Late model owners - what do you keep in that little box in the fairing?

[JPaganel]

I think I know what Colorado people keep there, but what about everyone else?

[Pat Conlon]

Registration and insurance in a zip lock baggie.
A brass male-male hose connector and a umbilical cord clamp for bypassing the fuel pump.

[Millietant]

A micro fibre visor cleaning cloth.

[ZOA NOM]

Never found it useful. I use my magnetic tank bag for anything I carry so I can just toss it over my shoulder if I don't want it to be vulnerable to theft.

[Mike Ramos]

Auxiliary fuse panel for accessories...

https://www.centechwire.com/Auxiliary-Power-Fuse-Panel-AP-1.htm

[aviationfred]

Mostly it is empty. Too small for much of anything. When I ride on the turnpike of Kansas and Oklahoma, I put the toll ticket and a few dollar bills in there for easy access.

Fred

[X-Ray]

Usually a tyre pressure gauge wrapped up in a little cloth.

[ribbert]

Usually a tyre pressure gauge wrapped up in a little cloth.

Ray, is the cloth to wipe the finger marks off after you've handled it?

Noel

[ribbert]

Spare ignition key
I have lost my key twice, once a million miles from home and once 5 mins away. Trust me, there is no good place to lose your key.

Fuses
My bike runs on blade fuses.

Fuse pulling tool  
Ever tried to remove one of those suckers without the tool? Add in wet and cold fingers at night in the rain and you've got no hope.

Ear plug spares  
Easily lost and can't ride at highway speed without them.

$100 (well, two 50's anyway, some folks are suspicious of 100's)
Been caught a few times where plastic couldn't be used for payment (power failure, system down, no connection, whatever, it happens)

Tool for removing GPS from cradle (the cylindrical thing with the knurled case)
Also doubles up as tool for adjusting tension on throttle lock.

Allen key, cut down  
For driving lights if they come loose (or the wind overtightens them!)

In line fuse for heated clothing
Self explanatory if you ride where it's cold!

Ear buds / noise cancelling
They plug into the unit on my helmet instead of helmet speakers and way better if you wear ear plugs. Only used if I need to be contactable by phone or riding with someone I wish to be able to communicate with by intercom.

Visor screws  
These often break with a drop, age or some other impact. I discovered years ago the aerodynamics of a full face with the shield removed doesn't work, it's entirely different to having it raised and is un-rideable at highway speed, makes my eyelids flutter and blurrs my vision.



All this fits in a little purse that fits in the compartment.

I have one tailored for each bike and they stay on them permanently so I don't have to even think about it.

At some point, I have been thankful for every one of these items at least once while travelling. It can turn a trip cancelling event into a minor delay forgotten within the hour.
I have several configurations of luggage and 3 different size Givi 'Tanklock' bags for the FJ and sometimes ride with none. Leaving these items on the bike permanently eliminates the risk of forgetting them.

My toolkit obviously carries more and has equally saved me many times, however, that's another subject for another time.
My FJ has never failed to get me home in the last 10 years / 210,000 km. The nearest it came was a collapsed carrier bearing a couple of years back 1000 km's from home. I limped it into the next major town, was able to buy bearings and seals from a bearing service and had enough tools to do the job. My carby tapping rod became the bearing removal tool, a brick my hammer and the old bearing the relacement driver, and it's still good to this day. I also by then had taken to carrying my centre stand and bolts in my luggage after an incident a couple of years earleir that required removing the back wheel and I didn't have the stand with me.

Noel

[ribbert]

A brass male-male hose connector and a umbilical cord clamp for bypassing the fuel pump.

You have a fuel pump on your bike??

Noel

[X-Ray]

Ray, is the cloth to wipe the finger marks off after you've handled it?

Noel
[/quote]

 no, something very innocent, the cloth stops the metal gauge banging around in the plastic box.

[ribbert]

Not exactly related but near enough to give this a plug.

I have just read the outcome of a motorcyclist in Queensland that failed to return from a ride a week ago (to Esk). It got a lot of publicity and involved pleas for riders travelling on the route he is believed to have taken to actively look for signs of him to the side of the road.

Police had identified 21 possible routes he could have ridden and had searched 18 of them when his body was found today by another motorcyclist who also crashed on the corner and saw the wreck while righting his own bike. It is not know if he died instantly yet but there are many examples of riders dying from causes other than the accident if unable to move somewhere to be found or extricate themselves from the wreck.

I always carry a PLB .



It's about the size of cigarette packet.

This unit is hooked into the COSPAS-SARSAT system which is the one you want.

I carry it in a pocket I think would be most protected in an accident and on the side it can reached with my favoured arm. I also have a HiVis armband alerting anyone in attendance of it's location, purpose and use.
A one-off purchase price of around $250 seems like very good value too.

I probably ride more than most in remote places and rugged terrain, but you don't have to slide far off a busy road for no one to see you and if you can't move.......

I won't go into the details here but anyone interested can easily find them on the net, this taps into the same global system as used my aviation and marine operators.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

A brass male-male hose connector and a umbilical cord clamp for bypassing the fuel pump.

You have a fuel pump on your bike??

Noel

On my '84? Not yet, it's on my list....

[PaulG]

I still have some American coins from a weekend at Watkins Glen from 2009(?).  A vacuum cap from the carb that utilizes the Scott Oiler.  I also keep my genuine (plastic) Yamaha sidestand footpad.  It rattles, but that just complements the rattling from the right side of the fairing.   

[ZOA NOM]

I knew Noel carried a purse.