That's where these come into play and offer a big advantage. After asking about these a month ago, I added a set to my tool kit. They rock! I try to use my "tool kit" to do maintenance. It keeps me proficient and helps me identify what I need. I used these the other day for major maintenance day and was thoroughly impressed. I didn't find myself reaching for a wrench very often.
And honest answer. It happens all the time in bike mechanics - lots of fasteners have the 1/2" of clearance to slip a box-end over the fastener, but do not have the 3" or so clearance required for a socket and rachet. - Mark
Are we talking about general bike mechanics here or working on specific bikes with specific toolkits? This discussion about toolkits and general mechanics is great, but I also think it might be helpful to be a little bit more specific sometimes. I still carry 12/14mm sockets and wrenches, even though I'm riding a KTM, but that's about it. Tend to tailor my toolkit to the bikes I plan on working on, and that's why I was asking. So it would be helpful if you could include that kind of info in your replies. What are you working on and what do you need to carry to make sure you can keep it running? Have found that little 1/4" huskey socket driver will fit just about anywhere. Even works really well for dropping the float bowl if I put a little hex bit in there (would be phillips bit on most bikes). Single 2.5" extension is just long enough that I've been able to access anything/everything I've ever needed to work on.
Jesusgatos - As I posted earlier, I am a huge proponent of whittiling a toolkit down to its minimum packing bulk and weight and go to decent lengths to due it with my own tool kit. So I appreciate any efforts taken to accomplish this goal, such as what you and your brither are doing. Awesome. You ask "Where do you use box-end wrenches that you couldn't get at with a socket"? I dont have a formal list or anything but a couple would be my radiator shrouds are secured by a nut and bolts and need a wrenh for the bolts, fuel petcock, as mentioned earlier chain adjuster bolts, rear brake adjuster, gear shift lever, and valve cover removal etc. . You get the idea. These are all places I have needed to reach on my rides, not just major bike overhaul stuff in the garage Now out of habit I always use the box end if at all posible as I'm always scared of rounding the bolt and nuts. But thats just me and an open end wrench would have no issues with those. Oh forgot the most obvious bolt I use a wrench on is the oil drain bolt, yes a socket would work but I find I can misalign a socket pretty easy (my fault) as they are at a strange angle.. Regarding additional torque needed as I am getting to grips with stubby wrenches I am using the two wrench method more than with normal wrenches. Kind of hard do without a box end. Currently bikes I need my tools for are KTM and Yamaha dirt bikes but the tool kit has been used on all makes due to peoples toolkits been lacking or packed too deeply it was quicker to use mine. One of the benefits of the Motion Pro MP tool (once modified) is that it caarries handily in my Camelbak. Jesus maybe my kTM has some different fasteners? On my 06 525 the chain adjuster was 10/13, on my 2011 250 its 10/12 FYI so keep that in mind if getting newer KTM's, also my rear shock bottom bolt is 12. One of the reasons I never went with the Husky Ratchet wrench is i was worried the 1/4" drive adapter would conistently fall out of the wrench during usage, changing sockets etc.. Could people with this piece chime in with their experiences to this concern? I've never handled one so clueless and have kept my tried and true stuff but always interested in another option if better than what I currently utilize.
Have been using one for about four years now (purchased after reading about it in this thread) and it's still in perfect working order. Use my 'trail' tools to work on my bike, pretty much exclusively, so quite a bit of use. Little thing is deceptively strong. No idea how much torque it can actually hold, but have had to put a rag around the handle before on occasion when I would be cranking on a something so hard the handle (thin blade) would start to hurt my fingers. Can even remember slipping a cheater bar over it once or twice, and would guess that I've put more than 125ft/lbs into it!
I usually carry enough tools to work on most anything on my bike but my big dilema is what good are the tools if you need parts to fix something? I have changed my tools to more of a rig it back together to get me somewhere that I can actually repair something. Added jb weld type stuff, bailing wire, zip ties, duct tape, bars leaks, super glue etc. and ditched a lot of wrenches/sockets that are of no use without having replacement parts.
I think this is something often overlooked - riders carry enough mechanical tools to do an engine overhaul, but don't carry anything to repair a broken shift level or bungee cord a broken pannier to the bike. And about 90% of the problems you have on the road are in two areas: tires and electrical. I've fixed tens of tire problems, and had three ignition switches fail on my or my buddie's bikes over hundreds of thousands of touring miles, but I've never had a serious engine issue of any sort. Never even had to replace a spark plug. - Mark
Jesusgatos - Thanks for the feedback on the tool, sounds like you've worked with it awhile. As posted above I was looking for feedback on how it handles the adapter nestling in the ratchet mechanism. Does the adapter constantly pop loose when installing an extension and/or socket on the 1/4" drive adapter? I have visions of fumbling about all the time with the damn adapter coming loose from the ratchet mechanism. It looks like just a friction fit into the ratchet mechanism. Is this true? If so does it come loose often? I have never seen anyone post regarding this concern so maybe its a non issue but I would love some clarification. Thanks.
The 1/4" drive adapter does have a spring-clip that holds the adapter in place, and it's much more of a positive engagement than something like the magnetic hex-bit drivers. Still, it's about 50/50 as far as which pulls apart first (socket/extension or the 1/4" drive adapter). Hasn't been anything more than a minor inconvenience, but would be pretty easy to make that more of a semi-permanent fit if it bothers you.
Thanks for the insight JesusGatos, I'll be back in the states next month to stock up on some goods. Gettin some GB stuff.
The comment about "how to repair a shift lever" etc. is dead on the money. The real types of repairs are the ones where the bike gets kicked over and something breaks...better to not be stranded than to worry about a dropped valve. (because by that point your ride may pretty much be over...) I keep a length of wire coat hanger in my bag - it's been used for exhaust bolt replacement, and other "through bolt" replacements on the road where a bolt has rattled free. Mini-Vice Grips are a good quick replacement for a broken lever. My license plate contains four different bolt sizes and nuts - all sized as replacement bolts on the bike. The other key is "KNOW YOUR BIKE". Know what bolts are sacraficial if you need them. If you can pull a rear passenger peg bolt to replace a failed bolt elsewhere on the bike, then do it. (*Assumes no passenger of course...) We all know about zip ties, duct tape and epoxy-steel. Why not add 2' of safety wire? A hotmelt glue stick can be worked with a lighter or match. How about a bit of small velcro strap or lightweight cord in case a saddlebag fails or you need a bit more tie-down cord? And don't ever forget to stash an emergency credit card somewhere on the bike or person. Worst case scenario in the USA today typically involves a phone call (*Haul Road only partially excepted) and a tow-truck and a flight home...
+1 Biggest issues ever encountered in thousands of miles of riding were: flat tire (had repair kit and method of inflation to at least get to the next little town) rattled out bolts (had zip ties to temporarily re-secure) improperly installed shift lever that had flattened the splines on the shifter rod (on a bike that I was considering buying and took out for a test ride out in the boonies solo - did NOT have my usual assortment of tools - no cell service - fortunately I had my multitool with me and was able to make a temporary pin out of a piece of wire that I found discarded by the side of the road) busted lever (visegrips to the rescue) broken clutch cable (pop-shifting to the rescue - thank god it had an e-button for dealing with stop lights) adjusting chain (that one was actually an issue bc I'd just had new tires put on and the "mechanic" that put the rear wheel on MASSIVELY over-torqued the axle nut - ended up hobbling into a little town and had to borrow a torch to get the bugger loose - should have checked it before I left on the trip even though I told the guy to not over-torque - that's what I get for being lazy and not doing the tires myself) an interior oil seal blow out (didn't matter what tools I had, it wasn't going anywhere at that point - yeah for extended warranty and towing)
Awesome. Let me know what you want and I'll set it aside. We're still running pretty small batches of parts and would hate to be out-of-stock. This is the direction we need to take this thread. We've covered all the basics, but am sure lots of people still more useful info to share. Like that point bout a coat hanger, and I love the license plate tip. Instead of carrying a clutch cable for any specific bike, I carry a long bicycle cable and by using some quicksteelto create a cable-end, can improvised a cable for pretty much anything. I don't even own any bikes with manual clutches anymore, but it takes up hardly any space, and that cable could be used for lots of other things. One of my friends broke the chainstay on his mountainbike once, and used a shifter cable to tie the seatstays to the main frame so he could ride-out. Thought that was really clever.
Regarding cables. I logged 585 hours on my last offroad bike through three countries, and who knows how many hours on bikes before. I have yet to ever have a broken cable and the reason I believe is that any cables on the bike are changed every few years out of caution. Same for chains. I have never had a chain issue. Is this because I always use fresh drive chains? Not sure, but they are always replaced once they reach 50% wear just to be cautious as i ride in the outbacks of third world countries. So may I recommend you not try and squeak the last few percentage points of life out of these consumables. Here's a few bits I carry in my tool kit to jury rig repairs and get me out of the jungle. Headlite - For when you break down at dusk and the repair takes awhile towstrap - for when all else fails Bolts - and nuts and washers that fit the bike not just look the correct size, stored in stiff plastic candy container Epoxy steel - for fabbing everything from broken levers, holes in cases, etc Spark plug - Fuel line Fishing line - thick shit for emergency tying off things, lashing logs together for bridges, etc. packs tiny Multiple hose clamps nested in duct tape, used before to attach L shaped hex to busted gear shift end for a shift lever. Stainless steel wire - good for lashing high temp stuff ie mufflers Zip ties - Too many uses, I love em. Duct tape - and electrical tape wrapped round my air pump. I keep meaning to pack a small (4"-6") hacksaw blade but have not come up with method off carrying it that won't eat into my spares kit. One of the best tools for fixing shit has been my 8" adjustable wrench. That tool is the perfect thing for straightening out bent to oblivion rear brake pedals and shift levers, beating shit back into shape etc. Another zip ty saving things. Reattaching rear brake lever to master cylinder when a rock busted things up. This mod held out for the remaining three weeks on this ride. The awkward thing is not carrying the shit but understanding how to jury rig things to get you back home. I'd love to hear more on this topic. JesusGatos - I'll be needing the bar end handguard bits at least and most likely a Scotts mount.
