Garage essentials for a basic motorcycle toolkit

Whether you strip and rebuild bikes from spindle to spindle, dabble in home servicing, or simply adjust your bike's chain, a basic motorcycle toolkit will be your best friend.

But not those bits of cheap tat laughingly known as 'the standard toolkit' kept in a plastic pouch under the seat. Quite simply, these are mass-produced, cheap, easy-to-bend/break bits of nastiness made of soft metal – with the exception of BMW toolkits.

Key essentials

Most of the spanners are open-ended and prone to 'opening out' where the jaws don't grip precisely and round off the fastener heads. If they have to be used, make sure it's only in an emergency.

For those whose idea of heaven is a bank holiday weekend of fettling a classic or rebuilding your latest tipsy eBay purchase, you might want to opt for a more advanced motorcycle toolkit.

Socket sets

A socket set is a basic motorcycle toolkit essential, and for most jobs on a bike, a 3/8in drive set will suffice. However, there are larger jobs that will require a meatier 1/2in drive set, such as removing and replacing wheels, for example.

Do-everything combined imperial and metric 384-piece socket sets for £30 look attractive, but will you use it all? Only Harleys have a smattering of old imperial nuts and bolts. A recognised brand of 3/8in drive ratchet (the size of drive-to-socket union), with 8-19mm sockets and a couple of extension bars, will tackle most tasks. The Draper set below, for example.

Spanners

A good set of spanners is also essential, and combination style – with a ring at one end and open-ended at the other - offers great flexibility.

Spanners are used when there's no room to fit a socket. Combination spanners – open-ended one end and a ring spanner (like a flat socket) on the other – are the best bet. After buying a quality 8-19mm set, bolster your basic toolkit with a cheaper set of the commonly used sizes on a motorcycle, as it's often necessary to hold a bolt as you undo the nut.

Screwdrivers and allen keys

It's essential to use the right type of screwdriver in the correct size. The type you're looking for will have hardened tips to prevent premature wear (screw heads soon chew up) with large rubber, easy grip handles. Pozidrive (crosshead) sizes #1, #2, and #3 are the minimum required, plus varying sizes of slotted (flat-bladed) drivers.

Recessed (Allen) bolts for bodywork etc., are easily damaged by worn, cheap or ill-fitting Allen keys. Quality keys fit better, and last longer, and T-handle keys are easier to use and better for stubborn bolts. Over 10mm, or with a high torque figure, it's best to use a 3/8in drive ratchet with Allen socket attachments, such as those in the Gedore socket set. A basic toolkit for your motorcycle should feature most, if not all, of these.

Pliers

There are few jobs on a bike that invite the use of pliers these days, but they'll always be handy (freeing off stuck clutch adjusters, removing fuel pipe clips etc.). Look for the type with rubber handles so you can hold them with greasy hands. Long-nose pliers are good for inaccessible areas (dropped nuts are a speciality); flat-nose offer good grip.

Torque wrench

A torque wrench is one of the most frequently used and most important tools you can get. In a nutshell, it's a ratchet-like device with an adjustable clutch that stops turning the nut/bolt when a predetermined torque figure has been reached. This prevents nut and bolt threads from being over-stretched or breaking off.

Oil filter tool

Oil is an engine's blood, just as important is the oil filter to strain the oil to capture particles generated by internal wear. To remove a filter when there's limited room (eg. if you have exhaust pipes in the way) and to install a new one correctly, a chain wrench or filter socket is a must.

Ruler

One of the best universal tools ever is a steel ruler. Available in various lengths, use it to accurately measure any pre-load adjustment on the rear shock, amount of slack in the drive chain, the tops of the fork legs protruding through the top yoke, the chain adjuster blocks' position in the swingarm. Or as a guide to cut a line.

C spanner (hooked spanner)

C-spanners are used for adjusting pre-load on rear shock absorbers, whose adjustment is via threaded locking rings. Standard C-spanners are prone to wear, and there's only ever one in the toolkit when you need two to lock them after adjustment. Match the original to a quality aftermarket item with a hinged lever for better purchase.

Other useful items

Emergency tools to get you out of anything

Other useful items

Duct tape is also handy. But to save space, and instead of a big, wide roll of duct tape, wrap some round your tyre lever. But you can wrap it around anything, it could even be a pencil, just to keep the size down. The key is packing small.

What tools should I be looking for?

To keep your bike's nuts, bolts and other fasteners in good condition and to ensure they can be undone and removed with ease, nothing but decent tools will do. The temptation to spend a fiver on a big shiny do-everything toolkit is huge, but this is likely to prove a false economy.

Cheap tools, although better by being tougher and more precise than the stock crap under your seat, aren't that precisely made, can deteriorate fast and will eventually damage fasteners, eating into the value of your machine. And what's the point in paying for tools you'll never use?

If your motorcycle has metric fasteners, then buy a basic metric-only toolkit. Better still, build a kit specific to your bike, and go for reputable top quality brand names that won't cost the earth, like Teng, Draper or Halfords.

Is it seriously worth paying that much more?

Yes. Apart from making home mechanics a damn sight easier, there's also the delight in handling something so precise and perfect. Having splashed proper cash on a toolkit fit for a GP pit crew, don't then ruin it. Using screwdrivers as chisels or spanners for hammering will knacker them. Either buy the proper stuff or buy some cheapies you don't mind blunting and bending.

After use on your motorcycle, give your toolkit a basic clean with an oil-tainted cloth to remove grit and corrosive fluids before storing. And don't lend them out – more friendships have been ended over the 'loss' and damage of tools than poker games or loose women.

Once you're set-up, you can start investing in more luxurious garage items, such as a compressor, but first, here's some of the essential kit we reckon will get you going in your garage at home.

Be the first to know what's coming in the latest issue of MCN, plus the latest road tests, recommendations, and competitions. Sign up to the MCN newsletter.