon found out that the guys with the old classic mini-bikes like "Taco", Bonanza", "Rupp", etc. were very good clients for a nice period correct, model year matching meticulously restored engine to replace their worn out engine and they would pay a pretty good price for Jeff's engines (He sold them on EBay). My son at one time considered making small engine repair a career.
(He actually did intern at 2 separate local full-service/repair shops- sadly one of which has since closed), however, he eventually saw "the writing on the wall" that he most likely would not be able to earn enough to support a decent standard of living. As Jeff told me: "Dad, I was born 35 years too late." He actually told me once that his "dream job" would have been to work at Briggs & Stratton or Tecumseh in R & D, Failure Analysis, Technical Training, etc. during their "Glory days". It is nice seeing a kid have an interest in mechanical stuff and not just/only computer or phone aps. Sadly, many of his peers do not know which end of a wrench to hold...
Michael