I'll show you my tool if you let me see yours...

[bradzdotcom]

here's what i'm packing:

the stock toolkit is an insult to anyone who's gotten beyond "tightey rightey, lefty loosey".

i can work on the bike 99% of the time with only the following tools. they all roll into the red nylon REI first aid bag.



i frisbeed that wimpy stock plastic tray under the seat, and replaced it with my "david letterman do-hickey", wedged in by foam. the toolkit sits on top of it, fits perfect.



up in the tankbag is the "other stuff" toolkit. it wraps up inside the blue windshield cloth, held by rubber bands.



i just tossed my first aid kit, cause (like the above), it has about 25k on it and was getting pretty crusty/dicey.

between what's in the toolkit and tankbag, you can strip that thing of all the tupperware, at night, miles from the nearest rock, shoot wiring gremlins, screw down almost all the loose stuff and pretty much act as a rolling back-up of weird shiit for group rides when a situation comes to: "man, if we only had a fuse/screw/wire/connector...etc."

this weekend, i tore the suspension out and sent it to a swedish spa, but for the last 20,000 miles i've used only the tools in the toolkit to work on the bike...even at home. (which is where i learned what worked/didn't work...and how to take the tupperware off in the dark while wearing that headband.)

the only tools left out purposely: plug wrench and rear wheel lug wrench. i figure that if i need either, screw it, i'm crawling on the back with one of you guys and goin' home without the biitch. i gots me one of dem triple-A recreational towing cards and i ain't 'fraid to whip it out.

do ya see anything i should add to the toolkits?

and if you get a second, grab what you're packing, spread it out, shoot it and post the pic. i KNOW some of you guys have wizard wands tucked away. let's see 'em!

and while i've got you sucked in, has anyone assembled a sport rider specific type of first aid kit? many of us are familiar with the more common injuries sustained by our particular addiction...has anyone seen a first aid kit that's specific to the type of stuff we (unfortunately) get involved in?

ps: hey jeff/steve~before you fantasize about how much fun it would be to torture brad as your passenger, you need to know this:
IF you start going faster than I want you to....i WILL reach up and cover YOUR eyes with MY hands until YOU slow down.

(the brad rule has only backfired once, when performed on bob hannah in a rent-a-racer, with me in the role of terrified passenger.
when i tried it from the rear seat, the bastid merely floored the gas, folded his arms over his chest...and started giggling.)

i backed off.

[Moybin]

Okay, a small contribution. I need a small flashlight at work. I'm forever leaving Mini Maglites on, draining the batteries. So I found these:
http://www.copquest.com/10-2270.htm
Bought a black one. Only down side is they take 3 AAAA batteries which can be difficult to find. But run for 60 hours on fresh batteries and give enough light to change a tire or poke around inside the tupperware.

Also available from DuluthTrading.com, for a couple of more $.

[bradzdotcom]

that's how i ended up with the two led lights from REI (those two oval shaped, blue things).
one is a headband mounted light, the other can be clipped/stuck just about anywhere, and tilted to cast additional light.
both have adjustment rings so you can go from a semi-broad cone of light, down to a pinpoint about the size of a quarter.
i've done the take off/put on tupperware dance three times in the dark garage with 'em. between them, and the two allen sockets (one tall, one stubby, both from matco), convincing that biitch to strip keeps getting easier.

by the way, the two #2032 batteries in the foto fit both of the led lights and the radar detector's heads-up display.
still can't remember what the single AAA battery is for, but it's part of the collection.

[GRMNV2]

"do ya see anything i should add to the toolkits?"

How about a little helper?

[MaineRoads]

Great, How about specific sizes for the less experienced.

[arbik]

First aid kits, which are worth anything after a get-off are going to be pretty specific.

What I'd carry, if I were to carry a get-off specific first aid kit would be the following:

- Medafor makes this potato-starch derived product called TraumaDEX™ which is a topical dressing for the control of severely bleeding wounds from traumatic injuries including cuts, lacerations and puncture wounds. It basically has strong blood clotting agents in it, and supposedly, one pack of this and a little bit of direct pressure can stop all but the worst bleedings.

-Pieces of cloth, to use for: broken bone stabilization, tourniquets, or as blood soaking/direct pressure application purposes.


Other than these, there aint much you can carry, that would fix you up.

[JonyRR]

'but for the last 20,000 miles i've used only the tools in the toolkit to work on the bike...even at home. (which is where i learned what worked/didn't work...and how to take the tupperware off in the dark while wearing that headband.)'

lemme git this straight....you hack/newb it AT HOME...WTF,O!!
I have survival toolkits for my streetdibe and dirtbike, but even given the limitations of my 'worst house, best neighborhood' shop I manage to cram in everything I really need, and that includes a bunch of shop lights (one can never have too much tequila, ammunition or light). tell me you don't work on our teutonic wonders in a garage with 1 each 60 watt bulb hanging from a piece of romex....

[wswartzwel]

Makes it much easier when you are on the road or the trail...if you have roughed it at home in the garage

[mstew6478]

Yo bradz

My '04 comes with a flat tire fixer'up kit. Plug it, air it and gitter home. Better than riding behind a buddy, especially if you are solo. I've never had to use it but I've talked to guys who have.

Something to consider...

Thanks, your goody bag gave me some ideas.

[wswartzwel]

Good thread Brad!!! My cell phone has my wifes number set for speed dial, and she knows how to hook up my trailer...
Stock tool kit with the addition of a lug wrench (preps didn't come with a lug wrench... I also added a inovative designs, "second wind" CO2 /combination hand pump and tire plug kit and about 5 or 6 co2 cartridges which all fit in the tire kit compartment... On longer trips I add my off road kit to the saddlebag...

[John Lyon]

A micro-fiber cloth instead of the windshield cloth (which I used to use too). They clean face shields or even dust on the tank really, really well.

[wswartzwel]

Heres a link to a previous thread that has some more tool kit info..
Whats in your tool bag

[Steve Carlton]

There's only one tool I need. I don't leave home without it...

[wswartzwel]

Smartest thing I ever did, was to take that away from my wife and give it to you!!!

[on2wheels52]

Brad
Hats off if you do your shop work with that kit, great practice. I haven't had time for trips that far from home, besides being spoiled by a 2000 lb toolbox.
I've got a digital VOM the size of 2 Zippos I would add.

Jim

[718Rider]

Brad - Can you give us a list of all that stuff.

[Trex]

Bradz - thanks for sobering me up. For years I was a pack-rat with tools and parts. I had to be, because I rode a Ducati, and I needed spare tubes and clutch cables and fuses (NEVER too many fuses) and tie-wraps and special T-Wrenches for taking off the seat, so you could get to the...

...anyway, I need to rethink what I'm packing. An example: this past week-end I put in the Motolights on the 1100S and I had a small, flat folding VOM meter from Radio Shack that I used for finding a post-ignition hot wire. When I was done with the work, as I folded the meter closed, I thought, "Hey, I oughtta store that in the tank bag". But, really, do I need to take it? Me thinks not. Well, maybe I do.

I have my original tool kit from my 1973 1/2 (long wheel base) 75/5 and I do cherish it. But it's all boogered up with extra allen wrenchs and tools that are stuffed into the slots. I need to go through that and see what I really need.

If I add anything, it should be a decent first aid kit. I usually bring along some aspirin. I have a band-aid somewhere. Hey, it's a start!

One thing I do like to carry is a lot of CO2 cartridges for fixing a flat. I carry a fix-a-flat kit with about 8 cartridges. If you've ever used one of those kits, you know you can run through 2 or 3 cartridges just making sure that the plugs in properly and holding. Also, the extra cartridges can be used by someone else with a flat tire. I tend to stop for ANY motorcyclists on the side of the road who needs help.

I would keep the rear wheel bolt wrench.

I do like the idea of keeping the majority of the tools needed to work on the bike in one (or two) kits that you keep with you on the bike. Familiarity with what is in the kits and where the tools are, as you're on the side of Route 1 with traffic flying by at 80 mph or you're in the middle of the Pine Barrens and the mosquitoes are on you as soon as you stop , makes the job easier and less stressful.

[JonyRR]

Bill;
I've done every hack repair you could ever thiknk of, at midnight by the light of a cigarette; I just try real hard not to put myself in that situation anymore. I mended a punched-in clutch cover on my husky 390 with 5-minute epoxy and a piece of bandage, so I CAN shadtree it if I need to, I just don-wanna anymore...add a tube of 5-minute epoxy and a piece of fibercloth mat to the list...

[bradzdotcom]

das list o' stuff in z motorbiken:

toilet paper in a baggie (for jeff williams, what a sissy!).
3 razor blades (never know when a party will break out).
1/4-inch drive ratchet craftsman# 43186
1/4-inch 3-inch extension craftsman #43589
1/4-inch 1-inch extension craftsman #43538
1/4-inch 3mm allen socket (stubby 1/4-inch tall version for fairing) snap-on #tmamxs38
1/4-inch 3mm allen socket (long 1-inch version for fairing) snap-on #tmam36
1/4-inch T15 torx socket (when you booger a fairing bolt head, this will usually talk it out) craftsman # 42661
1/4-inch 10mm socket craftsman #43503
1/4 to 3/8 socket converter craftsman #4267
3/8-inch 4mm allen socket craftsman #42674
3/8-inch 5mm allen socket craftsman #42675
3/8-inch 6mm allen socket craftsman #42676
3/8-inch 8mm allen socket craftsman #42678
3/8-inch 10mm allen socket craftsman #42679
8mm box & end craftsman #42912
8mm box & end wrench craftsman long #47950
7mm box & end wrench craftsman #44897
10mm/13mm combo open end, came with toolkit
T46 torx wrench, came with toolkit
T40torx wrench, came with toolkit
6mm allen wrench
another 6mm allen wrench (somewhere you need it)
5mm allen wrench
4mm allen wrench, came with toolkit
another 4mm allen wrench (again, a gotcha without 2)
3mm allen wrench, came with toolkit (good for scratching paint)
4 stock fairing screws (to lend to friends)
4 stainless steel fairing screws (private stash)
2 machine screws for my camera mount
2 stubby plastic screws (forget what they do)
2 rear tail cowling screws (ech worth 2 beers to the right guy)
4 4 fuse
3 10 fuse
2 7.5 fuses (fuses gain in value as sun goes down)
fuse grabber, came with toolkit
baggie with various size crimp wire connectors
toothpicks (you'd be surprised)
screwdriver straight&phillips, came with toolkit
little screwdriver, came with toolkit
roll o' black electrical tape (good for spontaneous dates too)
4 size #64 rubber bands (see above)
...all wrapped in a red vinly first aid kit bag from REI.

the bag sits on top of my "david letterman", a leatherman Super Tool 200. (hardly ever used).

tankbag kit:
aurora headband-mounted light
aurora stand alone clip-on light
new pack of superglue (easier/faster than stitches)
pen with paper (break down, write short novel while waiting)
20 plastic zip ties, all different sizes (great tournequets too)
3 scrunchi bands (i have hair)
2 wooden coffee stirrers (someday, they'll do something)
big patch of velcro with sticky back on both sides
couple of probably pulverized advil (tear open, lick inside of bag)
4 size 64 rubber bands (replaced regularly, i live near the ocean)
a couple feet of wire, in the two usual gauges
a baggie with one of each glass fuse on the bike (including chech-a-pees)
batteries for the aurora lights and heads-up radar in helmet.
1 aaa battery (don't know why)
...all wrapped in a chinese combed cotton windshield cloth, bound by 3 rubber bands.

bike's registration holder carries registration, insurance, copy of driver's license, MSF Advanced course card, my least abused credit card, plus about $100 per planned 100 miles of riding.

...and fer good luck, a dollar bill with a girl's phone number on it that turned out to be worth WAY WAY more than a buck!

[bradzdotcom]

and to answer the question of "why?"
i rode enduros for a long time and you always carried all your tools in your fanny pack.
that made you very selective. tools are heavy. we used to cut and weld our own tools together to save space/weight.
i was taught to always use the tools from the fanny pack when working on the race bikes at home. that way i always had all the tools i needed to do anything out on the trail.

in the garage, in the dark.....it's really good practice.
it sure is easier to go "dag-nabit!" in the garage and flip on the lights to figure out a procedure than experimenting on the side of the interstate at 11:58 pm on a Sunday in the rain.

the bcr version comes with the tire plugs and co2 cartridges. i left them alone.

i'll add the little VOM meter. good idea.
and i'm starting in on a first aid kit. i have an email into doc bodner, our motocross/supercross series doc. he might have some tips too. (might even tell me where they get their fancy superglue).

anybody know the name of the doc who does the ama superbike series? i'd like to tap him for info too.

jony~first time i spent the night on the trail, my fault. second time i did it, i kicked rocks around for about 2 hours i was so ticked. 45 miles from the truck, riding alone and spent the night sitting in snow flurries because i forgot to bring a spare master-link. still suffer from remnant frostbite on the neck.
the last garage had eight, 8-foot florescents. new place sucks for light. thinking of doing 3~4 of those solar tube skylights through the garage roof or build a giant lightbox...i have some smith/victor halogen studio lights sitting around with no purpose in life.