mattmcgyver

So I'm thinking of taking a 3 day ride from Baltimore to Kansas City, MO, and then back, six days, 1900 miles.. (all for some pork and spicy sauce).

Formaly I would cary the tools and disposables to do, at a minimum, chain maintenance and change (or fix) a tire. But, as this is my first bike without a center stand, I'm a bit at a loss as to what to carry?

What do you carry for chain maintenance on a long road trip?

What do you carry for tire failure?

Do you carry anything to lift a wheel off the ground?

Spark plugs, light bulbs, oil and WD40, what else do you carry as ready use spare items or maintenance materials?

My riding buddy is on a HD Road King (or something), so I guess I can fill his 60 liters of bags with stuff.... but he probably has an inflatable hot tub or something in there....

Thanks.

M

skokievtr

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 (Boy Scout / SEAL Team 1 philosophy). I have used my tire plug kit and Co2 filler on a friend’s RC51 but otherwise never have touched it (knock on plastic). On +1 day road trips I also carry a rear wheel prop rod I made the “plugs” into the hollow axle on the right side, and holds the rear wheel up in conjunction with the side stand. 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, Cobra RD & have a Garmin Nuvi 765T w/BT & MP3 player (feeds stereo BT ear buds with navigation & tunes; don’t bother with connecting to cell).

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, Super 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 one or two 1.23 qt. camping stove "spare" gas bottle, 2 small LED flashlights (1 of which you can hold in your mouth while working) and when camping also carry a LED/Halogen headlamp, extra headlight, stop/tail & turn signal bulbs, an emergency "space" blanket, Areostitch's sport touring First Aid kit, more bandages and antibacterial ointment, alcohol wipes, a razor blade/holder, 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, special wrenches, ratchet & sockets, a mini-adjustable wrench (very handy) and 7" adjustable wrench, clear 3/8" ID hose for gas siphoning, tweezers and scissors, tire gauge, Motrin, lighter, pen, pencil and note pad, Magic Marker, 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, water bottle, a clear face shield in a thin helmet bag (I wear a dark tint during the day), sunglasses, maps, rain/cold weather gloves back-of-the-hand squeegee, a windproof wind triangle, spare , head sweat, a windproof and rain resistant PB bicycle illumiNITE jacket, crimp connectors & splices, adjustable bungie cords, chemical reaction light sticks, elastic hair ties & rubber bands, yellow caution tape, a baseball hat, Totes rubber over boots, an 3/16" diameter X 24" vinyl covered lock cable and a separate helmet 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 cycle alarm (with secondary hidden starter kill switch, a disk anti-theft lock with caution tape taped to it (a bright reminder to remove b4 flight), spare keys, extra batteries, gum and lozenges, cigars, hand & foot warmer packets, eye drops, spare eye glasses & sun glasses, 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), Camel Back, tank bag, etc.

shayne

Unlike Skokie, I do not take a lot of stuff. People who know me know that I can fix most stuff, so it is not lack of ability that I do not take everything including the kitchen sink with me. I have just found over the years that a lack of tools is not the limiting factor in effecting roadside repairs, it is the lack of parts to replace what is not working. Four blokes with full tool kits cannot fix a stuffed R/R beside the road. We tried!!!

I keep my stuff in good working order, so that I do not suffer un-necesssary failures on the road that are caused by lack of maintenance. Then you just need to worry about a bit of maintenance on the way. If you have a failure like a R/R failure or a collapsed bearing or whatever, you will not be able to fix it without parts anyway.

For the basic stuff I carry the factory tool kit with an extra tool or two such as a allen key, pliers or whatever. A leatherman tool or similar and a torch are handy, and of course a tyre repair kit. I have heard bad reports on the aerosol type, so I stick to normal ones. A can of chain lube and that is about it for me.

When things go bad and you need a tow truck, I make sure I am a member of a roadside assistance company. That is what we did with the R/R failure. We rang them up and it got carted to the next town for repairs.

Being prepared is a good thing, but you can only carry so much stuff on a bike. No point in making it weigh as much as a Harley.

Little_Horse

I am with Shayne on this one. I carry what is needed to tighten most anything that may come loose so I carry:

Tire repair kit and small bicycle pump for tire repair, in my tool kit an 8, 10, 12, 14 mm box end wrenches, an 8, 10, 12, 14 mm 1/4 drive sockets and ratchet. An adjustable 7" wrench, a leatherman, needle nose vise grips. A half in drive with the size to remove the rear axle bolt for chain adjustment. Small chain lube. Electrical tape (the most used item) zip ties. Already carry a flashlight for camp so no need for another in the tool bag, and a multi tool allen set metric. Philips screw driver and one standard.

skokievtr

Oh, I forgot to mention on long trips I also carry a spare VR/R all wired to crimp into the OE harness! LOL I have modified my original OE VR/R with heat sink paste to the frame & a CPU heat sink & cooling fan, and the right side of the seat cowl with a fresh air intake snorkel above the rear brake MC and reverse NACA duct in the lower right rear aligned over a series of holes I bored in the seat cowl plastic. The added electrical load of driving lights, heated vest, RD and GPS actually reduces the amount of heat load the VR/R has to absorb (dissipate). I also only replaced the original Yuasa battery just last year out of guilt given my VTR's birth day was 03-97!

I also keep my VTR in as top condition as possible for any 60,000+ mile 2-wheeler and have never needed (knock on plastic) what I carry for my own vehicle. Again, total weight of my auxiliary tools and supplies does not exceed 10~12 pounds including the OE tool kit.

cosean

The two most important items should be in my humble opinion are a tire repair kit and a compressor. Any long trip it almost always needs to be used. If you haven't already, put in a 12V socket (cheap and easy to install). I bought a cheap little 12V 60 PSI compressor for $12 and removed the plastic housing. This cuts the size down to about half and fits right in one of the little pockets on my tank bag. Only issue is that it will get hot so you need to not touch and let cool after use. Other than that a leatherman and a light (along with OEM tools) are a good idea too. Like Shayne said, if you need more than that, you're probably screwed.

inderocker

Same here! On our last big trip I brought a spare stator, R/R, wire kit, and a tube of Pro Honda HT. If anything is going to go kaput on a VTR (aside from CCT's... (running APE's)) it's the charging system. Know the bike and it's flaws, that is the best way to prepare. Also, a Stop & Go tire plugger kit is a must.

RK1

You can adjust the chain slack with the bike on the side stand and the rear tire on the ground no problem. It's the only way I've ever done it.

You can spray or wipe lube onto the chain without lifting the rear. Lube what you can and push the bike forward and do it again until you've lubed the entire chain. Easier if you've got a buddy to push the bike while you apply the lube.

A small bottle of SLIME sealant and a small hand or 12 volt air pump will work on any repairable puncture. I've used it on one of my truck's tires and it worked great. Haven't needed it for my bike.

I been riding about 8-10k miles a year for a long time. The last MC tire puncture I had to deal with was in Rapid City, SD. in August of 1975.

bowhawk

+1 on OEM tools and tire repair with small bike pump. I always carry a gas hose, rattle ball, as I've run out of gas more times than the SH has given me mechanical grief. I envy you guys going for rides, we are -20C with the windchill today.

Tweety

Oem tools, add a good leatherman, a mini wrench/sockets and a LED light and some lube and a couple of zip ties and electric tape and you can fix most that's possible to fix roadside. Add a tire plug kit and a small handpump and you can fix a basic flat as well (I carry a slime sealant bottle and a plug kit)
I also add a couple of wire splices a small multimeter and some wire... Plus spare R/R...

On longer trips I carry a small bottle of fuel for emegency... That has so far been the most used item...

Oh and never ever leave home without a decent first aid kit... "trip" or not... That's always in there...

Hawkrider

PLEASE remember to always roll the bike backwards while doing this. It's good to keep all of your fingers!

RK1

Yeah that's a wise warning.

I apply lube from behind the rear sprocket, to the outside of the chain as wheel rolls forward.

If you choose to place your fingers between the sprockets and inside the loop, make sure the wheel is going backwards.