Touring tool guide

Basic touring tool kit.

This may seam like an obvious guide, however it is really down to experience and confidence. There is no point taking an innertube repair kit if you don’t have an innertube.

When I was re-building my BMW GS, a wise man told me to take note of every tool that I used, then decide if any of the tools I used could be omitted from the tool kit. Some other advice I recieved which initially baffled me was ‘are there any bolts you can replace with a different size’ what they meant was are there any obscure sized nuts or bolts that could be replaced with a more regular size to reduce the number of spanners or sockets needed. Both of these pieces of advice I have used and am currently building up the tool kit for the BMW (all the sizes I need are on a white board). That said, my daily Yamaha’s tool kit consists of an AA card.

Anyway, if you do decide to go off the beaten track somewhere, you will want to ensure that you have the kit to be able to get you out of a tricky situation.

The most important part of any tool kit is you, the user! There is no point carrying tools that you don’t know how to use or what to do with them.

• Socket set – A basic socket set will more than likely suffice with a couple of extra sockets (for the GS it was a T45)
• Spanners – personally I like a set of combination spanners for a bike tool kit however I know some people just like open ends or even just an adjustable spanner
• Screwdrivers – I personally carry a ratchet screwdriver with a selection of bits and a basic flat blade
• Feeler gauges – this is a personal opinion, but I always like to have feeler gauges just in case they don’t take up much space, in an ideal World you would never need to use them on a trip
• Allen/Hex keys – either as keys or sockets
• Combination pliers – always come in useful, I don’t carry any other pliers
• Vice grips – the most abused tool in my workshop, however these can get you out of some very tricky situations
• Tyre levers/irons – I am sure these don’t need an introduction
• Puncture repair kit or innertube repair kit
• Air compressor or air cannisters
• Electrical test lamp
• Cable ties
• Electrical tape
• Spare bulbs and fuses
• Short length of wire

As much as I am a tool snob (or so I am told), there is no point having a £100 snap on ratchet sat in the tool box of your bike when a £10 one will more than do the job.

Now you have all the tools that you feel you need, I can almost put money on they wont fit under the seat (unless like the Yamaha your just taking an AA card). You could put them in a tool roll and in your panniers, you can buy a dedicated tool box which fits on a pannier rack or you can make your own from waste water pipe (this was my preferred option because when looking none of the offerings would take my tyre levers).

_{We may receive a commission if you purchase a product using the affiliate links on any page of this website. This is at no cost to the purchaser, however does support our website and helps us to continue to build with more great content.}