Expanding the Service Diploma Wall

5000 ft above Las Vegas on my Southwest flight back from San Francisco and so far the fuselage has stayed in one piece. I’ve just finished transcribing the 35 pages of chicken scratch I frantically put down as my week of training with Brice Meyers came to a close. Bruce was the owner of BMC Ducati and has since been hired by Ducati North America to be their service trainer, and there is no question as to why. He’s been building the world’s fastest Ducatis for the past 98 years (alright I may have exaggerated on his age, but his wealth of knowledge is equivalent). This week consisted of an advanced electrical course and engine blueprinting, and besides that it was littered with a constant bombardment of hugely important mind grenades. I attended the class with our very own genius Ducati technician, Guy Hayes, and 6 other Master level Ducati technicians. The class felt informal, comfortable, like more of a brain picking session for and with everyone. We were taught what we came for, but the information shared was so much more than just that. Ducati technicians are a family of well trained tuners. Everyone has tricks, special fixes and the most inventive ways of getting everything to be perfect. These classes weren’t just about how our CAN Bus wiring system works or how to perfectly lighten, shim and finish a crankshaft, it was also about learning how to think outside of the box and understand how everything works together then make it whatever you want. This class was exhausting because there was constantly information fed to us that can be applied to every bike we touch. It was 8 hours a day of intense concentration. The biggest thing I brought back was a different way of approach issues, a new way of thinking. Bruce is the best at what he does because he thinks this way, he looks to different industries for answers that motorcycle companies don’t have yet. I’d elaborate but I don’t want give away all my new tricks just yet. All in all, I rode a cable car, saw Alcatraz, expanded my brain and am ready to start blueprinting some engines!

Maxwell Materne