Honda holds first Global Technician Contest in Japan
Honda brought in 23 representatives of Honda motorcycle dealerships from around the world to Japan on October 8, 2023, for the first Honda Global Motorcycle Technician Contest. The technical skill contest helps improve the technical skills of the individual service staff by competing on technical knowledge and skills.
The competition was held at Honda Technical College Kanto in Fujimino city. Although skill competitions have been held in various countries and regions in the past, this was the first time for the competition to be held on a global scale, according to a Honda news report.
Of the approximately 89,000 service technicians around the world, 23 were selected as representatives after winning the competitions held in each country. Honda states that the contest is to determine the world’s best Honda motorcycle dealership service staff member.
A total of 400 million Honda motorcycles have been produced worldwide for approximately 20 million customers annually, and service work such as inspections and repairs at dealerships ensure that customers can continue to ride their motorcycles safely, securely, and comfortably.
Additionally, as vehicle technology has evolved, the technical skills required of service techs have increased. The Technician Contest provided service staff an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills while participating in friendly competition with their peers.
This year’s competition was divided into two categories by vehicle displacement, which were the “Commuter Division (under 250cc) or COM” with the Super Cub 110 as the competition motorcycle, and “Fun Division (over 250cc) or FUN” using the CB650R. In each category, contestants competed in terms of their reliability and speed in inspecting, diagnosing, and repairing motorcycles based on the correct knowledge, technical skills and procedures required of service tech.
The time limits for each competition process are also specified in detail. In the On-Vehicle competition, contestants must diagnose and repair faults within 80 minutes and then complete a final inspection for accuracy. In the Off-Vehicle competition, contestants compete for speed and accuracy by disassembling/assembling, measuring, and adjusting within 10 minutes each.
After two days of competition, Masngudin from Indonesia won first place in the Commuter Division (COM) and Wu Chun-Yi from Taiwan won first place in the Fun Division (FUN), earning the honor of being the world’s best Honda motorcycle dealer service technician.
In addition to the grand opening ceremony, the techs gathered for dinner to celebrate being the top tech in their region. Honda plans to hold the Technician Contest every four years going forward.
