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Motorcycle Mechanic

Skilled Trades

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, dirt bikes, or similar motorized vehicles.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Mechanical Engineering

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Mount, balance, change, or check condition or pressure of tires.
  2. 2Replace defective parts, using hand tools, arbor presses, flexible power presses, or power tools.
  3. 3Dismantle engines and repair or replace defective parts, such as magnetos, carburetors, or generators.
  4. 4Connect test panels to engines and measure generator output, ignition timing, or other engine performance indicators.
  5. 5Listen to engines, examine vehicle frames, or confer with customers to determine nature and extent of malfunction or damage.
  6. 6Repair or replace other parts, such as headlights, horns, handlebar controls, gasoline or oil tanks, starters, or mufflers.
  7. 7Disassemble subassembly units and examine condition, movement, or alignment of parts, visually or using gauges.
  8. 8Repair or adjust motorcycle subassemblies, such as forks, transmissions, brakes, or drive chains, according to specifications.
  9. 9Reassemble frames and reinstall engines after repairs.
  10. 10Install motorcycle accessories.
  11. 11Remove cylinder heads and grind valves to scrape off carbon and replace defective valves, pistons, cylinders, or rings, using hand and power tools.
  12. 12Reassemble and test subassembly units.
  13. 13Hammer out dents and bends in frames and weld tears and breaks.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Bike Builder
  • ATV Technician
  • Frame Repairer
  • Bike Technician
  • Lube Technician
  • Scooter Mechanic
  • Vehicle Mechanic
  • Dirt Bike Mechanic
  • Frame Straightener
  • Service Technician

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. Typical entry

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationPost-secondary certificate

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
PhysicsDraws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Computer Science / ICTDraws directly on Computers and Electronics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Mechanical96%

    Mechanical Engineering StudiesPhysicsDesign & Technology (RBT)

  • English Language71%

    English

  • Customer and Personal Service67%
  • Computers and Electronics66%

    Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies

  • Mathematics63%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • Education and Training62%

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsRarely
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherEvery day
  • Noisy environmentEvery day
  • Time spent sittingA little

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Diagnose electrical problems.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME)

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Matriculation

One or two years, heavily subsidised with allowance. Competitive, quota-based entry.

12–24 months

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Motorcycle Mechanics

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org