Mike Nixon
Career Powersports Industry Technical Professsional
carbrebuilder@gmail.com
949-382-4702
 
Interactive online resume
Updated January 2023

Summary

More than fifty years in the powersports industry, about half that time in training and management, and the other half as a career Big-Five dealership tech. Former Honda corporate customer relations, former Kawasaki corporate dealer technical trainer, former Kawasaki corporate dealer technical training manager. Strong personal and work ethic.
Business: The Motorcycle Project

The Motorcycle Project is my powersports business, established in 1997 as a vintage powersports maintenance information source. In 2005 the website turned commercial with the introduction of how-to booklets, and shortly afterward became devoted primarily to carburetor rebuilding. I rebuild -- that is, inspect, completely disassemble, externally ultrasonic clean, reinspect, internally clean and confirm, carefully assemble, set up, adjust, test, and calibrate -- all types of powersports carburetors, but tend to specialize in those fitted to the bikes I learned the trade on: Japanese multicylinder road bikes of the early 1970s through the mid 1980s, with a special affinity for the Keihin-equipped Hondas and Kawasakis of that period. Check out my carburetor-specific sites here. The Motorcycle Project carburetor shop was part time until 2016 when I left Kawasaki corporate to take the business full time.
Career History

Intructional Designer/Instructor Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. 7/2005 to 4/2016
• Kawasaki's U.S. headquarters
• Responsible for all technical training and development
• Developed, implemented and managed Kawasaki's first technician
  recognition program, including courses, course tiers, locations,
  equipment, marketing and communication materials, certificates, and
  plaques
• Expanded training locations
• Was instrumental in setting up the first ten Cabelas stores as Kawasaki
  ATV and utility vehicle dealers, meeting with the home office in
  Nebraska   and with several other stores across the country, training
  and vetting their repair facilities and staff
• Created the dealer training on the superlative Ninja H2
• Met several times each year with other manufacturers' training
  managers to network and share best practices
• Ramped up training messaging and marketing
• Project leader with vendors, LMS providers, video production
  companies
• Maintained dealer-wide 23,000-user online dealer learning
  management system (LMS)
• Responsible for Kawasaki technical eLearning programs (see a
  few of them here)
• Created several How-To videos for our public site, Kawasaki.com
• Made yearly three-month training trips around the country each
  year (pix, pix, pix, pix, pix)
• Frequent contributing writer for dealer newsletter, K-Tech News
  (sample, sample, sample)
• Developed several key Service Dept. mgmt and cust svc programs
• Maintained relationships with partner training schools, especially
  MMI and PSI
• Designed and conducted training to Hawaii dealers
• Designed and delivered training to internal company departments
  such as Legal, Marketing, Consumer Events
• Examples of other work: here, here, and here.
       
Service Manager 10 West Motorsports
Thousand Palms, CA
4/2004~7/2005 • Yamaha and Suzuki dealer startup
• Built department to 300 ROs per mo
• More than tripled department revenue
• Ken Durr, dealer principal
       
Service Manager Arizona Honda (AZH)
Tucson, AZ
1/2004~6/2004 • Newly reorganized long-established Honda-only dealer
• Built department to 550 ROs per month
• Doubled profitability in five months
• Reduced unpaid warranty claims by 40 percent
• Restaffed service department
       
Curriculum Developer Universal Technical Institute, Phoenix, AZ 9/1997~5/2002 • Parent company of Motorcycle Mechanics Institute
• Oversight of over 4000 hours of curriculum at two 135,000 SF
  campuses
• Did first significant revision of YamaPro program
• Did wholesale revision of Harley-Davidson elective
• Revised entire MTP system, converting to PowerPoint, updating
  old technology
• The Theory program took six months all by itself, with probably
  the most drawings and graphics and new communicative elements • Established use of CBT at MMI
• Introduced colored graphics and animation to curriculum
• Wrote MMI's scholarship exam
• Designed curriculum including graphics
       
Technician Eastside Performance, Mesa, AZ 5/1992~11/1996 • Award-winning celebrated performance independent
• Serviced vehicles, wrote service
• Built hot-rod Harley-Davidson clones
• Mostly engine work, machining, dyno engine development
• Did all the cylinder boring for this shop
       
Instructor Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Phoenix, AZ 1/1986~3/1990 • Recognized for excelling in preparing students
• Taught electrical, engine building and carburetor courses
• Contributed to curriculum improvement
• Counseled students
• Tutored students before and after classes
• Became NATTS certified
       
Warranty Analyst American Honda Motor Co.
Gardena, CA
3/1980~10/1983 • Honda's U.S. Headquarters
• Product testing
• Customer Relations
 
Technician Southern California and Central Arizona Powersports Dealers 6/1975 - 9/1992 • Glendale (AZ) Harley-Davidson
• Kelly's Kawasaki
• Eastside Performance Motorcycles
• Mid-Cities Honda/Kawasaki
• Honda of West Covina
• Bill Robertson's Honda

Experience, Skills

• Over 1000 hours hands-on Dynojet dyno experience
• Over 500 hours Superfow flowbench experience
• Skilled electrical troubleshooting
• Constructed many repair and diagnostic special tools
• Experienced with Honda IN, SCAT (Suzuki Connect), YDS, K-Dealer
• Trained and experienced manual machinist
• Proficient Kwik Way cylinder boring equipment
• Proficient Sunnen cylinder honing equipment
• Proficient exhaust gas analyzer use
• Proficient Adobe InDesign desktop publishing software
• Experienced Linux Ubuntu
• Knowledgeable (once proficient) Lightspeed
• Experienced Webex, GoToMeeting, Zoom
• Proficient Html 1.0
• Proficient Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Proficient Adobe Acrobat
• Knowledgeable Adobe Photoshop
• Proficient Adobe Premiere video editing software
• Knowledgeable Prezi
• Conversant Flash
• Proficient Demo Builder
• Experienced Wordpress
 
Industry Training

• High school GED
• L.A. Trade-Tech College Motorcycle Repair (1976)
• Over 120 credit-hours, public post-secondary education
• More than 300 hours of private post-secondary education
• Dozens of training certificates
• Registered Honda Technician, 1983
• Honda MAPS (1989) and SST (2004), service management training
• Suzuki Service Counter service writer training (2002)
• Honda Experienced Rider (MSF) training
• Yamaha Customer Relations (2002)
• Yamaha training in EGA (exhaust gas analyzer)
• Lightspeed training, ProQuest, Salt Lake City (2001)
• CompUSA MS applic, intermediate (2001, 2002)
• Web development, Glendale Comm College (1990)
• Training in HTML, XML, Photoshop, Premiere, Flash
• Developed all of MMI's curriculum 1997 ~ 2002
• Kawasaki training over 200 course modules
• Honda training over 120 course modules

html by M. Nixon