Working on motorcycles as side job

Thanks so much for taking the time out on your camp break to work on this and make the vid . . . excellent advice, especially about reporting all extra income to the tax dept. ( my Dad was a 40 year tax dept senior officer, no joke!)
Did I see a smile on your dial when you were saying that? lol,

The way I had worked out the labor time and rate was 10 hours at $45 an hour, which is based on how long a shop would charge for each job on that bike.
Fork seals 1.5 hrs
Brakes 1 hr
Engine work 6 hrs
Carbs 1.5 hrs.
I may have under estimated those times but I spent a lot of time just testing the tuning on road tests, then removing the plugs, reading the mixtures by color, removing carbs and resetting and checking stuff over again.
Also, I never did keep a log of times spent on it each time I went out to the garage, I basically fixed what needed fixing and worked out what I thought was reasonable time to charge on each job. I know that is completely the wrong approach and I will definitely follow your method of being accurate on time keeping and asking 50% payment up front next time.
A lot of the parts I bought through my company on my staff account at a staff rate, and charged full retail less 20%, so I made a little on parts.
Some parts I bought online, like the rings ( $28 for the full set 4 cyls) and the carb kit ($48 for the lot, all 4 carbs) and I will just charge him those prices
I also bought a honing tool online for $17 and charged him for that also.
I've never run my own business but I'm always keen to learn the best way of doing it, being honest and being fair is the key I reckon!
 
As long as ive been turning wrenches for shops I've been doing ot on the side as well. It took me awhile to get to the point of doing the way I do now which is pretty close to what @c10 explained. However in a case of parts I obtain thru work I charge them what ot would cost them to order it maybe a little less so @Kiwi Rider we do have the same idea on that one. I also when possible try to use the shop labor rates as a guide but only a guide and will always account for a little extra, depending on the job at least an hour or two but of course not if it's something simple. Half the shop rate is good for return customers and friends but occasionally I will go 10 to 15 an hour higher if it's something they need quickly. Keeping track of the time as Bryan said is a key part. We all have a job like the one you just did where it's a relaxed job ti take our time and we spend more hours then we're charging for but I try to keep those jobs to a minimum. Nice job on the video Bryan and nice job u did with that bandit kiwi but I like Bryan would have liked to see you have made more for all the work you put into it. I can say that would have been an easy 800-1000 dollar job for me to do and I know everything is more expensive over there to pay for all that beautiful scenery you have. :thumbsup:
 
What is the story with insurance in regards to your customer bikes , just wondering what is covered , like a large dealership workshop should have in place , if something unforeseen goes wrong ie; on premises theft , fire etc. .
I know that over here ( Australia ) some smaller registered workshops (not usually a large or factory dealership ) are under insured , and when in such a situation , a customer will be lucky to be paid only a 1/3rd of value . Some are at owners risk for prolonged work .
I know you blokes are stand up fellas , you would want to be okay in this regard for yourselves and also the customer . Good to check you are all on the same page if by the slimmest chance , crap hits the fan .
 
What is the story with insurance in regards to your customer bikes , just wondering what is covered , like a large dealership workshop should have in place , if something unforeseen goes wrong ie; on premises theft , fire etc. .
I know that over here ( Australia ) some smaller registered workshops (not usually a large or factory dealership ) are under insured , and when in such a situation , a customer will be lucky to be paid only a 1/3rd of value . Some are at owners risk for prolonged work .
I know you blokes are stand up fellas , you would want to be okay in this regard for yourselves and also the customer . Good to check you are all on the same page if by the slimmest chance , crap hits the fan .
You know, I hadn’t even thought about the liability issue that you pointed out. . .
That’s another minefield to navigate.
There’s a fine line between working on your mate’s bike and he gets you a box of beers,
and actually operating as a tax paying business working from home.
When you’re just helping out your mate I guess there’s no need to be covered by insurance, it’s just a risk that’s accepted by both parties . . . I guess? Hmmmmmm. . .
 
You know, I hadn’t even thought about the liability issue that you pointed out. . .
That’s another minefield to navigate.
There’s a fine line between working on your mate’s bike and he gets you a box of beers,
and actually operating as a tax paying business working from home.
When you’re just helping out your mate I guess there’s no need to be covered by insurance, it’s just a risk that’s accepted by both parties . . . I guess? Hmmmmmm. . .
All my customers understand the risk if the home burns down or stolen. Other than those two I can afford anything else. If the bike was a ZRX valued at 3500 USD I could replace it with a sting
 
A good friend of mine was a bike mechanic but decided to move onto another trade. He still fixed bikes for friends for a while. One of these "friends" crashed his bike and blamed my friend who worked on it.

There was an investigation and inspection on the bike and although it proved to not be the fault of any mechanical repair, it soured my friends desire to fix bikes for anyone again, even mine.

He eventually got out of motorcycling and sold all his bikes and equipment.

I used to do the odd repair for friends and after seeing what my buddy went through, I gave that up too...
 
A good friend of mine was a bike mechanic but decided to move onto another trade. He still fixed bikes for friends for a while. One of these "friends" crashed his bike and blamed my friend who worked on it.

There was an investigation and inspection on the bike and although it proved to not be the fault of any mechanical repair, it soured my friends desire to fix bikes for anyone again, even mine.

He eventually got out of motorcycling and sold all his bikes and equipment.

I used to do the odd repair for friends and after seeing what my buddy went through, I gave that up too...
Gee, that’s a sad story . . Sorry to hear that, with ‘friends’ like that, who needs enemies?
 
Thanks so much for taking the time out on your camp break to work on this and make the vid . . . excellent advice, especially about reporting all extra income to the tax dept. ( my Dad was a 40 year tax dept senior officer, no joke!)
Did I see a smile on your dial when you were saying that? lol,

The way I had worked out the labor time and rate was 10 hours at $45 an hour, which is based on how long a shop would charge for each job on that bike.
Fork seals 1.5 hrs
Brakes 1 hr
Engine work 6 hrs
Carbs 1.5 hrs.
I may have under estimated those times but I spent a lot of time just testing the tuning on road tests, then removing the plugs, reading the mixtures by color, removing carbs and resetting and checking stuff over again.
Also, I never did keep a log of times spent on it each time I went out to the garage, I basically fixed what needed fixing and worked out what I thought was reasonable time to charge on each job. I know that is completely the wrong approach and I will definitely follow your method of being accurate on time keeping and asking 50% payment up front next time.
A lot of the parts I bought through my company on my staff account at a staff rate, and charged full retail less 20%, so I made a little on parts.
Some parts I bought online, like the rings ( $28 for the full set 4 cyls) and the carb kit ($48 for the lot, all 4 carbs) and I will just charge him those prices
I also bought a honing tool online for $17 and charged him for that also.
I've never run my own business but I'm always keen to learn the best way of doing it, being honest and being fair is the key I reckon!
Too bad you and @c10 live so far away. I can do most of my maintenance alone but would need some help once in a while. I would gladly pay you guys! My shop in town which is also the only suzuki dealer charges 130 dollars an hour for labor...!
 
Gee, that’s a sad story . . Sorry to hear that, with ‘friends’ like that, who needs enemies?

It certainly is...apparently the guy who crashed his bike was seeing dollar signs hoping to sue my buddy.

Too bad as my buddy finished with honors in his mechanic class and was a really good mechanic who (by the way) was a huge fan of Suzuki bikes.
 
Too bad you and @c10 live so far away. I can do most of my maintenance alone but would need some help once in a while. I would gladly pay you guys! My shop in town which is also the only suzuki dealer charges 130 dollars an hour for labor...!
What? $130 an hour??
Do they actually have any customers???
That is ridiculous.
The expectations from customers would be extremely high, and I reckon there would be a lot of 'come-backs' for perceived shoddy work performed.
You would want a lot of work done in that hour they are charging $130 for.
 
What? $130 an hour??
Do they actually have any customers???
That is ridiculous.
The expectations from customers would be extremely high, and I reckon there would be a lot of 'come-backs' for perceived shoddy work performed.
You would want a lot of work done in that hour they are charging $130 for.
I agree. Keeps me motivated to learn everything to do on my own!
Regarding the business- I dont know enough about the bike/shop business to judge whats right or wrong. I just find it very expensive.
 
I agree. Keeps me motivated to learn everything to do on my own!
Regarding the business- I dont know enough about the bike/shop business to judge whats right or wrong. I just find it very expensive.
The more tech on a bike, the more it needs to go into a shop periodically. My friend's Beemer needs to visit the shop for oil changes (or most maintenance) so they can talk to it's computer...not a cheap visit either.
 
105 an hour is the avg here in Texas . $275 labor to spoon two tires on a Goldwing at the Honda dealer ship.
I got the job on that 16 model Wing . With my drop out rear lift table the job was easy . I made 125 on the job . Quoted 100 , but the Owner got to watch , and said my care was far better than he had experienced at a dealership . So a extra $25 was added by him .
 
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