Motorcycle Mechanics

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$48,580

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$39,550 – $61,510

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

13,510

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+2.1%

Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)

Openings a year (projected)

1,400

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

Postsecondary nondegree award

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

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

Main tasks

• Mount, balance, change, or check condition or pressure of tires.
• Replace defective parts, using hand tools, arbor presses, flexible power presses, or power tools.
• Dismantle engines and repair or replace defective parts, such as magnetos, carburetors, or generators.
• Connect test panels to engines and measure generator output, ignition timing, or other engine performance indicators.
• Listen to engines, examine vehicle frames, or confer with customers to determine nature and extent of malfunction or damage.
• Repair or replace other parts, such as headlights, horns, handlebar controls, gasoline or oil tanks, starters, or mufflers.
• Disassemble subassembly units and examine condition, movement, or alignment of parts, visually or using gauges.
• Repair or adjust motorcycle subassemblies, such as forks, transmissions, brakes, or drive chains, according to specifications.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

Postsecondary nondegree award

Training once hired: short-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 3

Medium preparation

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Bicycle Repairers

  $42,780 median · -5.7% projected

• Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians

  $57,550 median · +4.9% projected

• Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics

  $50,620 median · +5% projected

• Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics

  $47,880 median · +2.3% projected

• Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

  $61,770 median · +3.6% projected

• Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines

  $65,510 median · +6.7% projected