Will experienced DIY mechanic post list of necessary tools/accessories/equipment for maintanence/rep

Its all METRIC fer gawds sake!!! reminds me of a saying, "if it aint JAP its crap." if its not metric its crap!!! have some Americano stuff, but limited :smile:

 

I can't believe you guys missed it...



As for the other lists; my tool drawer is feeling quite inadequate...

 

Using cheap crap like Taiwan or other Chinese poor quality garbage will damage your nuts, bolts and miscellaneous fittings, and will break, so don't. You want rounded-off nuts ??

Quality tools cost $$ but worth it. Can't go too wrong with Craftsman/Sears at a minimum.

All 'cycle owners need a 1-amp battery charger and volt/ohm multimeter.

 

I Second that. I was in HF to meet up with my business partner and picked up the T&D Set. I just needed to tap two holes, so what the hell, I bought the whole kit for $18. When trying to tap one of the holes it was very difficult at best just to get the tap started, after a few tries on the second hole I said F'it! Went to Sears bought the Craftsman set and damn if it didn't tap on the first try. Note: They actually sell a two piece tap kit at Sears. It comes with the tap and the proper size drill bit for the hole! (who knew) Could have saved the money I spent on the HF kit and just bought that but the HF kit was less than twenty bucks so no major loss and now I have the Craftsman set. Live and learn.

Cheers!

 

Cheap tools kinda remind me of going with a cheap whore. Not that I know anything about that :tongue:

Could end up with rounded off nuts like dah Ice-Hunchin said above me here....Cant take it with you, might as well enjoy your money now!

CHeerSS :drinkers:

 

Find a handfull of Whitworths somewhere. Just haveing some to show will make you seem like a really back in the day biker.

 

is that the same as a BS Spanner mate!!???

Funny, as many spanners as I own, I had one BS spanner that one of my employers was ironically missing, (no-I didnt steal it) anyway, I donated it to him, made him damn happy too. True story. F - BS and Whitworth and Lucas for that matter...

 

You need to know what you are looking at when it comeses to tools. Craftsman no longer replaces tools for life and their tools are made in China. You need to be careful at HF and buy from the Pittsburgh line. Compare those tools to the Sears stuff and it is as good or better in some cases. The black coated, laser etched sockets are GREAT quality. I have tested those sockets with air tools and they are up to the job. I have a Mac top box filled with Mac, Snap-On and old school Craftsman. Back in the day, that was THE way to go. Now, the HF tools can be a fantastic value, but you need to know what you are looking at. Buy a cheap set of sockets and the Pittsburgh, then compare fit against your Craftsman gear. You will likely become a convert to SOME of the HF tools.

Jose

 

I second this.As with everything else one has to be discerning.They are crappy tools at HF and great ones tone has to look the brand and how its made.I bought Craftsman ranch socket set in the box sealed and guess what 25 pieces were missing.They were just thrown in there in plastic bags inside the box and within those bags random sockets not matching.
I read similar stories on line.These days Craftsman tools are mostly made in China and nowhere near quality once they produced.I bought that Pittsburgh socket set and these thing is tough and well made.
People rave about snap on tools but frankly most people don't have $300 to spend on 1 rachet when $50 or less can do. I bought heavy duty Husky set and I am impressed for $50.Well made.No issues.People who round nuts and bolts use WRONG sockets.If you don't want to round bolts nuts then use 6 sided sockets never more then that.I only buy 6 sided sockets.Solid contact is the key.
My philosophy is if you can buy inexpensive well made tools then why pay so much more for same tool.My Pittsburgh sockets can withstand next to snap on sockets any day by costing fraction of snap on price.
I don't know about most guys here but I worry about my mortgage and bills every month.I sometimes even question owning a bike which costs a lot to maintain least I can do is minimize that cost ownership to justify what I think adult toy amusement.

 

O ABSOLUTELY HARBOR FREAKIN FREIGHT ALL THE WAY NOW AFTER KNOWING WHAT I DO NOW.


600 dollar snap on work chest supposed to be made in america.. same exact thing tagged chinaville in harbor freight 150 bux.. same goes for the big roll around.. i paid 5500 for my snapon box new years ago. walk into harbor freight what do i see... same damn box 800 bux... snapon is a farce just like all other supposed american made products..

well i see the price went up a lil its 200 now
Rolling Tool Cart w/ 5 Drawers

vs this now 900 same quality made in china snap on box
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...roup_ID=682109&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

or this 700 same quality made in china snapon pluepoint box
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...roup_ID=681837&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog


sorry for the rant but i have been had and i am pissed about it even though its been years lol

 

"There's no tool like an old tool."

Tools for the anal:Tools - Griot's Garage

 

Kudos on that Griot's link, Billy. Love that they have a Turbo 02 on their home page!

Here is something to remember. A $500K Supercar can get its ass handed to it by a "cheap" Mitsubishi Evo 10 on a road course. Just because it costs a boat load of money, doesn't mean something else can't do the job just as well. If you just want to go FAST, there are a lot of ways to make that happen.

You have a really cool set of tools Orion. If you can afford to have $10K+ tied up in your toolbox then that is great for you. Your average Joe isn't a professional mechanic and telling someone looking to learn how to wrench on their own vehicles that they should go spend $2000+ to pick up a starter tool set is ridiculous. The OP was looking for suggestions on what he could get started with. The Harbor Freight PIttsburgh line is a GREAT place to start. The ARE good quality and affordable.

Jose

 

I think you misread Orion's post...

"O ABSOLUTELY HARBOR FREAKIN FREIGHT ALL THE WAY NOW AFTER KNOWING WHAT I DO NOW."

He's agreeing with what your saying. And don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing HF, it was just the T&D set that wasn't up to snuff. I was just agreeing that buying certain "cheap" tools isn't the answer. I actually have a few of the Pitsburg tools. My Torque wrench for one. As I am gradually replacing my "lost" items I am searching for the most cost effective way to do so. That happened to be my choice.

Just an FYI to everyone, in Motorcyclist magazine there's usually a HF page or two with good coupons. There's almost always a 25% off any item coupon in each ad.

Cheers!

 

Maybe I did misread. I took it as sarcasm. I do think he has a VERY cool set of tools and Snap-On does sell some really good stuff. As I said earlier, I have a bunch of old school Craftsman and Mac mixed into my stuff.

I once needed to do a quick job on some aluminum pieces (could NOT find the right size tap anywhere local) and picked up an HF T&D set for it. I agree that the HF T&D set is not up to snuff. Down the road, I was lucky enough to purchase a small lathe with a box full of truly good quality (must all be 40 years old or more) American made taps and dies in a bunch of sizes. You CANNOT beat the old school American made tools.

OOTVS - Check out Amazon and look for either some GearWrench digital torque wrenches or some split beam torque wrenches. Split beam are better if you abuse yours a bit. The clicker type wrenches can be upwards of 15% off. My digital gearwrench is within .02% at certain torque ranges. CRAZY accurate. I know that angle torque is THE way to go in aerospace, but my new wrench is KILLER for anything I will be working on . I do wish I had gotten it with a pivoting head, though.

Jose

 

Thanks Jose. I think I'll look into The digital one. I just wanted something when I put my Heli-bars on! Didn't want to go into a turn and have the bars turn and not the bike! Also didn't want to chance snapping the bolt off either!

 

naw i dont sport the snap on ne more. i needed to survive when i couldnt find a job in arizona. worked as a engineer for several years at a firm called pete kunka eng. for about 8 years then was laid off he closed up shop temp back in 08. so i worked as a top line diesel mechanic for sunstate equipment up in flagstaff till was laid off there. i solddddd everything accept 1 tool. moved the wife and i to tulsa and started driving semi again.. had enough after selling all the tools to move get an apartment and but a new set from harbor freight. lol i sold the whole set in bits and pieces around the valley and in flagstaff for about 36k. everything was less than 10 years old and some tools never even used out of the wraper. the only thing i did keep was my multi meter which is still to this day one of the best out there. of course i sold all the rc gear and jsut about everything in the process as well. life goes on and i have everything i need now again and then some for a massive fraction of the cost. granted they arent tools and boxes that are truely considered shop grade but they only get used every so often. and if they wear out. go buy a new one for a buck. and toss the other one in the scrap metal ben. cant do that with a name brander dern near. just 1 socket individually at snapon will be 20 bux although free replacement i can buy a whole set for that and not worry about it..

another quicky go to the pawn shop they have individual sockets as well dirt cheap.. had a friend that built a set of descent craftsman from a local hawk shop for about 10 bux.

 

Good thought on the cars but if given a choice, I think the 500K supercar would be my choice. Leather seats and shit like that makes a difference.

 

Seeing your bike is metric. Get a couple different sizes of metric crescent wrenches and metric screw drives. Left hand pliers, small can of elbo grease and spark plug wire cleaner. Having a few specialty items like these can save your butt at times.