- Tue Nov 26, 2019 5:34 pm
#86582
A couple of things that can help reduce weight/bulk.
Double ended box-spanners will nest inside one another. Ideal for rear wheel removal/adjustment and sparkplugs.
Double ended shorty spanners. Effectively short, open C-spanners with a different size on either end. If you need more leverage, you can use another spanner in the open end or a larger box spanner to make the effective length. Lets you carry a wide range of spanner sizes in a small package. Add a stubby adjustable to hold the other end of a nut and bolt still.
Another option are metrinch spanners which will fit a variety of different size hex heads (both imperial and metric). Not cheap though.
A small bit-driver set saves carrying a whole set of allen keys and screwdrivers. You get tiny ones about 4" long with an option of an angled head or straight with a little clip to carry the bits.
You get mini LED voltmeters about 2cm long which are designed to mount on a dash, cost a couple of quid, just add a couple of croc-clips on the flying wires. I actually have one on my VFR750 dash, I mounted it on the removable fusebox lid to watch the battery charging but I've simply unplugged it and used it to diagnose faults on friends bikes several times now... Or there is the classic option of removing an indicator lamp to use as a circuit tester.
The old trick of taping a replacement cable to the outside of the existing one still works, makes for easy stowage and allows a quick and easy changeover if one breaks.
If you're carrying a spare tube or patch-kit, pump and levers, don't forget a bit of soap wrapped in cling-film to help mount the bead and one of those little wire tools to pull the valve through the rim (the absence of which was cause of at least one noteable sense of humour failure on my part at the side of the A82 in Ballachulish!).