Help Wanted - Paid Mentorship

[shRED]

Looking to build a long-term pay mentorship with a retired racer / capable bike mechanic (can be self-taught) person who would like to get paid to teach and train me in the following areas (motorcycles only):

1. Electric Diagnostic including continuity tests, isolating bad wires, etc.
2. Valve Adjustments
3. Fork and Shock deconstruction and reassembly and setting fluid levels for racing.
4. Carb tuning
5. Bike setup (rebound and compression adjustment), learning feedback and translation into track adjustments. This would be for racing, SUMO, Dirt, and Road.
6. Engine work (not required but a bonus) including Cam replacement, Stator / Magneto replacement, etc.
7. Any of the other great racing setup tricks - 0 friction custom spacers, etc.
8. Addressing bike geometry issues / excessive tire wear / chatter, etc.

Looking for a semi-retired / retired person who has free time and who would enjoy working with a serious student with whom they could see immediate and substantial progress while passing on what they've learned in a life of motorcycling.

GOAL
The goal would be that you guide me through the actual work, not do it yourself and teach me the key principles along the way. I want to learn how to optimize each bike's capabilities, not just get by with maintenance.

BIKES
The main work will be on race bikes, which are SV650's. Other bikes in the shop that can be used to learn on: CR500R, CRF250R (Dedicated SUMO), CB350 (twin), HD FLTR, XR250, etc.

TIME COMMITMENT
The time commitment would be one Weds, Saturday or Sunday a month, four to six hours, at my shop in North Denver. I will work around your schedule.

PAY
Pay would be $25 an hour cash, unlimited free beer (your brand of choice) and my eternal gratitude. Would hope for help on one track day a year with setup. For anyone who dares I promise we will have fun and if needed based on performance I can increase the pay.

I realize this is an odd request but its what I'm looking for. I do have other great racing mentors but I prefer to not wear them out. If ANYONE is interested or knows of someone who might be interested please send me a PM and I will send contact details straight away.

Also, I need help with basic things around the garage and yard. If anyone has a young person (high school or college) who wants to make $12.50 cash an hour organizing motorcycle stuff, pulling weeds and doing various outdoor household chores and chores in the shop, happy to meet with them and their parents about ongoing help at the shop and house. This would also be one day a month 4 to 6 hours on weekends or Wednesdays. If someone works out well I will pay $15 an hour cash. This won't be hard work, mainly organizing bolts, sweeping, putting tools away, helping with organization systems, etc.

Thanks a bunch for any interest,

J

[shRED]

I think the shop helper job is filled, but still looking for a paid race mentor. Flexible on everything (location, hours, frequency, pay) for the right fit. Thanks for looking.

J

[shRED]

So there's quite a few guys interested in attending and learning, so far no response from possible mentors. I think we need to up the ante a bit. What if we put on a once a month seminar for 3 to 4 hours that paid $150 to $250 bucks cash for the guy teaching the seminar, paid by the attendees? It seems like four to six guys is pretty doable based on interest in being mentored.

Any possible teachers have an interest in that? The pot just got a bit better.....

[rybo]

I'll just say that I used to offer this kind of info for free - every race weekend. All anyone really had to do was come hang out in my pit area or ask a question. Over the years I took on many new racers, let them pit with me, helped prep bikes etc, not because I wanted to get paid for it, but because I wanted to continue to see our sport to grow.

I like that you're reaching out for help, but I think the angle here is all wrong. Find a racer you respect, someone who's been around for a while. Ask them if you can pit near them each race weekend. Buy them a beer or two after the track goes cold for a day and just observe how they manage their program. Ask questions etc.

One of the challenges with accepting this as kind of a "paid role" is that each person / program has considerable nuance to it that revolve around free time, budget, age of equipment, how recently your last race trailer was stolen etc. Presenting a "this is the right way" kind of class would be quite difficult. There are some things that I do just on "cruise control" that make my race weekend run smoothly - I don't even really know what those things are, but not doing them would result a more challenging program to keep going week after week.

Just my .02

[mkdiehl]

Rybo, I know some of those people!

[shRED]

Rybo:

I think we are talking about different things. I'm trying to learn about basic motorcycle mechanic techniques, you are talking about race and program management. I think they are different. I've identified a weakness in my program that needs to be rectified and I'm trying to find a person who can help. If this doesn't work, I'll go out broader (craigslist?). I just thought MAYBE there was an old-timer mechanic or old racer with skills who lurked on the forum who might like to help. Obviously I'm not afraid to look stupid.

I just need to find the right person who wants to teach me some basic motorcycle mechanical work on the side. I know someone is out there I just need to find them. Then they will help me learn more, faster.

J