What tools do you consistently carry on your bike?

[DavidS]

I keep seeing posts about what tools people carry on their bikes, and was interested in compiling them here to see what I should be bringing with me, but haven't thought about yet. The idea is to list the things you "Consistently" carry when you go riding, whether for your daily commute,  riding for pleasure, or longer trips.

As for me, I carry the "tool" kit provided by Yamaha, and an extra clutch cable for my commute. (yeah, I know I should be more prepared), and when I take trips, (more than 1 day of riding) I carry a riding kit I have created with tools I regularly use for maintenance. (Chain Maintenance tools, Allen wrenches and sockets to fit the parts I might need to work on. I don't have a dedicated kit, I just assemble one from my tool box, and put it in a bag to fit in my cases.

If any of you have purchased tool kits that you think are good, feel free to mention them here as well. 

 

[draco_1967]

Any pre-made tool kit is going to have way to many tools that I would never use. I'll have to get a picture of my kit later today.

I carry the basic allen sizes for the bike (4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm), JIS driver (NOT phillips), 8, 10, 12, and 14 mm sockets (1/4" drive), and a small ratchet. I carry 10, 12, and 14mm wrenches as well, in case there is a fastener that I can't get to with a socket.

I have some spare fuses, gorilla tape (small 1" wide roll), zip ties, and a small compressor with a tire plug kit. I have a headlamp in my tank bag when on trips. Holding a flashlight while trying to wrench in the dark is a PITA. 

I used to carry tools to remove the front and rear wheels up until a few years ago. I just never needed that. If things are fubar'd to the point I need to remove a wheel, I'll call a tow truck. I haven't had to adjust a chain on a trip, and carrying the larger socket and wrench needed to loosen the rear wheel for an adjustment adds a lot of bulk and weight. 

[Wintersdark]

A ratchet, with 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, and (soon, once I get it) 27mm socket all on a 1/4” threaded rod with a 3/8" coupling (like a long, hollow nut) that just happens to have a 14mm OD - just right for removing the front wheel together with a wrench.  A pair of adjustable wrenches, a set of Allen keys, a JIS screwdriver.  A Leatherman multitool.  A pair of spare universal throttle/clutch cables (which I've never needed myself, but have used on other people's bikes more than once), tape, and zip ties.  

All in a tool roll that ends up barely larger than a beer can.  

I don't think there's a normal maintenance job I can't do with just these tools.

[betoney]

14 hours ago, DavidS said:

I keep seeing posts about what tools people carry on their bikes, and was interested in compiling them here to see what I should be bringing with me, but haven't thought about yet. The idea is to list the things you "Consistently" carry when you go riding, whether for your daily commute,  riding for pleasure, or longer trips.

As for me, I carry the "tool" kit provided by Yamaha, and an extra clutch cable for my commute. (yeah, I know I should be more prepared), and when I take trips, (more than 1 day of riding) I carry a riding kit I have created with tools I regularly use for maintenance. (Chain Maintenance tools, Allen wrenches and sockets to fit the parts I might need to work on. I don't have a dedicated kit, I just assemble one from my tool box, and put it in a bag to fit in my cases.

If any of you have purchased tool kits that you think are good, feel free to mention them here as well. 

 

I was thinking about that and asked myself "what 'maintenance or repairs' would you ever do out on the road?".  If you have an engine failure you are going to call a tow truck, I carry a plug kit for a flat tire- no tools required, and if its a tire "failure" you are going to call either an ambulance or a tow truck.  I have a ratchet, socket and wrench for adjusting the chain.

When I am working on the bike in my garage I rarely use individual wrenches, except once a year when I service the shock linkage.  There is nothing I would use a screwdriver for, except a stubby to change the position of the control switch pods on the handlebars.  A lot of the fasteners are hex bit so I carry an Allen key set to access the side panel for fuses and coolant and adjusting the lever position or handlebars.   

I have all of the vacant 'spare' slots in the fuse panels populated with additional fuses but if you have an electrical issue are you going to carry a VOM, electrical contact cleaner, soldering iron or splicing equipment? 

There's just not a lot of simple repairs to be done on the side of the road and 'maintenance' will already be completed before leaving.  I'm sure there will always be a "what if" or 1 in 10,000 scenario. 

 

[BBB]

56 minutes ago, betoney said:

I have a ratchet, socket and wrench for adjusting the chain.

Do you always carry these @betoney? Can you loosen the rear axle nut with a ratchet short enough to carry?

[SKYFLIX]

Tire patch kit, small air compressor, small battery jump start. DONE. Anything more than that and I'm calling a truck.

[keithu]

I haven't had a mid-ride flat tire in almost 30 years, a fact I credit to my habit of always carrying a flat repair kit. I used to just keep patches, cement, and CO2 cylinders in a bag, but vibration would cause stuff to vibrate and get damaged after a while. So now I use a couple of small dry cases with foam to separate the flat repair items, and it all sits in a corner of my saddlebag with some heavy-duty Velcro. The red things in the photo below are CO2 cylinders wrapped in duct tape to damp vibration.

I keep the OEM 4mm wrench under the passenger seat, and a Leatherman Juice C2 in my pocket. I use the Juice C2 almost daily at work to fix multi-million dollar printers, and it also gets regular use on motorcycles, cars, home projects, etc. It's easily pocketable yet has useful pliers; philips and straight screw drivers; a knife; a bottle opener; and a corkscrew. 90% of the time I need a tool for something, the Juice C2 delivers. 

On longer trips I take a few more tools: everything needed to remove front and rear wheels, vice grips, zip ties, duct tape, and JB Weld.   

[SKYFLIX]

Ooh, I like your small pelican case there. That's a great idea. Might have to steal that idea....

[betoney]

38 minutes ago, BBB said:

Do you always carry these @betoney? Can you loosen the rear axle nut with a ratchet short enough to carry?

Yes, they are in a small tool pouch I keep in my tank bag.  I don't use a torque wrench to tighten the axle so I can get the nut off with a 3/8 drive ratchet, it takes some effort though.

[estell]

Tire plug kit, small air compressor, small first aid kit, Yamaha tool kit. All stuffed under the seats with a few ROK straps for luggage tiedown. I don't plan to remove wheels or tighten the chain when I'm away from home.

[duhs10]

I carry a tire repair kit (tar stick type), portable air compressor, a roll up tool kit with a variety of stuff (wrenches, sockets, fuses, wires, screw driver), a flash light (technically a head lamp), and a set of foldable allen wrenches.  As well as the OEM "toolkit" if that even qualifies.

Reading through these makes me realize I need to pack the little tool that is used to adjust the Gilles Tooling axle blocks.

 

[enx]

Things that are always in my bike: Allen keys, screwdriver under the seat, multitool, zip ties, lighter, first aid, a pair of latex gloves, one or two pieces of paper towel and pain killers.

 

[kilo3]

I don't travel much over 4-5 hours from home, so for me its water, window cleaner, some paper towels, and a tire plug kit.

[roadrash83]

Besides the usual tools, I also carry a 10mm 1/4 inch socket that is turned down. So I can tighten the mirror nut, that seems to come loose more than it should.

[Wintersdark]

10 hours ago, betoney said:

I was thinking about that and asked myself "what 'maintenance or repairs' would you ever do out on the road?".  If you have an engine failure you are going to call a tow truck, I carry a plug kit for a flat tire- no tools required, and if its a tire "failure" you are going to call either an ambulance or a tow truck.  I have a ratchet, socket and wrench for adjusting the chain.

When I am working on the bike in my garage I rarely use individual wrenches, except once a year when I service the shock linkage.  There is nothing I would use a screwdriver for, except a stubby to change the position of the control switch pods on the handlebars.  A lot of the fasteners are hex bit so I carry an Allen key set to access the side panel for fuses and coolant and adjusting the lever position or handlebars.   

I have all of the vacant 'spare' slots in the fuse panels populated with additional fuses but if you have an electrical issue are you going to carry a VOM, electrical contact cleaner, soldering iron or splicing equipment? 

There's just not a lot of simple repairs to be done on the side of the road and 'maintenance' will already be completed before leaving.  I'm sure there will always be a "what if" or 1 in 10,000 scenario. 

 

From my perspective, I've ridden exclusively 30 year old or older bikes for 25 years of my riding history, and frankly shit breaks/falls off regularly on those.  Calling for a tow always cost more than I could afford, so that wasn't an option either.  I either fixed it/rigged it up to be usable, or walked.  So, it's sort of a habit.  

Now, as I'm maintenance obsessed, it's basically unheard of to have any kind of breakdown.  Certainly hasn't happened since riding new bikes with warranties!  However, I ride with a lot of people with no concept of proper maintenance, and whose bikes sit over the looooong winter neglected.  So, at least once a year, I get to bust out my toolkit and fix someone's bike on the side of the road. 

What's happened in the last couple years:

Tire Troubles: Guy needing a new tire. Pull the tire off his bike, then ride it into a nearby shop to have a replacement mounted.  This saves a tremendous amount of money (and time) in towing and obviously mount+balance on loose rims is significantly cheaper.  

Broken cables: Replaced a clutch cable on the side of the road.  With universal replacement kits you can cover basically any bike's control cables - and the kit's $5 and super tiny.  Now, these should never break, given even basic maintenance, but yet here we are.

Electrical fixes:  Lots.  I carry a knife, cutters, electrical tape, and some random wire + alligator clips.  Fixed a broken clutch switch.  Roadside repairs on electrical happen fairly often if you ride with guys on old bikes.  

Mechanical fixes: Snug up a loose muffler on the new exhaust on a Harley.   It was well along it's way to falling right off the bike.  

 

I mean, really, now, I don't need the toolkit.  I'm rarely outside of cell coverage, and I can afford a tow.  My bike's well maintained and new.  But old habits die hard, and it's handy to be That Guy on the bike trip who can actually fix shit, as if it's not you, it's probably not going to be any of them either.  And if nobody can fix things, trips can get screwed up pretty fast.