After watching a fellow rider crash in front of me yesterday and rigging his bike together enough to make the ride home, I realized I need to be bringing more tools with me.

I figure anything that can fit under the seat is fair game. Right now I have:

Water bottle
siphon tube
honda toolkit
led flashlight
extra fuse


I think I'm going to add:
leatherman
zip ties
tape (what kind?)
coil of insulated wire (good for use as bailing wire, or for electrical)


Any other suggestions? I spend so much time out in the boonies, and this weekend for example, I'll be riding through death valley.

Is there any point in carrying a tire repair kit? I guess I don't see the point in patching leaks if you can't add air to the tire. I don't know how useful the fixaflat or co2 cartridges would be. Seems to me you just nurse it to a gas station if waiting for a tow isn't an option.

 

chain rivet tool
CO2 tire inflation pump w/ spare cylinders
tire plug kit

 

As far as what type of tape the answer is duct. Works on anything.

I carry and have used a CO2 kit. The best one out there is from Aerostich. It has the mushroom plugs. Lifesaver.

And the best tool of all is a cell phone.

 

14' of 14 gauge wire, solderless terminals and electricians tape.
Motorcycle jumper cables.
Cell phone pre-loaded with mo-tow number.
(Can you guess what my history is?)
And the inventory of a day hiker packed into my tank bag. The first aid kit has road rash remedy in it, something extra that most hiker's kit wouldn't have.

Really now, it doesn't matter how well you prepare, lady fate is always set to challenge your best intentions. Got a tire repair kit? It will be the valve stem that fails!

 

this is what i usually carry, not gonna be riding with a broken bike right?

 

Well, it's not for my bike, it's for all the other people's bikes I ride with. And of course the day I break something, I'll be borrowing someone else's crap. That usually seems to be the way it goes.

 

Just a cell and the factory tool kit.

 

If it's the front one I'll wheelie home.

Obviously you can't take an entire bike with you, but in all my years I've had two flats and no valve stem failures. I bet the odds.

 

You make a good point. Besides, most of those failures can be prevented by inspecting the bike before you leave home.

I changed my oil today and later today I'm going to adjust my CCTs, tighten chain, put a new rear tire on it and flush the brake and clutch fluid.

 

I got a Honda tool kit, but I really need to get a tire plug kit!

 

In a gallon size zip-loc bag;
-plug kit w/ Co2
-duct tape(rated for 200mph) not the cheap stuff.
(re-roll it up on itself so the roll is small in diameter)
-spare fuses
-basic first aid(in small zip-loc)
-sunscreen
-bananna
-ibuprofin
-bottle water
-cell phone
-map
-tools
-tire gauge
-safety wire
-zip-ties(assortment sizes)

 

Banana?

 

thanks motojoe, i'm gonna do the same now!

 

Im gonna have to incorporate some storage space on my bike. That or a backpack.

 

Man, you beat me to it. In fact, up until a year ago it was just the factory tool kit.

 

[quote=CentralCoaster;203424]You make a good point. Besides, most of those failures can be prevented by inspecting the bike before you leave home. quote]

You either hire a chase vehicle or you know your **** will last. Maintain, wash, maintain. Hire a new pair of eyes. Maintain, wash, maintain. Repeat.

 

I'm at an advantage because I have a Sargent saddle and a hard, QD rear trunk case mounted to a modified Ventura rack (but using the Ventura L-brackets). Consequently, I carry all sorts of stuff (see below) that I never hopefully will need, which if I did not drag along would of course immediately would require for a roadside fix. I have used my tire plug kit and Co2 filler on a friend RC51 but otherwise never have touched. The added weight of all the stuff I carry in addition to the OEM tool kit possibly exceeds 10 pounds! Of course I also always carry my cell phone & am looking to buy a Garmin Zumo 660.

In the Sargent saddle tool tube and a zipper leatherette bag in the trunk plus stashed in the trunk and under the saddle: OEM Tool Kit, Vice-grips, Leatherman, duct tape, Super Silicone (adhesiveless) tape, lighter-meltable hot glue, electrical tape and wire, zip-ties, a small tow rope, on long trips mc jumper cables, a travel battery charger and 1.23 qt. camping stove "spare" gas bottle, a small flashlight and LED/Halogen headlamp, extra stop/tail and turn signal bulbs, an emergency "space" blanket, Areostitch's sport touring First Aid kit, more bandages and antibacterial ointment, alcohol wipes, a razor blade, spare ear plugs, a side stand plate with remind-me-to-take-it lanyard and handlebar hook, tire plug kit, Co2 filler with at least 10 cartridges, screwdrivers, wrenches and sockets, Allen wrenches, clear 3/8" ID hose (for gas siphoning), tweezers and scissors, tire gauge, Motrin, lighter, pen, pencil and note pad, Magicmarker, a mini-adjustable wrench (very handy) and 7" adjustable wrench, a mini-RS electric multi-tester, spare fuses, sunscreen and bug repellent, a small microfiber towel, a faces shield cleaning kit plus a small bottle of Rain-X, cell phone, water bottle, a clear face shield in a thin helmet bag (I wear a dark tint during the day), sunglasses, maps, Aerostitch triple-digit (Vulcan) rain gloves and back-of-the-hand squeegee, a windproof wind triangle, a windproof and rain resistant PB bicycle illumiNITE jacket, crimp connectors & splices, adjustable bungie cords, a disk lock, nightsticks, elastic hair ties & rubber bands, caution tape, a baseball hat, Totes rubber over boots, an 3/16" diameter X 24" vinyl covered lock cable and a separate helmet lock cable with built-in lock, on long trips an electric tire pump I made from the guts of a C-H unit plus a dual-cigarette plug outlet (that also can be used with my cell phone car charger) that plugs into the coaxial receptor that I plug my Battery Tender into, mini-bungies, more zip-ties, the remote for my alarm, a disk lock with caution tape taped to it (a bright reminder to remove b4 flight), gum and lozenges, cigars, hand-warmer packets, eye drops, my insurance card & DOT excerpt on how headlight modulators are legal in all 50 states (I have needed it at least once), plumber's epoxy, spare gloves sometimes for hot or colder weather, and other stuff I'd have to check to see I forgot about. Everything is organized in zip-lock freezer bags (plus spare bags) and I have a small LED light velcro'd to my full face helmets for map reading, and on my helmets my blood type, "no med allergies" and "do not remove helmet" stickers I made. I have a Scott Oiler, so chain lube is not required (except I also bring a refill bottle & pint of engine oil plus "2nd side stand" in made that lifts the rear tire for long trips).

 

I do a lot of touring. I've used a few tire plug kits over the years on bikes, go kart tires, motorcycle tires, lawn equipment, etc. This is one of the nicer kits. I wouldn't ride very far, especially at any speed, with a "standard" tire plug. The mushroom plugs in this kit are sweet, won't blow out, and I've put many a mile on a tire after plugging it.

The mushroom gets inserted head first into the tire and you cut off the remaining stub.


See here:
http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/...t-p-18432.html

 

How many psi can you get out of a CO2 cartridge?

 

Duct tape is a must. I saw some sand in a curve, hidden by shadow, my friend didn't. Cracked the dyno cover on his 78 CB750F. I rode to a general store 10 miles away and bought duct tape. We taped it up and drove 90 miles home with no loss of oil.

Or you could just do like the old outlaw biker gangs used to and have a '51 Chevy 3 window chase truck.

 

To fill a 17-55-180 rear tire to 32 psi requires at least 6 16 gram Co2 cartridges, the 17-120-70 obviously less. I carry 10 and have the sticky-rope plugs & the mushroom plugs.