Co-Op Ofters Alternative For Small Vehicle Repair

FAYETTEVILLE — Many wrenches make short work. Unless it’s a major project.

That’s the concept behind Adventure Motorsports Cooperative in Fayetteville, a repair shop based on a co-op business model. Customers can bring in motorcycles, scooters, four-wheelers or personal watercraft for repair or restoration with the help of experienced mechanics.

For $35 per hour, a customer gets access to shop space, tools and mechanical help.

“Most people prefer to let the mechanics do the work, although they usually watch and learn,” said Clark Ross, co-op manager. “Sometimes it’s as simple as an oil change or winterizing an engine. Other times, people are dragging things out of barns and garages that haven’t run in years, and they don’t know where to start.”

Sometimes, just identifying the vehicle can be a challenge for customer and mechanic alike.

“I don’t even know how this bike got into the country, because they weren’t offcially imported in the early ’60s,” said Clint Stephenson, his hands buried in the wiring of an old Kawasaki scooter. “It’s a 1960-something, maybe a 100 or a 125cc, and it still says Kawasaki Aircraft Co. on all the badging. I do know there was a rat’s nest inthis wiring, though.”

Adventure Motorsports, which opened in late July, doesn’t handle cars or trucks, mostly because of space constraints, Ross said. Four motorcycles, three scooters, an ATV and a sidecar filled the shop floor earlier this week with little room to spare.

The co-op is a nonprofit group, but is set up differently than most cooperatives. Usually, coop membership is made up of customers. Local examples include Ozark Natural Foods, where co-op members pay less for food, and Ozarks Electric Cooperative, where the company is controlled by those who receive electricity from the company’s grid.

At Adventure Motorsports, the co-op is owned by the mechanics, who pay a percentage of their hourly rate toward rent, utilities and shop equipment. The mechanics are independent contractors who provide their own tools. Some work at the co-op occasionally, while others treat it as a nearly full-time job, Ross said. Most have full-time jobs in the repair industry, he said. The co-op has 11 members, but that number fluctuates, he said.

Customers should call ahead to set up an appointment, so the co-op can ensure someone with the right specialization is available, Ross said.

Co-op members are quickly getting to know the various brands of Chinese-made scooters that have sold briskly in recent years, Stephenson said.

“There are a ton of them around because of the university, and the quality is very low, so they’re breaking down often, sometimes almost immediately,” he said. “What we’re finding is that the brands are really just a marketing thing, and most of the parts are interchangeable underneath.”

The co-op may eventually sell a line of Chinese-built scooters, but won’t until a high-quality product can be identified, Ross said. One mechanic also offers bicycle conversions, both gas-poweredand electric, and Ross sees that as a possible expansion area.

The mechanic-owned co-op model appears to be unique in the U.S., said Doug Mayer, producer of “Car Talk,” a National Public Radio show featuring mechanic brothers Ray and Tom Maggliozzi.

“We’ve never heard of anything like it,” Mayer said.

A University of Illinois at Chicago study from 1982 determined an automotive repair co-op was financially feasible in south Chicago, but the co-op was never created. That concept was also based on a customerowned model rather than mechanic-owned.

The process for taking a vehicle to Adventure Motorsports has three basic steps, Ross said.

“First, find a service manual, and any other info you can on the vehicle. Second, call and let us match you up with the right mechanic. Third, bring it in,” Ross said. “One of our biggest nightmares is working without a service manual, especially if it’s something that’s uncommon. The other big headache is when things come in that somebody has already tried to fix. They almost always make the problems worse.”