24 • June 2025 • Powersports Business

Left: Jessica Shine and Gunnar Heinemeyer take a tour of UTI, formerly known as Motorcycle Mechanics Institute. Middle: Shine and Heinemeyer from Brands That Shine. Right: Shine and Heinemeyer take a tour of UTI, formerly known as Motorcycle Mechanics Institute.

BY JESSICA SHINE BRANDS THAT SHINE

Recently, we visited the Phoenix campus of Universal Technical Institute( formerly known as Motorcycle Mechanics Institute). A lot of folks don’ t realize that UTI actually merged with MMI way back in 1997. Only recently, though, have they rebranded all programs under the Universal Technical Institute name. Rest assured— MMI is still alive and well.

After spending the past four and a half years visiting hundreds of dealers across the country, we keep hearing the same complaint:“ We can’ t find enough technicians.” We know plenty of folks who’ ve gone through the MMI program— some even teach there— so we decided it was time to dig a little deeper into the future of our industry.

The team welcomed us with a full tour and a rundown of all their programs, including partnerships with Harley-Davidson, BMW, Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki. While MMI receives a lot of support from OEMs, we talked about the importance of expanding focus into the aftermarket side of the industry— an area we hope to help them grow. We encouraged them to stay plugged into dealer shows, keep aftermarket catalogs on hand, and keep a pulse on the broader powersports community.

Women riders across the world united May 3 to take part in the 19th edition of International Female Ride Day( IFRD), a global celebration of powersports that spotlights, elevates, and connects women enthusiasts worldwide.

IFRD mobilizes thousands of women each year— from firsttime riders to seasoned pros— to take to the streets, trails, and tracks, creating an unmissable show of presence and purpose.

“ IFRD is more than a ride— it’ s a statement,” says Vicki Gray, founder of the event and longtime road and race instructor.“ Each year, women around the world ride in unity to spotlight their presence in motorcycling, motorsport and powersports. The impact is real and growing.”

IFRD is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of May,

Yamaha Motor revealed that its NMAX 125 Tech MAX scooter has won a 2025 Red Dot Award for product design, marking the 14th year in a row that a Yamaha Motor product has received the prestigious design award.

The award-winning model is based on the NMAX, which has been on sale since 2015. It inherits the DNA of the MAX Series line of sport scooters popular in Europe and Japan, condensing novel styling and a sporty ride into a compact body. The 2025 NMAX was

The school already maintains strong relationships with several dealerships that routinely hire their graduates. Independent and multi-line dealers are encouraged to work directly with MMI’ s career counselors. They’ ll post your job listings and help you find the right fit— but it’ s also worth making an on-site visit. You can be very specific about what you’ re looking for, and they can tailor a program to match your needs.

We also discussed an important reality: many independent shop owners are looking to retire but struggle to find qualified replacements to mentor and, ideally, take over their businesses. MMI can be a great resource, but just like any school, they can’ t guarantee a student’ s future success— that’ s ultimately up to the individual.

Will every graduate walk through your door ready to wrench like a seasoned tech? Probably not. Think about it: even though most of us graduated high school, how much do we really remember without real-world experience? It’ s the same idea here. These are new graduates. They come armed with fundamentals but still need mentoring and hands-on growth. If you bring on a new graduate, remember that investment in their early development can really pay off.

Hundreds of students still come through MMI / UTI each year— and the right one for you might be just around the corner.

and female riders in more than 100 countries participate each year. From bustling city rides in São Paulo, Los Angeles, and Toronto, to off-road meetups in New Zealand and across Africa, the event continues to grow in size and scope.

Large manufacturers such as Polaris and BRP celebrate IFRD to honor this growing demographic in powersports.

This year’ s edition featured Polaris as the main partner, with strong support from its legendary brands such as Indian Motorcycle and Slingshot, who continue to champion women in the riding community.

Also lending support is Can-Am, reinforcing the collective industry commitment to advancing women’ s roles and visibility in all forms of riding.

designed to be aptly sized, to create a fun vehicle that offers a level of control that feels like it is an extension of the rider’ s body.

Yamaha says the NMAX is the most userfriendly model in the MAX Series. While improving onboard comfort and convenience for the rider, the adoption of small LED lighting for the front and rear and a new TFT instrument cluster helped achieve a more compact machine size. The award-winning NMAX 125 Tech MAX is a deluxe version

MMI technicians learn all of the latest technology as well as the fundamentals.

Above right: Universal Technical Institute offers programs that cater to many OEMs such as Harley-Davidson and others. Graduates from the former MMI are in demand from many dealerships. Above: A UTI instructor shows a student the finer points of Harley-Davidson V-twin engine.

that features a higher-quality seat and color scheme compared to the standard model.

The Red Dot Design Awards— organized by Germany’ s Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen— recognizes excellence in product and communication design, and other design concepts.

Polaris Slingshot celebrates International Female Ride Day with its“ Women Behind the Wheel” initiative to empower more women to get out and ride.( Photo: Polaris)

Yamaha Motor’ s NMAX 125 Tech MAX scooter extends the company’ s streak of Red Dot award wins to 14 years.( Photo: Yamaha Motor)