I only know of two schools in the country, other than HD's factory training for dealership technicians, that are sponsored/supported by Harley Davidson and offer students the opportunity to earn Harley Davidson PHD certification while in school. The first school is Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, MMI, and the other is Fort Scott Community College, FSCC. Both schools offer a 1 year (two semesters) certificate program, but FSCC also offers a two year associates degree if the student wants to continue with their studies. FSCC Harley Davidson training center is located a mile or two north of Pittsburg, Kansas, and MMI has a campus in Phoenix, Arizona and Orlando, Florida. Both certificate programs at FSCC and MMI prepare students for entry level employment as a Harley Davidson service technician or mechanic.
Both MMI and FSCC offer students help with getting setup for financial aid or student loans/scholarships to pay for school. The tuition cost to attend FSCC as an out-of-state student is $117 (includes fees) per credit hour, or $102 (includes fees) if the student is a resident of Bourbon County and $105 (includes fees) if the student is a Kansas resident but lives in another county. Total credit hours needed for the FSCC Harley Davidson certificate is 33 credit hours, which makes total tuition cost $3861. Total credit hours at FSCC for the AS degree is 60 credit hours making total tuition cost for an out-of-state student $7020. Tuition to attend MMI's Harley Davidson Late Model program with no electives or fees is $19,450.
Both MMI and FSCC have additional costs for their respective Harley Davidson technician training programs. MMI has a registration fee of $50, Lab fee of $95 and a Meter fee of $120, making tuition cost $19,715. FSCC has a program fee of $725 per semester, but I think the student only pays this fee for two semesters even if they continue on for an AS degree, which is 4 or 5 semesters. MMI provides students with hand tools need to complete the program. FSCC requires students to provide their own tools. FSCC does offer a Harley Davidson tool kit for $3780, but I don't know what tools or what brand tools are included with this kit, but I'm 99 percent sure the student can get tools on their own for a lower cost; probably around $500. The plus side of having to buy your own tools is being able to take them with you when you graduate.
MMI offer's two electives for Harley Davidson students. The first elective is a performance class teaching students about the Harley Davidson performance line of products and how to use a Dyno. The cost for this class is $1400. The second elective is a early model class that teaches students how to repair early model Harley Davidson motorcycles; everything from Knuckleheads to the Evolution engine. The cost for the early model elective is $2800. Remember, these classes are electives and must be taken with the core training program. I don't think FSCC offers an elective Harley Davidson training class. Every Harley Davidson technician training class at FSCC is included in the core training program.
Both MMI and FSCC offer assistance with student housing. MMI uses a 3rd party to help students find apartment's near the MMI campus. FSCC offers dorms or apartments on campus where students can rent by the semester. FSCC also offers a food/meal program that offers 10 or 19 meals per week for 1 semester depending on which meal program the student purchases.
Classes start dates are every 6 weeks at MMI, so new students won't have to wait longer than 6 weeks to start the program. FSCC start dates are at the beginning of the fall and spring semester in August and January.
Whatever school you decide to attend, make sure you sit down and calculate how much money you need through student loans and how much your student loan payment will be and for how long. Also find out how much you can expect to make as a entry level motorcycle mechanic. The salary for a motorcycle technician depends on your location. The median salary for a motorcycle mechanics in Kansas is $29,314. That means 50 percent of motorcycle mechanics in Kansas are making more than that, and the other 50 percent are making less. That doesn't leave much money left over for student loan payments. You can't claim bankruptcy on a student loan, and if you try to run and hide from the lender, they will find you and garnish your pay checks. The only way out of student loan debt is to either pay it off or die. Be frugal while attending school! Nobody will care what school you attended after you have a few years of experience. These schools are only meant to give you the skills needed for an entry level technician position.
Here are links to FSCC and MMI
Fort Scott Community College Harley Davidson Technician Training ProgramMotorcycle Mechanic Institute-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click for good information about school cost and student loan payments
