Light is right! - a toolset

A tool roll is one of the coolest things you can carry on a bike, really! It's not only about getting you out of trouble in the event of a something brakes. Of course, that too, but... there are so many interesting parts, tools and bits that completing it is basically a paradise playground for every farkle lover, including me :-)

What I am going to state now may seems a bit weird, but... the toolbox says a lot about us, what is our approach to bike maintenance, what do we know about it, how do we pack... :-) It is obvious that we cannot take all the tools that seem useful, nor all the tools that fix every motorcycle around. Instead, choose the absolute minimum of what will ensure You won't be stranded and have a peace of mind riding on _your_ motorcycle, this is a real art. I came to this solution in steps and like every element of my equipment, the roll with tools is under constant evolution. Basically I have two sets - one for shorter trips, which I always carry, the other for longer expeditions. Both are independent, which means I don't move any tools between them.

Why do we need tools?

Toolset is there to fix a bike when it dies and you are stranded, also it may be useful for some minor adjustments. That's it.. It's not about doing a intense service somewhere in a rapeseed field, it's about continuing the ride. Tools don't have to be super comfortable, they have to be small and light. If You have a serious failure, you will probably end up in the garage anyway, they have the right toys there.

Preparation

Before each big trip, I replace all the consumables. I also check the ones I decide not to replace, for example all bearings... The point is that this way I minimize the risk something will brake and I respect my mates I am going with :-) The tools that I have in my roll, they allow me to replace the inner tube, straighten the mirror, adjust the handlebars, repair some plastics, change the oil or tighten the chain. Such simple things. I don't carry all those tools to replace the shaft bearings or the piston. This kind of service is ought to be done before the trip, carefully in proper conditions and once we have the right bearings, not necessarily quickly fitted from Kamaz truck somewhere :-)

One place

All my tools are in the tool-roll. I never wonder where I put patches or glue or Torx 25, all these things are together. A tool-roll open on the ground is also the perfect place to put all the bolts, nuts and small parts, which we have thus safely placed in plain sight. I treat only the tube repair kit exceptionally, it's such a specific "adventure" that I put the pump, levers and additional patches separately in my backpack.

Self-sufficiency

The roll must be complete, I mean you must have all the necessary things witch you. I know that you may find yourself riding in a group, but what if a friend goes ahead of you for half a day, or for some reason goes home and you are left alone? You must be self-sufficient. The easiest way to find out what set you really need, is to use the tools from the roll for daily service activities at least once, then everything will fall into right places nicely.

Quality

Nowadays, it is easy to buy a cheap and multi-element set of tools, but completing a really light and useful toolset excludes going for any ready-made sets, and generally excludes the purchase of cheap ones. In order to assemble a really good toolset, you have to look for tools in various stores, also abroad, somewhere on ebay across the ocean, because there can be very interesting solutions from brands that are simply not available in your place.

Ok, on to the nitty gritty, so what's in my roll?

• Kregia Tool Roll,
• Knipex 30 21 160mm pliers,
• 0-34mm Irega SWO 99XS adjustable wrench,
• T handle 1/4" 100mm,
• Bit-hex adaptor, Yato,
• 50mm bit extension, Yato,
• 100mm 1/4" extension, Proxxon,
• 1/4" swivel joint socket drive, Proxxon,
• Bit, socket 6mm, Bosch,
• Bit, socket 8mm, Bosch,
• Bit, socket 10mm, Bosch,
• Bit, socket 13mm, Bosch,
• Bit, torx 20, Vera,
• Bit, torx 25, Vera,
• Bit, torx 30, Vera,
• Bit, torx 40, Vera,
• Bit, torx 45, Vera,
• Bit, torx 50, Vera,
• Bit, PH0, Vera,
• Bit, PH1, Vera,
• Bit, PH2, Vera,
• Bit, slot 2,5mm, Vera,
• Bit, slot 5mm, Vera,
• Bit, slot 12mm, Vera,
• Bit, allen 2mm, Vera,
• Bit, allen 3mm, Vera,
• Bit, allen 4mm, Vera,
• Bit, allen 5mm, Vera,
• Bit, allen 6mm, Vera,
• Bit, allen 8mm, Vera,
• 8-9mm wrench Proxxon Slim,
• 10-11mm wrench Proxxon Slim,
• 12-13mm wrench Proxxon Slim,
• Spark plug wrench 14x15mm Bahco,
• Feeler gauge - 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25mm,
• Neodymium magnet,
• Toothbrush,
• Loctite 243 10ml,
• Zip ties,
• Rema Tip-Top glue SVS-VULC 5g x2,
• Rema Tip-Top patches,
• Bolts, washers, nuts,
• Electric wires,
• Fuses 10A, 15A,
• Multimeter ANENG AN101

Ok, some items may seem quite interesting. So, what is it? The first thing, all the bits, sockets, wrenches are selected carefully for my bike exactly. Even the feeler gauges I left only four, the ones I need. I've attached a strong magnet on one of them with a piece of tape, such a "tool" allows me to pull out valve plates when adjusting clearances, so that none of them fall deeper into the engine.

The pliers I carry are longer and more slender than classic pliers. Thanks to that, I can reach different parts under the tank and near the cylinder, or gently grab clamps or slide a hose easily. They are also lighter and smaller than typical ones. Pliers with curved head would be even better, but how to pack it so that the curved end does not rip the roll from the inside?

I don't carry a classic ratchet, I prefer a 100mm long T-handle instead, it's more comfortable and faster, and in addition, in case any screw requires a turbo power, it allows me to use a brute force. I was wondering for a long time whether to take an adjustable wrench, finally I found a very interesting model from Irega - light and small, and with a very large range. They also have excellent precision, thanks to the special profiling it is very slim and thus fitted to the scale we find in motorcycles.

To save weight, I use open-ended spanners, each of which is two sizes, different at each end. For the same reason, I use only bits, even the largest ones. Besides they are light, it is very convenient - everything comes to the same handle. I have two extensions, 50mm and 100mm, plus a swivel joint, this should allow me to do every bolt.

I also have a spark plug wrench, which I had given an additional function - inside I stuffed two glues for tubes, thanks to that they will not be squeezed and will not spill out. A very interesting tool is the Knipex 86 adjustable pliers. There is a whole family of them, I chose almost the smallest model with a length of 150mm. What can this little fellow do? First of all, it allows you to set the width, the set width can be locked using a special mechanism, the maximum width is 32mm. The grip has a large leverage which makes it really strong. I have to test this Knipex more, because I think this tool can replace all open-end wrenches, as long as it doesn't turn out to break the heads of the screws.

What else? A few cables for emergency electrical fixes. Also a pair of slightly thicker and longer ones, which allows me to jump-start a bike. I also have a handful of screws, nuts and washers, glue for threads, and patches and glues for repairing inner tube. For the latter, I have been using Tip-Top products for many years, first on bicycles, now on motorcycles, they work perfectly.

The tire levers made by Accel are very light, I really like their profile and the perfect little "tooth" for putting the tire in, and they are very light. The most important - they have a 32, 27 and 13 mm spanner, so everything I need to remove the wheels on my bikes. I put the spoons into a piece of a cut bicycle inner tube - they don't bounce around and everything stays together.

For inflating the tyres, I carry a simple pump from Lezyne. It is bulletproof and has a hose which makes it much easier to play with. Why not a compressor? Repairing a wheel somewhere in the woods is often an emergency, there may be rain, the pump is a simple device, it is difficult to brake, I simply trust it.

Finally, a multimeter. This is a piece of hardware from Aliexpress, a very small device. I can't write anything about it yet, except that it works. Its main advantage is low price and dimensions. It also has a housing box that protects it during transport.