Service and repair motorcycles, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. A Red Seal trade with long summers and quiet winters.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Licensed technician
$62,000
1st-year apprentice
$42,000
Senior tech or race team
$83,000
Job Bank puts most motorcycle mechanics between $20 and $40 an hour, a median close to car technicians but with a lower top end. Those are full-year numbers: winter layoffs at motorcycle-only shops cut the yearly total. Big dealerships in cities pay the most.
$18 to $22 an hour
First-year apprentice
Some shops start you near minimum wage doing setup and cleaning. Powersports dealers that also sell snowmobiles and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) keep you busier year-round.
$28 to $36 an hour
Full-time at a dealership
Flat rate is common, and summer is where the money is. Some techs stack hours in season and take winter layoffs on EI (Employment Insurance).
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
Apprenticeship is paid work, so there is no tuition to find and you earn from the start. The low end is three school blocks at the cheaper rate, a starter tool set bought a piece at a time, and the certification exam. The high end is full block fees plus several thousand dollars of tools while you are still an apprentice. Tools keep costing money for your whole career, and the federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant closed in March 2025, though the Canada Apprentice Loan is still interest free up to 4,000 a block.
Same supports as any Red Seal trade. The federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant closed in March 2025.
Staff pricing on bikes, parts and gear
Health and dental
Larger dealerships only.
Seasonal rhythm
Long summer hours, quiet winters, if you can budget for it.
Manufacturer training
Honda, Harley-Davidson, Bombardier Recreational Products and others train dealer techs at their own cost.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A Red Seal apprenticeship. Ontario calls it Motorcycle Technician, and it is compulsory there.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Grade 12 with shop, math and physics. OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) can start you early.
Find a sponsor
Weeks to months
Motorcycle and powersports dealerships, independent shops, rental fleets. Show up in spring when they are hiring, and know how to ride.
Register the apprenticeship
Days
With Skilled Trades Ontario (trade code 310G), Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, SkilledTradesBC or your province's authority.
Work and study
3 to 4 years
Ontario requires 6,000 hours: 5,520 on the job plus 480 in school. About 3 to 3.5 years.
Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal
After your hours
Pass the exam. Motorcycle Technician is a Red Seal trade, so the ticket works across Canada.
Shop or transportation technology
Small engines especially.
Math
Gear ratios, clearances, electrical values.
Physics
Engines, suspension and electricity.
Co-op at a dealership
The fastest way to a sponsor.
English
Work orders and warranty claims.
In Ontario you must be a registered apprentice or hold a Certificate of Qualification to work as a motorcycle technician. Alberta also requires certification or a registered apprenticeship. Most other provinces treat it as voluntary, but dealerships still want the ticket for warranty work. The Red Seal endorsement works across Canada.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Powersports: snowmobiles, ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and personal watercraft
Turns a seasonal job into a year-round one.
Automotive service technician (a second trade)
Adds cars, and car pay.
Manufacturer certification
Harley-Davidson, Honda, Yamaha and Bombardier Recreational Products training unlocks warranty work.
Small engine and marine
Outboards, generators and lawn equipment.
Suspension and performance tuning
Race teams and custom shops.
Motorcycle licence
You will road-test everything you fix.
Own tools and a project bike
Shops notice.
Pre-apprenticeship program
A few Ontario colleges run one.
Customer skills
Riders want to talk to their tech.
A few techs work for race teams or custom builders. It is the dream job, and the pay is usually worse than a dealership. Most do it on the side while keeping a shop job.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Spring and summer: 8am start, a lineup of bikes waiting for tune-ups, tires, chains, valve adjustments and the odd engine rebuild. New-bike setup out of the crate on top of that. Long days in June are common at flat rate. Winter: layoffs, or snowmobiles and service on stored bikes if the dealer sells powersports.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Dealers that sell snowmobiles and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) keep technicians working through Canadian winters. Motorcycle-only shops often lay off staff from November to March.
Bombardier Recreational Products, based in Valcourt, Quebec, builds Ski-Doo snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and Can-Am bikes. Its dealers need powersports techs across the country.
Job Bank's median wage for motorcycle mechanics is about $30 an hour, the same as for car technicians. The gap shows up over a year: a tech laid off from November to March earns far less than one who works 12 months. Pick a dealer that sells snowmobiles too, and pick this trade because you love bikes.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.