YAY! I BROKE DOWN!!

how much you want for your SV ?

[northwind]

"slow the bike down", my word. Do you honestly think you're going to notice even an extra kilo of tools? Or, for that matter, add a kilo of tools?

As for selling the bike, fair enough, but if you let an easily preventable, well-documented, minor fault on the bike put you off, you're going to spend a lot of time changing bikes.

Originally Posted by rictus01

With careful planning you can replace the standard tools with good useful ones and not add a great deal, and I would hazard a guess you've already got them at home?

Cheers Mark.

hay mark, is it possible i could ask you which kind of tools ie make/kind so that i & others can change them for better quality items

Well done on getting it sorted out, I think you did the right thing, if you've paid for breakdown cover then why not use it ? At least if you couldn't have fixed it as you suspected you wouldn't have had as long to wait for the recovery.

Surely this isn't the only reason you want to change the bike though ?

[rictus01]

Originally Posted by hall13uk

hay mark, is it possible i could ask you which kind of tools ie make/kind so that i & others can change them for better quality items

It's not anything special, change out the allen keys for a decent foldup set, swap the pliers (good needle nose ones), ditch the screwdriver for two normal ones ( one flat head, one cross), keep the plug spanner and the rings, add a good small adjustable and bin the open ended spanners, add to that a couple of fuses, cable ties, garden wire, insulting tape and gaffer tape,wrapped around another tool ( I carry a good multi tool, which takes the place of pliers and a knife), a length of electrical wire, couple of pins (use with wire for diagnostics) and a couple of scotch locks ( use with wire to patch if needed), I also carry the five common sockets and 3/8 rench.

I also change out the bolts to make as many as possible the same head size, one allen key or spanner to take of the seat/lift the tank.

that's about it. Oh, under the rider seat I carry a full puncture repair kit as well, I've done the same on just about every bike I own, after all if you need then, you don't want to be stuck with the crap stuff they give you

Cheers Mark.

[northwind]

Myself, i don't take it quite so far but still have a usable kit- I wouldn't have any faith in my ability to find an electrical fault at the roadside, so I don't carry any gear for that... So I carry a:

Range of allen keys (the common sizes, and the bigger ones are long-arm)
A good quality adjustable spanner (no cheap AJs!)
A range of 1/4 sockets and a decent size 1/4" ratchet, inc a couple of allen key sockets- very useful things to have, better than allen keys I think.
2 ratchet screwdrivers (one side-armed, which will also take a 1/4 inch socket) and a range of bits.
A couple of glow sticks and a small maglite (I have a tiny one in each of my jackets too)- glow sticks = handy if you're stuck in a dark place- use em for light, chuck them in the road as markers...
A small but quality knife (Opinel) and a fairly rubbish multitool.
Small roll of electrical tape and a small role of Duck tape (much better than gaffer for biking applications, IMO, because of its waterproofness and strechiness, plus it
comes in tiny rolls for camping), and a sachet or two of superglue.
Wee squeegy tubes of coppaslip that came with some probolts kit- handy, but I'm running low.
A very rubbish, but tiny, set of mole grips- can be very handy. Replace broken off gear-shifter tips, for example.
A couple of common-sized nuts and bolts.
A couple of rubber gloves, a twenty pound note and some change for phone calls.
A hi-viz vest, very handy thing to have should you break down at night or get caught out in fog- I don't always wear one.
And there's a bungee net and some bungees crammed down the sides of the tail section.
Probably some other stuff that I'm forgetting

Most of that stuff goes in a reasonably sized case, not much bigger than the stock kit.

I'm not currently carrying this, but usually I have a 3/8 ratchet and a bit of pipe for an extension, plus sockets, stashed on top of the battery in a bag. But I've taken it out because I broke my normal ratchet

Plus, taped inside the front fairings is a puncture repair kit and an almost-complete set of levers (no spare front brake lever at the mo). Not neccesarily a wise practice but I'm confident that they won't fall out and kill me.

I'm always on the lookout for a very tiny warning triangle, and I keep meaning to buy a set of repair cables... And I need another of those charger things for my phone, to replace the one that I left at the side of the road, somewhere near Shotts.

Probably most important, a blood glucose meter and a couple of tubes of lucozade glucose goop, as I'm a diabetic- they recommend that you do a blood test immediately after any crash in case it comes back to you in court, and the lucozade stuff isn't vulnerable to damp like the de rigour dextrosol tablets.

And of course, my RAC card and spare house key, in case I get locked out

[northwind]

actually, it occurs to me that that's more than Rictus listed Just without the electrical stuff.

errr cool guys but i have a bike not a car






no seriously thanks i shall change some of the tools for better quality ones & i already carry the glow sticks soo that should be ok some electric tape & multi tool & bobs my uncle

[northwind]

Still got space for a disc lock and puny chain. And a copy of Tony Hawks: American Wasteland that I've been carrying around for about 6 weeks.

I fit all my tools in a bag a bit like a travel shower bag but half the size made by raleigh, i got it from the local bicycle shop for less then a fiver, it fits perfectly under the pillion seat and has several compartments and a hook to hang it from the bike