Mechanics, where have they all gone ?

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I came from an era when most riders had friends that helped them out at meetings to the era from 10 years ago when nearly everyone had full or at least part time mechanic’s to today when riders are appealing for help at various tracks on social media, where have all the mechanics gone? I still see a few from when I did it but a lot just don’t do it anymore, it’s not bad money really and you can do deals with riders and it seems to be all levels too, I noticed bomber washed his own bikes on Thursday and don’t think he turned up with a mechanic at Sheffield, I know teams like wolves and Poole provided mechanics if you didn’t have one but where have the mechanics all gone? Are riders not paying anymore or something else ? I understand rider/mechanic can be a bit like a marriage at times so is it there is too many personality conflicts these days, I know riders can at times be awkward to say the least and I also understand some mechanics think the world revolves around them but even taking that into account there should be enough to go round, is the money not enough these days not enough to subsidise the loss of a work wage or is it just like the rider numbers dwindling the mechanics are dwindling too ?

Edited September 22 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[Fromafar]

34 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

I came from an era when most riders had friends that helped them out at meetings to the era from 10 years ago when nearly everyone had full or at least part time mechanic’s to today when riders are appealing for help at various tracks on social media, where have all the mechanics gone, I still see a few from when I did it but a lot just don’t do it anymore, it’s not bad money really and you can do deals with riders and it seems to be all levels too, I noticed bomber washed his own bikes on Thursday and don’t think he turned up with a mechanic at Sheffield, I know teams like wolves and Poole provided mechanics if you didn’t have one but where have the mechanics all gone? Are riders not paying anymore or something else ? I understand rider/mechanic can be a bit like a marriage at times so is it there is too many personality conflicts these days, I know riders can at times be awkward to say the least and I also understand some mechanics think the world revolves around them but even taking that into account there should be enough to go round, is the money not enough these days not enough to subsidise the loss of a work wage or is it just like the rider numbers dwindling the mechanics are dwindling too ?

Do you not think it’s all to Technically to much for the average “friend” to get involved with these days and to time consuming  to do it as “part time” job.Dont know how much riders pay anybody.They have to be “switched on” these days with everything going on .IMO

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

29 minutes ago, Fromafar said:

Do you not think it’s all to Technically to much for the average “friend” to get involved with these days and to time consuming  to do it as “part time” job.Dont know how much riders pay anybody.They have to be “switched on” these days with everything going on .IMO

Not technical at all, all you have to do is change a tyre,check tyre pressure, turn a wheel,change sprocket and chain links, adjust ignition and maybe change a jet size and fuel up, that’s pretty much everything you do at a meeting, in a workshop you just strip parts, wash bike and parts and reassemble, checking nothing has broke, bent or worn, strip carb, wash it and reassemble, adjusting arm setting with dial gauge, very rarely mechanic will touch engine settings, you might check tappet gaps but no exactly rocket science, you have to work quick these days but mostly you are at the riders instructions but If you have riding experience you can give your input, it helps to know what changes will do like jetting/gearing etc but you pick these things up as you go along it’s my opinion you could go from an average Joe to become a fully competent mechanic in one season, it’s pretty basic mechanics, one thing that has to learnt is trust, the rider must trust you 100% 

Edited September 22 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[ONTWOMINUTES]

51 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Not technical at all, all you have to do is change a tyre,check tyre pressure, turn a wheel,change sprocket and chain links, adjust ignition and maybe change a jet size and fuel up, that’s pretty much everything you do at a meeting, in a workshop you just strip parts, wash bike and parts and reassemble, checking nothing has broke, bent or worn, strip carb, wash it and reassemble, adjusting arm setting with dial gauge, very rarely mechanic will touch engine settings, you might check tappet gaps but no exactly rocket science, you have to work quick these days but mostly you are at the riders instructions but If you have riding experience you can give your input, it helps to know what changes will do like jetting/gearing etc but you pick these things up as you go along it’s my opinion you could go from an average Joe to become a fully competent mechanic in one season, it’s pretty basic mechanics, one thing that has to learnt is trust, the rider must trust you 100% 

Don't forget running around getting parts and picking up and dropping off riders at airports etc , picking up and dropping engines off at the tuner,I can definitely say it's turned into a full time job and the money unless your very lucky to work for a generous rider isn't that great and holding down a regular job is very difficult when your getting home from meetings very late at night . When I did it my annual leave soon got used up and I lost money over the years not to mention the time apart from the family especially if you have children that during the season you hardly see. It's not for everyone, young, free and single with no financial commitment is who it suits nowadays. IMO.

Edited September 22 by ONTWOMINUTES

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

23 minutes ago, ONTWOMINUTES said:

Don't forget running around getting parts and picking up and dropping off riders at airports etc , picking up and dropping engines off at the tuner,I can definitely say it's turned into a full time job and the money unless your very lucky to work for a generous rider isn't that great and holding down a regular job is very difficult when your getting home from meetings very late at night . When I did it my annual leave soon got used up and I lost money over the years not to mention the time apart from the family especially if you have children that during the season you hardly see. It's not for everyone, young, free and single with no financial commitment is who it suits nowadays. IMO.

Yes I agree, my previous post was just about what is actually involved technically, yes it is a full time job, well sort of because there are weeks sometimes when you have no meeting cause rain off or whatever and yes you feel like sometimes you’re living in airport car parks, I was always well planned well in advance with my work(own business) and got customers to know the riders away meetings so tied work round  them so that worked out well and this worked in my riding days too, you would often see my van loaded with bikes and work stuff and tied one in with the other 

Edited September 22 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[ONTWOMINUTES]

19 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Yes I agree, my previous post was just about what is actually involved technically, yes it is a full time job, well sort of because there are weeks sometimes when you have no meeting cause rain off or whatever and yes you feel like sometimes you’re living in airport car parks, I was always well planned well in advance with my work(own business) and got customers to know the riders away meetings so tied work round  them so that worked out well and this worked in my riding days too, you would often see my van loaded with bikes and work stuff and tied one in with the other 

Yes dean with your own business it would work as you'd be in charge of your income accordingly but we weren't all fortunate enough for that, apart from that over the 32 odd years I mechaniced and held down full time jobs eventually it takes it's toll and in the end I just wasn't interested anymore. I had great times and some times when I was wishing I hadn't bothered. The best years of speedway have gone now and alot of riders don't appreciate the hard work and sacrifices their mechanic makes. 

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

1 minute ago, ONTWOMINUTES said:

The best years of speedway have gone now and alot of riders don't appreciate the hard work and sacrifices their mechanic makes. 

Do you think this is the reason for the lack of mechanics ?

[ONTWOMINUTES]

6 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Do you think this is the reason for the lack of mechanics ?

I'd certainly say it's got alot to do with it , fair play to the polish mechanics that come over and work till they realise the cost of living here. Don't get me wrong, there's a good few mechanics that make it work, I think it's down to personal circumstances imo.

[Fromafar]

2 hours ago, ONTWOMINUTES said:

I'd certainly say it's got alot to do with it , fair play to the polish mechanics that come over and work till they realise the cost of living here. Don't get me wrong, there's a good few mechanics that make it work, I think it's down to personal circumstances imo.

How many Top men in GB employ full time mechanic/chauffeur .Takes a lot of commitment to help riders these as they more Continental Stuff these days.Like Dean you really have your own business to work around their schedule.

[tonyd]

I'm don't know what happened on Monday with Jack Holder and his mechanic but brother Chris said on tv at the play-off that Jack suddenly found himself mechanic less in the morning and had to share Chris's mechanic for the meeting at Belle Vue.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

5 hours ago, tonyd said:

I'm don't know what happened on Monday with Jack Holder and his mechanic but brother Chris said on tv at the play-off that Jack suddenly found himself mechanic less in the morning and had to share Chris's mechanic for the meeting at Belle Vue.

I don’t know this a fact but what I have been told is jacks mechanic quit and left the bikes not ready for belle vue and jack has to do them himself but like I said I don’t know if that’s fact 

[ONTWOMINUTES]

17 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

I don’t know this a fact but what I have been told is jacks mechanic quit and left the bikes not ready for belle vue and jack has to do them himself but like I said I don’t know if that’s fact 

Must of been a case of falling out either over not getting paid,which happens alot to mechanics believe it or not or Jake had a family emergency that came first as it quite rightly should, there's more to life than washing bikes and feeling pressured to abandon your own family.

[rusky]

I was a mechanic from 1978 to 2003. In all that time I was always a friend, never an employee - simpler times I guess. I first got into mechanicing (is that even a word..) when there was an announcement on the terraces at King's Lynn one Saturday night that Bent Rasmussen was looking for somebody to help him out, I went and had a chat with him (actually i think we had a chat in the bar) and the rest was history as they say. So not quite a social media request, but very similar I guess. In my time I mechaniced for riders at league level in the UK, (both British League & National League as they were then), international level (WC qualifiers, World Final, WTC Final, GP's and individuals.) not to mention Long Track and the Drury / Thomas Ice meetings across Europe. I think that being Friends with riders, rather than an employee worked really well at the time, and I don't recall any heated moments at all with the riders I worked with. For me, I had a full time job which gave me the opportunity to get to the vast majority of meetings, and in some years i was doing British League and National Leage / Second Division and only missed an od meeting where there was a clash. My strengths were that I was quite a relaxed sort of person who could look at things logically and handled pressure well - could comfortably change gear or a jet when on 2 minutes and get it right (with one rider I worked with, that was, on occassion, a given it was going to happen). In those days, there were very few riders who had full time mechanics, and we were mostly British lads who were in the same boat, there was an occassional foreigner, but few and far between. There were many long term rider mechanic friendships taht endure to this day.

[ONTWOMINUTES]

13 minutes ago, rusky said:

I was a mechanic from 1978 to 2003. In all that time I was always a friend, never an employee - simpler times I guess. I first got into mechanicing (is that even a word..) when there was an announcement on the terraces at King's Lynn one Saturday night that Bent Rasmussen was looking for somebody to help him out, I went and had a chat with him (actually i think we had a chat in the bar) and the rest was history as they say. So not quite a social media request, but very similar I guess. In my time I mechaniced for riders at league level in the UK, (both British League & National League as they were then), international level (WC qualifiers, World Final, WTC Final, GP's and individuals.) not to mention Long Track and the Drury / Thomas Ice meetings across Europe. I think that being Friends with riders, rather than an employee worked really well at the time, and I don't recall any heated moments at all with the riders I worked with. For me, I had a full time job which gave me the opportunity to get to the vast majority of meetings, and in some years i was doing British League and National Leage / Second Division and only missed an od meeting where there was a clash. My strengths were that I was quite a relaxed sort of person who could look at things logically and handled pressure well - could comfortably change gear or a jet when on 2 minutes and get it right (with one rider I worked with, that was, on occassion, a given it was going to happen). In those days, there were very few riders who had full time mechanics, and we were mostly British lads who were in the same boat, there was an occassional foreigner, but few and far between. There were many long term rider mechanic friendships taht endure to this day.

Literally the same experience I had, not quite plain sailing all the time but pretty relaxed for most of it depending who I was helping. I wouldn't want to do it now though.