Motorcycle courier jobs

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jfeaz
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Motorcycle courier jobs

#1 Unread post by jfeaz »

Has anyone ever had a motorcycle courier job in the US?

I live in Los Angeles, I'm in the computer field, and I'm looking for a drastic lifestyle and pace change. I want an offbeat job, and since I love to ride so much, I'm really interested in being a courier, and I already know the pay sucks.

Does anyone have any experience with this? What is the best way to find one of these jobs?

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#2 Unread post by RockBottom »

There are a few things if you just Google "motorcycle courier Los Angeles"
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and there's nothing I can do

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#3 Unread post by jfeaz »

Thanks bro. I'm actually talking with both those companies already. It does seem like motorcycle courier jobs are getting rarer.

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#4 Unread post by Amdonim »

Relatedly, I've always wanted to be a motor officer. But recently after talking to a police officer, I've discovered that you can't wear full face helmets, and that kinda turned me off. Good luck finding a courier job.

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#5 Unread post by jfeaz »

Amdonim wrote:Relatedly, I've always wanted to be a motor officer. But recently after talking to a police officer, I've discovered that you can't wear full face helmets, and that kinda turned me off. Good luck finding a courier job.
Yeah, I never got that. Cops always wear useless helmets (why wear one at all?) and no body gear whatsoever.

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I was a motorcycle courier....a confession of a hooligan

#6 Unread post by ceemes »

Motorcycle courier you say? Been there and done that, and literally have the scars to prove it, mainly on my right knee, ankle and lower leg.

For about five or six years I rode as a motorcycle courier in downtown Vancouver, BC. Year round, battling the traffic, the weather, arsehole dispatchers, bit chy clients, hungry meter maids, clueless and blind pedestrians and jaywalkers, and dive bombing dodo hawks...aka seagulls, and for the most part, I loved every minute of it right up to the point where I got t-boned off my CB650 by some noob running a red light in a Ford 1 Ton pick up in November 1993.

Being a motorcycle courier, or rather a dispatch rider is not for everyone. The hours are long, the pay thanks to the advent of email, faxes, electronic currency exchange, on-line banking, electronic document exchange and other high tech goodies has become minimal at best and the working conditions suck to say the least.

But if you are up to it, it can be a hoot.

Ah the joys of riding the mean streets of downtown Vancouver, the feeling of deep satisfaction one gets when one lashes out ones foot at some arsehole in an expensive car who while staring you in the eye, attempts to crowd into your lane, forcing you in to a line of parked car and you hear the sound of your steel toed boot caving in a nice large dent into his door panel. It's truly an art form that little skill.

Or carving thru stalled traffic as you flick you bike in and out of near non-existent gaps and bully your way through the grid lock.

Or the look of bewilderment on the faces of people as you roar down the streets in a blinding snow storm. (you being in LA wont have to worry too much about that)

Or kicking back and enjoying a hot coffee with other dispatch riders as you compare notes on income and how pisspoor your respective dispatchers are, all the while ogling the pretty office girls as they walk to and fro.

The real downside of being a dispatch rider is that after awhile, you really do not want to go for a ride just for the fun of it. Come the weekend, all you want to do is give your numb bum a rest.

Of course your mount will make all the difference. Forget about getting a 600RR as a courier bike, they are just not tough enough for the work, plus you will be crippled by the end of the day. Look for something along the lines of an old CM400, or KZ550 or best yet, a CX500, those were the bikes of choice of British courier riders back in my day. Best courier bike I had was a CB650, more then enough oomph while still being small enough to flick about dodging in and out of traffic. Sadly my CB650 ended up under the front end of the Ford that t-boned me.

To be perfectly honest, I think you really should think hard about becoming a dispatch rider. The odds of getting wiped out are very high, three other dispatch riders I knew also got wiped and one of them ended up at the GF Strong Rehab Centre learning how to deal with suddenly becoming a quad.

But if you are game and want more first hand abet date knowledge, drop me a PM.
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#7 Unread post by ceemes »

jfeaz wrote:
Amdonim wrote:Relatedly, I've always wanted to be a motor officer. But recently after talking to a police officer, I've discovered that you can't wear full face helmets, and that kinda turned me off. Good luck finding a courier job.
Yeah, I never got that. Cops always wear useless helmets (why wear one at all?) and no body gear whatsoever.
I've noticed that some of the RCMP Highway boys are now sporting flip up helmets. Allows them protection while riding and still lets them show the public, aka Mr and Mrs crazy donkey Motorist, their face while citing them.
Always ask why.

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#8 Unread post by InAsia »

Move to Asia.....damn near every place has a delivery boy or a guy who moves stuff/equipment via bike....

Pays crap, nobody wears ANY gear, and worst of all, you usually get to choose between a no name vespa knock off scooter, a daelim VS 125(my bike!), or a Daelim magna which are usually 15+ years old, but still in service*.

And at the end of a long hard day, you can content yourself with the fact that 95% of the women in Asia have -10 sexual appeal to guys on bikes as well as rich boys on Honda fire blade riding circles around your $600 scooter.

*Magna's last forever....an eternal bike if I ever saw one. Hell's calvary is likely made up undead Daelim Magnas that refuse to die.

If you want a change of pace, get a job overseas....plenty of asian countries are hiring a lot even in this recession....I work here, I know!
Tailing a bongo truck.

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Motorcycle courier jobs

#9 Unread post by MOTORCYCLE MESSENGER »

If you are looking for work as a motorcycle messenger in Los Angeles. Always looking for professional and responsible riders to join the team.

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Re: Motorcycle courier jobs

#10 Unread post by JakePoppa »

There is a long report at Adventure Rider about a currier in DC. It was pretty cool.

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