Spend my money for me

[Bitani]

Not really. But close.

I decided that this summer I would like to start actually working on my own bike rather than relying on the dealership to do everything, both because it's a hell of a lot more fun and I want to learn more about my bike, not to mention (in the long run) cheaper. Problem is, I HAVE NO TOOLS! (I have some crappy allen wrenches, screwdrivers and a rear stand.)

So, before summer I plan on having around $3,000-$5,000 saved up for doing whatever with the bike. Around $2,000 sounds like a good number for spending on the basics of maintenance, tools that will last me quite a while. That could be a really high number (or really low, I know nothing!), but of what I've got saved it's definitely a "preferable" number - if I don't need to, then even better.

I want to be able to do most everything, from oil changes and all other liquid changes to suspension adjustment and taking off the wheels (I can pay to have tires put on, I doubt that machine is cheap!) to valve adjustments and tire air pressure checking/adjusting and then everything in between.

What all do I need/what would you recommend getting?

Edited February 21, 2013 by Bitani

[jschaf]

Get & use a Bentley's shop manual & a torque wrench. Then, just get the tools you need when you need them. Also, you don't need a machine to mount & balance tires. I've been doing it for years. Good luck.

[2Wheeler]

A good set of metric sockets and wrenches with a guarantee will get you through much of the work. I use Husky from Lowes. Allen sockets and T-handle Allen wrenches come in handy.

Keeping your Motorcycle tools seperate makes things easier.

[4DAIVI PAI2K5]

Good set of sockets, ratchet wrenches, big sockets for the axle(s), allen head sockets, and my personal fav. http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/tools/category/t-handle_drivers/ I use these things more then any other tool.

[YSR_Racer_99]

I agree with buying stuff as you need it. Get a few basics. A lot of times, Harbor Freight tools are fine if its something you're seldom going to use. For the basics (mentioned above) get good stuff, but you don't necessarily need Craftsman. Lots of tools now offer lifetime guarantees.

Gearwrench (or similar) ratcheting wrenches.

$299 lift table from Harbor Freight.

[Bubba]

Zach: Congrats on wanting to pick up some mechanical skills. It's fun sometimes, but you'll find that most modern bikes are a royal PITA to work on. That being said, if you're willing to dedicate the time, you can save a buttload of money.

As for tools, unless you're gonna be a mechanic by trade and use them for your job on a daily basis, I' stick to using tools from the big box stores--Sears, Lowes, etc. Craftsman, Kobalt, any of the mid-price tool sets will last you 10-40 years. I've collected mostly Craftsman and I've got sockets and ratchets that are older than my kids....and they're both married! Mac and Snap-On are REAL nice, and they're OVER-priced accordingly.

I'd start with a set of combination wrenches (open/box end), 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drive socket sets (get both 12 pt and 6 pt if you can afford it) with at least one ratchet and a breaker bar each. Several sizes of flat and Phillips-head screw drivers (Note: For the bike, you will also need several of the JIS type--Japanese Industrial Standard), a set of Allen wrenches (T-handles are nice), and an inexpensive multi-meter for electrical issues.

I've got these plus much more, but the other stuff in the box doesn't get used very often. Buy the stuff in sets rather than by the piece and you'll save a butt-load of money. Tools often go on sale around Christmas. Once you have the "normal" sizes of metric fasteners, you can slowly add the weird stuff like the 16-18-22 mm odd sizes by the piece. Oh, and have fun. Once you start buying shit like that, it becomes an obsession....kind'a like women and shoes!!!

EDIT/ADD: If you don't go crazy, you should be able to get a decent start on all of the above for around $500-$600 bucks. Go slow at first and you'll be able to do it within a budget.

Edited February 21, 2013 by Bubba
Addition

[Bad324]

$3-5k to spend?

Get a newer bike

[Steve Butters]

honestly...i disagree with buying tools as you need them.

youre young...you never know what tools you will need down the road....you may end up in a bind some day and end up fixing your own car or something because you cant afford whatever a shop wants to do it....you really never know...buying tools as you need them can get pricey over time

i have a set similar to this

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-260-pc-mechanics-tool-set-with-3/p-00936260000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

best investment ever....i have a full size tool chest as well, fully loaded with tools, and there is seldom an isntance that i need to get in there.....these kits have almost everything you will need for any job, motorcycle or car related.....sure its $200 up front, and its craftsman not snapon, but i believe it to be the best investment for someone who wants to work on their own vehicles....no need to buy snapon or mac tools for casual light repairs....craftsman arent the same quality, and they do occasionally break...but theyre awesome for home users and they are lifetime guaranteed

spend a little more up front and skip the frustration of making multiple trips for tools and the money wasted on little stuff here and there

also nice having something portable...i can grab my little box like this and take it wherever if im helping someone else, and i never have to worry about forgetting a tool...i put some other basics like pliers and scredrivers etc in the storage compartment

[bowdog]

$3-5k to spend?

Get a newer bike

:lol:I was thinking a 110pc Craftsman socket set and a spare bike!!

[Bubba]

Craftsman, Kobalt, any of the mid-price tool sets will last you 10-40 years.

Buy the stuff in sets rather than by the piece and you'll save a butt-load of money.

Ummm, Steve, I think that's what I just said....

[Steve Butters]

Ummm, I think that's what I just said....

Ummm, good for you....?

[3.504]

I could be considered pretty close to an expert in tools.

im a mechanic by trade and my job requires that I have my own tools.

for what youre doing, id recommend going to sears hardware (tricounty mall has a great selection) and starting.with the basics.

tool collections dont happen overnight. mine is 10years strong and has way more invested than id like to admit.

id say you could start out spending 150-500 at sears and be able to tackle any job you could get into. most jobs on bikes dont require specialty tools. things like air tools (and the new battery tools) are nice, and faster, but start off with hand tools and work your way up.

one thing to remember about tools: theyre worth hardly any money after you purchase them. so dont get in too deep too quickly.

[motozachl]

General maintenance for the r6 isn't going to require several grand investment in tools. Its when you start to work on many other projects (cars, engines, jetski, quad, house, etc) when you start to acquire abundance of different tools. The most used items are however the socket set, wrenches, drivers, vice grips, allens.

[Bitani]

Get & use a Bentley's shop manual & a torque wrench. Then, just get the tools you need when you need them. Also, you don't need a machine to mount & balance tires. I've been doing it for years. Good luck.

I didn't even know you could mount tires without a machine. (Though I guess they couldn't "back in the day," so makes sense!)

Buy the factory service manual for your bike. Buy the tools as you need them. Buy quality' date=' when you do.[/quote']

Probably hit up the dealership here soon and request a copy of the service manual. Unless they charge like $150, in which case I'm sure I could find it cheaper online. I know there's free online versions, but I would like something I can actually use in the garage. (Just thinking out loud.)

I agree with buying stuff as you need it. Get a few basics. A lot of times, Harbor Freight tools are fine if its something you're seldom going to use. For the basics (mentioned above) get good stuff, but you don't necessarily need Craftsman. Lots of tools now offer lifetime guarantees.

Gearwrench (or similar) ratcheting wrenches.

$299 lift table from Harbor Freight.

What would be the benefit of buying a lift table over just using a front and rear stand? (Just comfort of not having to get low every time, or..?)

Zach: Congrats on wanting to pick up some mechanical skills. It's fun sometimes, but you'll find that most modern bikes are a royal PITA to work on. That being said, if you're willing to dedicate the time, you can save a buttload of money.

As for tools, unless you're gonna be a mechanic by trade and use them for your job on a daily basis, I' stick to using tools from the big box stores--Sears, Lowes, etc. Craftsman, Kobalt, any of the mid-price tool sets will last you 10-40 years. I've collected mostly Craftsman and I've got sockets and ratchets that are older than my kids....and they're both married! Mac and Snap-On are REAL nice, and they're OVER-priced accordingly.

I'd start with a set of combination wrenches (open/box end), 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drive socket sets (get both 12 pt and 6 pt if you can afford it) with at least one ratchet and a breaker bar each. Several sizes of flat and Phillips-head screw drivers (Note: For the bike, you will also need several of the JIS type--Japanese Industrial Standard), a set of Allen wrenches (T-handles are nice), and an inexpensive multi-meter for electrical issues.

I've got these plus much more, but the other stuff in the box doesn't get used very often. Buy the stuff in sets rather than by the piece and you'll save a butt-load of money. Tools often go on sale around Christmas. Once you have the "normal" sizes of metric fasteners, you can slowly add the weird stuff like the 16-18-22 mm odd sizes by the piece. Oh, and have fun. Once you start buying shit like that, it becomes an obsession....kind'a like women and shoes!!!

EDIT/ADD: If you don't go crazy, you should be able to get a decent start on all of the above for around $500-$600 bucks. Go slow at first and you'll be able to do it within a budget.

Will do, cap'n. Yeah, I figured this would be a hell of a lot cheaper than going to the dealership for crap. There's something nice about only having to pay for the materials with free labor!

Do you think what was linked below (http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-260-pc-mechanics-tool-set-with-3/p-00936260000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1) would be perfect?

I might go to Lowe's later to scope out some of the basics, or I could just end up ordering them online if they're cheaper. (As everything seems to be now.)

$3-5k to spend?

Get a newer bike

Haha, a new bike's not going to help the fact that I have to pay for the maintenance on any bike!

honestly...i disagree with buying tools as you need them.

youre young...you never know what tools you will need down the road....you may end up in a bind some day and end up fixing your own car or something because you cant afford whatever a shop wants to do it....you really never know...buying tools as you need them can get pricey over time

i have a set similar to this

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-260-pc-mechanics-tool-set-with-3/p-00936260000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

best investment ever....i have a full size tool chest as well, fully loaded with tools, and there is seldom an isntance that i need to get in there.....these kits have almost everything you will need for any job, motorcycle or car related.....sure its $200 up front, and its craftsman not snapon, but i believe it to be the best investment for someone who wants to work on their own vehicles....no need to buy snapon or mac tools for casual light repairs....craftsman arent the same quality, and they do occasionally break...but theyre awesome for home users and they are lifetime guaranteed

spend a little more up front and skip the frustration of making multiple trips for tools and the money wasted on little stuff here and there

also nice having something portable...i can grab my little box like this and take it wherever if im helping someone else, and i never have to worry about forgetting a tool...i put some other basics like pliers and scredrivers etc in the storage compartment

That looks awesome! (And not too expensive by what I was looking at, haha.)

The only thing it looks like it's missing when it comes to "basic tools" everyone keeps mentioning is T-handles. Am I wrong in that, or what's your suggestion on changing it? (Don't know if there's something out there to where you don't have to buy an entire new set of allen wrenches and can just attach them to the T-handle or .. yeah.)

That's literally been my #1 pet peeve every time I've worked on the bike. I f'ing hate using allen wrenches without a T-handle on the bike. So damn tedious.

I could be considered pretty close to an expert in tools.

im a mechanic by trade and my job requires that I have my own tools.

for what youre doing, id recommend going to sears hardware (tricounty mall has a great selection) and starting.with the basics.

tool collections dont happen overnight. mine is 10years strong and has way more invested than id like to admit.

id say you could start out spending 150-500 at sears and be able to tackle any job you could get into. most jobs on bikes dont require specialty tools. things like air tools (and the new battery tools) are nice, and faster, but start off with hand tools and work your way up.

one thing to remember about tools: theyre worth hardly any money after you purchase them. so dont get in too deep too quickly.

150-500 sounds more than reasonable to me, at least for the basics! I honestly don't have much interest in the air tools/upgrades anyways right now. I barely know the names of tools at this point, haha.

What kind of stuff would you say is still "basic," but that I'd have to buy separate? (Thinking along the lines of an air pump, air gauge, etc...)

General maintenance for the r6 isn't going to require several grand investment in tools. Its when you start to work on many other projects (cars, engines, jetski, quad, house, etc) when you start to acquire abundance of different tools. The most used items are however the socket set, wrenches, drivers, vice grips, allens.

R6 = ZX6R. Mine's sexier.

I gotcha, though. That sounds good to me. I guess I was under the impression that right from the get-go I'd be getting a ton of "motorcycle specific" crap.

As you all can tell, I'm mechanically stupid. I've never been around anybody that fixed crap on their own - no family, etc. etc. But whenever I've tried fixing something mechanical it's pretty much always worked out well.

It looks like right now I'll focus on getting the basics.

What would the rest of your guys' opinions be on this? (That Steve mentioned. And looks awesome.) http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-260-pc-mechanics-tool-set-with-3/p-00936260000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

[AgentP]

My two cents...

Go to auctions and buy really old tools. They will be black and tarnished with age, but if you look real close, they are just as good now as they were 40 years ago. Take $100 of your money and buy a grinder and you can polish up this classics in no time.

Take the rest of the money and put it in a 401K, or gold, or some other investment and forget about it for 40 years.

When the time comes, you will be still have these tools, and over 100K....

[4DAIVI PAI2K5]

My two cents...

Go to auctions and buy really old tools. They will be black and tarnished with age, but if you look real close, they are just as good now as they were 40 years ago. Take $100 of your money and buy a grinder and you can polish up this classics in no time.

Take the rest of the money and put it in a 401K, or gold, or some other investment and forget about it for 40 years.

When the time comes, you will be still have these tools, and over 100K....

This dude is on it like Blue Bonnet. Even if he is an Agent for the BATFE.

[Bad324]

Haha, a new bike's not going to help the fact that I have to pay for the maintenance on any bike!

Not if you buy it, ride it and then sell it before it needs anything other than an oil change....ah I miss my single non-home owner days.

[Bitani]

My two cents...

Go to auctions and buy really old tools. They will be black and tarnished with age, but if you look real close, they are just as good now as they were 40 years ago. Take $100 of your money and buy a grinder and you can polish up this classics in no time.

Take the rest of the money and put it in a 401K, or gold, or some other investment and forget about it for 40 years.

When the time comes, you will be still have these tools, and over 100K....

I'm not sure how I should take this.

On one hand, it's crazy.

On the other, it makes complete sense.

Not if you buy it, ride it and then sell it before it needs anything other than an oil change....ah I miss my single non-home owner days.

I like the way you think.

Craigslist ad: "Only owned for 3,000 miles. All it needs is an oil change. Willing to trade for any bike that doesn't need an oil change."

[Bad324]

like the way you think.

Craigslist ad: "Only owned for 3,000 miles. All it needs is an oil change. Willing to trade for any bike that doesn't need an oil change."

no, no. The oil change is the one thing you DO absolutely do in this method. I did that for a couple riding seasons with a few bikes.

[c7fx]

Tearing down my R6 I use metric sizes 8,10,12,14,17,19,22,32mm and thats about it for sockets/wrenches. I use a few allen's I think 4,5,and 6mm is the most common a phillips screwdriver and a rubber mallet.

Bottom line a good metric set will do with a couple duplicate sizes like 10mm and 12 mm wrenches.

Buying anything from HF is like buying paper plates use once and toss it away. Also don't expect quality work with sub quality products.

The tool set from sears is fine but don't buy the plastic tool box. Those are stupid get a metal box holds more and will take up less space.

Finally no shop is complete without a good radio.

[Bitani]

Tearing down my R6 I use metric sizes 8,10,12,14,17,19,22,32mm and thats about it for sockets/wrenches. I use a few allen's I think 4,5,and 6mm is the most common a phillips screwdriver and a rubber mallet.

Bottom line a good metric set will do with a couple duplicate sizes like 10mm and 12 mm wrenches.

Buying anything from HF is like buying paper plates use once and toss it away. Also don't expect quality work with sub quality products.

The tool set from sears is fine but don't buy the plastic tool box. Those are stupid get a metal box holds more and will take up less space.

Finally no shop is complete without a good radio.

Personal suggestion on a metal box? I don't know what I'd be looking for.

And I can understand the quality tools argument, but I've heard good things about HF's lifts at the least.

Hadn't even thought of the radio. Better tack on an auxiliary cable too!

[3.504]

Personal suggestion on a metal box? I don't know what I'd be looking for.

And I can understand the quality tools argument, but I've heard good things about HF's lifts at the least.

Hadn't even thought of the radio. Better tack on an auxiliary cable too!

sears has a deal on some entry level boxes for around 170 on up if youre part of.the craftsman club.

about air pump (compressor) just get a bicycle pump from any sporting goods store. I spent $20 on the one I have at my house and it works great for motorcycles.

start with a craftsman mechanic tool set. they have many combinations ranging from a few bucks to $1000. spend around 150-300 on that, then pick up some other tools as you need them. you'll figure out what you need as you go.

about the used tools: no thanks, but I rely on my tools for a living, so im kind of a tool snob.

[c7fx]

Depends on what you want to do as far as tool boxes. If you want something to carry around get a small metal tool box with a pull out tray. Don't get the ones with the drawers pointless.... You can find them for less than 20 dollars. That is what I had to bring to the track and held everything I needed to tear a bike down to tiny bits.

If you want to start with a tool chest sears always have them on sale but any brand will do just make sure the drawers have ball bearings.

Remember I have tools that are older than most people on this site and still look and work as good as new. I spent the money once.

A lift is not needed but helpful. I have two handy lifts and found myself using them more for storage of my other bike than working on them. It becomes time consuming to get the bike on the lift secured and at the proper height to work on. Also one cant use a front stand on the lift which is most of the time my bikes would be up on both stands when I was working on them. I know I will have people saying I'm wrong and for them its the best thing since sliced bread. I just don't think its a must have thing to have in your garage. Plus they take up space just a thought.

[redkow97]

I was gifted a 250(?) piece craftsman tool set for Christmas, an the plastic box is tolerable at best. The only advantage is that it keeps everything in the same place every time I need it.

Any generic metal box will do, but you will want to hold sockets on the little bar racks (cheap at harbor freight). That keeps the sockets themselves in order.

You will probably also notice that you rarely use 1/4 an 1/2" drive wrenches. The 3/8 does 80% of your work, so you can likely store the larger drive sockets in a slightly less convenient place.

Even a good tool set won't be totally complete. You will need to buy axle sockets specific to your bike. I also picked up a socket for my steering head nut. Because I changed tires relatively frequently, and those were big sockets, I also got a second 1/2" drive socket wrench, and an old school torsion bar torque wrench (which never needs calibrating. The click type and digital models can be more trouble than they're worth for your average DIY mechanic that doesn't use it daily. My opinion. YMMV)

Other handy things to pick up:

- parts grabber

- cordless drill

- socket bits for said cordless drill (don't use it to torque, just to get you close faster)

- socket drive Allen wrenches (I only have metric, because I really only use Allen heads on the bike)

- a good small flashlight.

[c7fx]

Other handy things to pick up:

- parts grabber

- cordless drill

- socket bits for said cordless drill (don't use it to torque, just to get you close faster)

- socket drive Allen wrenches (I only have metric, because I really only use Allen heads on the bike)

- a good small flashlight.

a magnetic parts dish pays for itself when looking for a part that fell off the work bench or was kicked across the floor.

I metric tap and die kit has saved me so many times

If you don't have a compressor for an impact wrench get an electric one another tool not used all the time but worth its weight when needed.

a wet/vac