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Your motorcycle's toolkit

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  • Your motorcycle's toolkit

    Something most riders don't think about until it's too late is the little emergency toolkit that came with your bike. Nearly every bike comes with at least a couple of basic tools, usually hidden behind a sidepanel or under the seat, though they sometimes get lost and aren't present on used bikes. The important thing to know about them is that they are incredibly cheap, shoddy tools. If you ever really need them, they're likely to break halfway through whatever emergency repair you're performing, leaving you sometimes worse off than before you started trying to fix whatever broke. I strongly recommend that you dig that toolkit out, open the pouch and dump out the tools inside. Very likely whatever is in there is rusty and caked with dirt from years of being ignored. Clean those tools off, and take them down to your local tool shop. Search out equivalent tools from the better-quality stuff available at the shop and replace all the cheap stuff with mechanic-quality tools. You might have to make some approximations, since for example a common toolkit tool is a cheap stamped double-ended socket. Buy proper real sockets that match both ends, and either a ratchet or "breaker-bar" wrench handle that will fit the sockets. For the open-end wrenches, make sure you're getting "shorty" wrenches that will fit in the tool pouch. These might be a bit of a challenge to find; if the space where the tool pouch fits on the bike is long enough you might be able to get away with regular-length wrenches but you'll need a new pouch to keep them in, so making the extra effort to find short wrenches will probably be the better option.

    Once you have replacements for all the wrenches, screwdrivers, sockets etc in your toolkit, wipe them all down with a slightly-oily rag (use motor oil or diesel, not cooking oil), clean out the tool pouch (and maybe wipe the inside of the pouch with that same oily rag), and replace everything. If you can afford it, pick up an extra chain master link and keep that in there too, plus maybe new jets for your carburetor, a spark plug socket, and a spark plug, along with a small pair of needlenose pliers.

    Lastly, take the time to figure out what you can and can't fix with that toolkit. Work out what the tools fit, and what they won't.

    Riding a motorcycle isn't like driving a car. Even with bikes as common as they are in India, they still require more attention than cars, if only because bikes have fewer redundant systems, so you're more likely to be completely stopped by a breakage or failure.
    ATGATT: All The Gear, All The Time!

    Current bike: Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere

    Put the phone away, put your helmet on, and ride!

    Scooters are like fat girls: fun to ride, but embarrassing if your friends see you with one.

  • #2
    Re: Your motorcycle's toolkit

    GBD Approved

    Not only are the manufacturer provided tools substandard, but the tools provided with bikes out of the showroom these days are next to nothing.

    A friend of mine bought a bike recently and seeing the sparse toolkit i questioned the company rep at the showroom. The reply was "there is no point giving tools sir, people won't even know how to use it"!

    Other than the regular tools, a puncture repair kit is also essential, especially if you are going into smaller towns and you have tubeless tyres. This will probably get used more than your other tools in the kit.
    Biking is not about what you have between your legs, its all about how well you use it!!!!!!!

    Give your details here if you want to help your fellow xBhpian stranded in your city

    Touring Blog: Cycling in Mongolia!

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    • #3
      Re: Your motorcycle's toolkit

      Not a toolkit related item but one suggestion from my experience, if you have tube type tires, please buy a branded tube and keep it as spare, it should fit under most if not all bike seat compartments and saves you from having to fit whatever unbranded cheap quality tube the local tire shop guys stock which don't last long at all.

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