Quintessential Tool Kit

[RD56]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered, but I would love some input on the quintessential tool kit that will fit in the bike, not using tank bags etc. Things that have proven indispensable over time.

Rick

[FJmonkey]

Use the search function...  It really works. Don't make me spank you... Try this: http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=6541.msg57623#msg57623

[Joe Sull]

I got this pic from ebay. Something to look at. I can only guess at what each one is.

[ribbert]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered, but I would love some input on the quintessential tool kit that will fit in the bike, not using tank bags etc. Things that have proven indispensable over time.

Rick

This has been covered many times with some excellent suggestions but never with the limitation of what will fit into the tail of the bike. I guess you need to pare it down to what is likely to fail  and what few extra tools could you carry to increase the odds in your favour of getting home.

The most likely roadside repairable issues will be fuel or electrical. The tools you carry are of no value if they exceed you ability to use them, that is, diagnose and fix or jury rig the problems.

Every vehicle I own has a 12V test light with a very sharp pointy end (for poking through insulation and into terminal blocks) in it at all times.
I would add a length of fuel line, trade out the crappy PH screw driver and pliers for something decent, a torch (or smartphone with torch app) duct tape, the longest piece of 1/4"or 3/8" steel rod you can fit in there to tap the carby bowls with. A flooding carby is probably the most likely thing that will happen while out riding, a length of electrical wire, a puncture kit including air canisters (and know how to use it before you empty all the bottles) and don't forget to replace the bottles if you use them.
I reckon that will have the available space pretty full.

I would also recommend having a level of cover with your state auto club, roadside assist or what ever it's called locally, that includes motorbike retrieval and the best tool of all, a charge mobile phone to call a mate that knows more about bikes than you do, has a trailer, owes you a favour, lives not far away and just happens to be sitting around not doing much when your bike breaks down.

Noel

[RD56]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered, but I would love some input on the quintessential tool kit that will fit in the bike, not using tank bags etc. Things that have proven indispensable over time.

Rick

This has been covered many times with some excellent suggestions but never with the limitation of what will fit into the tail of the bike. I guess you need to pare it down to what is likely to fail  and what few extra tools could you carry to increase the odds in your favour of getting home.

The most likely roadside repairable issues will be fuel or electrical. The tools you carry are of no value if they exceed you ability to use them, that is, diagnose and fix or jury rig the problems.

Every vehicle I own has a 12V test light with a very sharp pointy end (for poking through insulation and into terminal blocks) in it at all times.
I would add a length of fuel line, trade out the crappy PH screw driver and pliers for something decent, a torch (or smartphone with torch app) duct tape, the longest piece of 1/4"or 3/8" steel rod you can fit in there to tap the carby bowls with. A flooding carby is probably the most likely thing that will happen while out riding, a length of electrical wire, a puncture kit including air canisters (and know how to use it before you empty all the bottles) and don't forget to replace the bottles if you use them.
I reckon that will have the available space pretty full.

I would also recommend having a level of cover with your state auto club, roadside assist or what ever it's called locally, that includes motorbike retrieval and the best tool of all, a charge mobile phone to call a mate that knows more about bikes than you do, has a trailer, owes you a favour, lives not far away and just happens to be sitting around not doing much when your bike breaks down.

Noel

Noel, thanks for taking the time to read, understand and reply to my post. That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. The beauty of this forum is that there are a lot of guys with a lot of experiences, bike and other worldly. Mining for that one nugget that will help someone solve a problem that can get you back on the road is invaluable. I wanted stuff that would fit in the bike not in a trailer behind it.

Thanks, Rick

[ribbert]

I wanted stuff that would fit in the bike not in a trailer behind it.

Thanks, Rick

Rick, one of the few downsides I can remember about being young, was not wanting to spoil the look of my bikes with a bag. I had a lot of miserable and uncomfortable rides as a result, and a few breakdowns that could have been fixed.

Riding exposed to the elements, as we do, it is difficult to leave home dressed comfortably for the whole ride, or a change in the weather. Being cold and wet, or even too hot, on a bike is miserable and unnecessary these days.

I like somewhere to store my discarded jacket and trouser liners as the day warms up, I always take at least two sets of gloves in any season, neck warmers, spare visor, a beanie when it's cold and a baseball cap when it's hot (no hair) or both, wet weather gear and a water bottle . Then there is a chamois, I never leave home without a camera, a can of screen cleaner, road atlas, generous assortment of tools and other bits and pieces and I can grab the milk and bread on the way home. I also don't have to jam keys, wallet, glasses, phone etc into my pockets, something I hate.
On any given day I can be totally comfortable and dry in temps from 0 - 35c (nothing's comfortable on a bike over 35c)

A medium size bag and rack lets you do all that, and frankly, I am so blinded by the beauty of my bike when I glance back at it, I don't even see the bag anymore.

We're so good here we even give you advice you didn't ask for!

Noel

[Arnie]

Noel,

After reading that extensive list of the things you feel necessary to carry, I guess you're not interested in these titanium clutch cover bolts, are you? 

[Pat Conlon]

I never leave home without a ..... road atlas.....

Wait a darn minute, weren't we just talking about Luddites?

[rktmanfj]

I never leave home without a ..... road atlas.....

Wait a darn minute, weren't we just talking about Luddites?

           

[airheadPete]

Noel,

After reading that extensive list of the things you feel necessary to carry, I guess you're not interested in these titanium clutch cover bolts, are you? 

I just had a cheeseburger, I guess you can count me out as well...  

[ribbert]

I never leave home without a ..... road atlas.....

Wait a darn minute, weren't we just talking about Luddites?

It's funny, I thought at the time someone would pick up on that very point.

I have carried a motorcycle specific road atlas for 5 years but never used it once. That has more to do with the format of that particular publication though, too hard to read and no detail. However I do carry a map in my tank bag with the relevent section displayed in the clear pocket but refer to it rarely.  Maps in tank bags are also good for making you look like a seasoned adventurer even if you are only going to the local shop for milk and bread.

I realise you comments are tongue in cheek but I have always said, and I'm sure I have said here, that a GPS unit should always be used in conjunction with a map. GPS units are useless for planning a route, that's what maps are for. Once planned though the GPS is the best way to follow that route.

If on a trip a map offers a big picture perspective that a GPS can't which is handy if planning day by day (unless you take a laptop!!), also handy if you are forced to make a major deviation from your planned route on the trot.

In defence of modern technology, for pre ride planning you can't beat google maps. The information available is fantastic.

If you are a savvy GPS user you either download the trip into the unit or enter just the right amount of way points and you will find yourself rarely referring to the map while riding.

The only people I know who do not like them are those who over rate the role they play as a navigation aid

The third thing they should be used in conjunction with is a modicum of common sense. They are not 100% correct 100% of the time even though I can't recall mine ever misleading me. If travelling a route you know well, you might find you can get there faster using your local knowledge but if you don't know where you are going it WILL get you there.

Pat, I'm flattered that, unlike Klavdy, you read my posts 

I generally never bother reading any of your pontifications, life is too short to waste time reading about how boringly "Right" some blowhard old dude is about everything.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

I always enjoy your posts

[RD56]

I always enjoy your posts

Ditto, if you weren't on the wrong coast, I think we'd be enjoying a beverage together. I'm beginning to understand that you guys never hop on a bike for a 25 mile ride. It's 1000 miles or nothing. When I was growin' up I can't remember the first bike that I rode that was properly registered. My father was a pilot, a damn good one. Flew the hump during WW II. Used to let me drive when I was 13 years old. We'd go out after dinner, Dad with a gin martini and me with the gear shift of a three speed over drive Ford V8. The cops would pull us over at Hoopes Dam (another trivia hint: what state) and ask my father if everything was all right. Dad would say everything was fine. I'd drive on and all was good in the world. My father would get up in the morning and fly safely for another day. He taught me the importance of proper maintenance, pre-flight checks and how to use brakes instead of a clutch (in a car, not a plane) to properly stop anything with an engine. Much cheaper to replace brakes rather than a clutch. Dad flew 10's of thousands of hours with no "left seat" accidents.

So when I hear someone blame something mechanical for their problems, grow up man. Someone I read earlier this week complained that members always talked about feel when it came to some aspect of maintenance. They wouldn't give him the proper torque settings for an oil filter and it cost him down the road. The first thing I came to understand from this group of diverse lunatics is that they offer pure advice as my father did. Don't listen, suffer the heartbreak, monetary and mechanical. You were kind enough to take the time to PM me with regard to a question that had probably been answered a hundred times. That advice saved me hundreds of dollars. Your signature includes a link to an FJ Owners Manual, if one took the time to read it, there is a page that includes torque settings for every important component on the bike. Amen. The bottom line is, taking apart these carbs that had been sitting for 10 years was all about feel. If you don't have it, pay a mechanic, they need to make a living too.

But getting back to the Quintessential Tool Kit, sometimes I like to throw my leg over an unregistered time machine for a 25 mile cob web blower outer, and want to get home again without towing a trailer, as well as avoiding the cops who aren't as nice as they used to be. Thanks guys. Thanks Pat.

Rick, RD56

[ribbert]

I generally never bother reading any of your pontifications, life is too short to waste time reading about how boringly "Right" some blowhard old dude is about everything.

Perhaps I should clarify this. I am more than happy to admit when I'm wrong.

Why just last week I was wrong, I thought I had made a mistake, but turns out I hadn't.



Pontificating old dude.

[ribbert]

I always enjoy your posts

Ditto, if you weren't on the wrong coast, I think we'd be enjoying a beverage together.........

Credit where credit's due. Your post and quote is a little ambiguous and you are no doubt referring to Pat, not me, as it suggests. I know he is too modest to pick you up on this so I will do it.

Noel