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oilhead tools for the road: must have, nice to have, don't leave home without it

ultracyclist

New member
I am carrying too much stuff in my cases, and I want to slim down the load.
I would like to slim myself down, but that is another story.

What are you carrying in tools for "on the road" day rides-not "touring".
Btw, my new to me bike is a georgous, well maintained, nearly pristine 2001 R1100R SE.
 
Well, Howard, it all depends on what you feel comfortable doing normally on the bike. Things you might consider is a new alternator belt, a hex-key (allen wrench) set, and maybe a combination wrench set. What are you carrying now. BTW, these items are in addition to the supplied tools on the bike. Do you need to carry these items? Only you can answer that. Best stuff to carry? A good cell phone and the Anonymous book.
 
Me too;

But I like to feel self sufficient, so I carry extra tools, which to be truthful, are rarely needed. The bikes are usually pretty well built and don't break too much. Flats are always a bikers nemesis, so I carry a plug kit from any parts store, an air compressor and even Slime for emergency quickies, are with me most of the time. I had to add to my kit a wrench for the rear wheel lugs and a front adapter for the front axle removal. BMW has cheapened the tool kits to near nothing of use at all! Electrical tape, bare wire and quick ties are all with me constantly...Worst case scenario is a "rental truck" home, when all things fail and I've had to do it once with my KLT a few years back...Randy
 
I have to get in this plug for tire repair on a bike. My recent crappy experience with my 2008 BMW 328xi makes my point. I saw the Bridgestone tire (with BMW car )ad twice yesterday evening on TV and that rubbed salt in my wound. Past Easter Sunday I ran over a screwdriver(around 10" long and the handle was gone) and when I got pulled over found that it was sticking out through the sidewall and was apparently hitting the left rear shock each trip around. Of course,these cars come with no spare,no place for a spare, no lug wrench and no jack,BUT of course they have the GREAT? Bridgestone Runflat Turanza EL 42 tires on all four corners!!!
Luckily I can call my Brother-in-law a few miles away and he brings a jack and a lug wrench. We pull the wheel and find that the rim is damaged with a 5/16" sq notch in the side and are able to extract the screwdriver. I then drive home on the runflat /flat and it is around 60 k to my house from there.
There are zero places to do anything with the tire situation between my house and home-and what would you do except a tow to somewhere else? The TV ad states in letters that cover the screen"You can go 50K @ 50mph". I can attest to the tires heating up and being squirrley if you exceed the 50mph. Of course my tire is trash, but back to this thread-I was kinda like you will be if you don't have tire stuff in your road kit-"up the proverbial creek"! BMW/Bridgestone has an interesting approach to dealing with flats-I will call it cars for dummies!Don't ride a "bike for dummies" unless of course, you are unwilling to dirty your hands...;)
BTW, I carry a long reach hex bit for my WS bolts to the bike based on personal experience and Locktite not coming through for me in that location.
 
I carry a plug kit and small air compressor for flat tire repairs. I use the good old rope plugs. It has been my experience over the years that they work better and last longer than the rubber plugs. Tire repair kit, anonymous book, and membership card with the roadside emergency phone numbers on it. I pay for it; I may as well use it. Besides, my days of sitting along the road working on a vehicle are over. Been there, done that (several times) not doing it again.
 
A lot of good advice here. I would add:

Spare oil sight glass
Everything needed to do a valve adjustment
Vise grip
Needle nose pliers
Tube of JB weld
Tube of Locktight

+1 on the rope plugs
 
RFT's NO!!!

Kentuckaid.......get real tires & a donut spare from Leatherz.com The whole kit is cheaper than 2 RFT's!!!


Brownie
 
I am carrying too much stuff in my cases, and I want to slim down the load.
I would like to slim myself down, but that is another story.

What are you carrying in tools for "on the road" day rides-not "touring".
Btw, my new to me bike is a georgous, well maintained, nearly pristine 2001 R1100R SE.

I suspect you really don't want to know. I carry the OEM tools. And my bag of extra tools which goes in whichever bike I am riding. It weighs 12 pounds, not including the bead breaker, tire irons, air pump, pressure guage, or little box of spare parts and electrical test stuff.

I couldn't haul all this stuff in an ordinary bike. On the R1150R it resides in the bottom of an alumimum Jesse Luggage side case. On my K75RTP it resides where a passenger might ordinarily sit (solo seat) but is inside the bottom of the radio box. In my F650 it goes in the bottom of a Jesse side case too.
 

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Paul Glaves

That is a whole lot of stuff!
What's next?...pulling a trailer with a lift on it?:laugh
Just kidding.

Howard

ps thanks again for the advice on shifting. I also found a thread on this site that covers exactly my shifting questions.
 
That is a whole lot of stuff!
What's next?...pulling a trailer with a lift on it?:laugh
Just kidding.
.

As many of you know, we essentially live on the bikes in the summer - April through September last year, and we will do about the same this year. So the tool kit was put together for long haul travel. It basically works for all our bikes - and then some. I carry stuff specific to several bikes - 12mm Allen socket and 30mm socket for the paralever, 24mm socket for the F650 rear axle nut, 22mm male hex for the new bike front axles, etc. So far at least it has been easiest to just swap that bag from bike to bike rather than augment each of the bike' kits for "local" riding. Very occasionally I ride away to town with just the factory kit in a bike, but in that case we are usually riding together and one of us can always ride home to get tools if necessary.

On our 200cc and 250cc dirt bikes I carry tire irons and patch kit only. Except for a tow rope. :)
 
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I think your best bet is to break down just in front of Paul Glaves.

That has happened from time to time. And it is frustrating to know what is wrong and how to fix it but not have a tool that's needed. Thus - you see in the lower right of the picture - my Harley wrench with the red covered handle. :)
 
Ahhh, the universal metric crescent hammer!

This occasions the need to tell a story.

Voni and I have been to the doings at Sturgis a few times. Last time we went Voni made me promise that during the last 50 miles heading in, I couldn't stop to help/fix every bike we saw - or we would never get there. They all had a crowd anyway so we didn't leave anybody stranded.

We got to town, and parked the bikes in a lot 1 block from Main Street. Before we got to the street there was an attractive, somewhat scantily clad young lady standing on the sidewalk beside a Harley Davidson motorcycle, crying, and a guy in stout engineer boots soundly kicking the crap out of his rear brake caliper. I was still 1/4 block away when I smelled the odor of hot brakes - like following a big truck down a long steep hill.

I asked what was wrong! He said the brake just kept locking up. I could tell it was hot. He said it had been doing this all the way - ever since he took it off the trailer. I asked if he had a tool kit. He said, "Sure." He unstrapped a tool roll from his front forks and unrolled it. He had a 12" Crescent adjustable wrench, a pair of large Vice Grips, an old wood handled screw driver and a claw hammer. That was it!

I took the big Crescent wrench and used it to open the caliper bleed valve. "Psst." It shot hot brake fluid about 3 feet into the air. I closed the valve and he could then roll the bike. I asked if there was free play in the rear brake pedal. He said, Huh.?

So I checked. There wasn't any. I was able, barely, to use the Crescent wrench and Vice Grips to loosen the lock nut and adjust the pedal so there was a little free play. She quit crying. He was happy, and off they rode.
 
a new rally in the making

"The Paul Glaves Texas Tool Rally"

Awards will be given to the riders who schlepped the most tools to Texas.
 
What are you carrying in tools for "on the road" day rides-not "touring".

For both, I just carry the tool kit that came with my motorcycle as well as a pocket-sized DMM and a few simple parts (QR O-rings, oil filler cap and oil sight glass) in a small Nalgene jar.
 
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