Miss November XS2 tribute

It's a good time to ask, if you were putting together a small, say pocket-size tool roll for an XS what would you include?

There is a space under the saddle, but Missy has the flasher unit living in there.

Obviously, I have the Allen key for the battery terminals. Small pair of narrow-nose pliers? Cross-head screwdriver? 10 mm ring spanner? Spark plug socket and 3/8 " tommy bar? Maybe a couple of fuses? With the tommy bar included, could add 10, 12 and 13 mm sockets? That sounds like plenty for a pocket tool roll.

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Will of course make sure I take one each of 10 & 20 Amp fuses.

Suggestions?
 
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Thanks, 2M, took a look at that thread. Seems some people like to be prepared for anything up to a full engine rebuild. I gave up about when somebody said they needed the sidecar to carry their travel tool kit. The helpful additional items people include are bailing wire - I'll use some garden wire - cable ties and a puncture kit. Though I don't think I'll adopt the last of those.

Mrs suggested dental floss, which she says has immense tensile strength, or at least more than you would expect.

Pete, wire, yes. Duct tape? Maybe too bulky? And as you said, things loosened by vibration pretty unlikely anyhoo.

It's raining, so might spent this afternoon rooting in the garage (Aussies, quieten down please) for duplicate tools to include and may need to purchase other things. Such as spare 10 Amp fuses.
 
I don’t carry too much tape - just a little strip about 8’ long wrapped around a small plastic tube.

Small enough to carry, but danged useful if something comes adrift....

....although I simply cannot imagine how that might occur on a Yamaha XS650....
 
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The tape-wrapped sounds like a good space saver!

My rooting around was productive. Rescued some duplicate tools including a battle-worn pair of small pliers I had forgotten about. Found a cool tin marked Detonators! This is where I've got to:

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That 7" x 3" metal tin just able to hold 10, 12 & 14 mm combination spanners, the pliers, small adjustable wrench, one Allen key (might add more), cross head screwdriver and cable ties. Room for some wire, tape stored as suggested and fuses. Might manage a plain screwdriver too.

Would like to take a plug spanner, but need to find a smaller drive bar.

Nowhere to stash on the bike, but during the Covid crisis I've generally worn a rucksack. That little box is light enough, won't take a lot of space and would fit in a jacket pocket anyway.
 
Ok Raymond, you got me thinking about what I carry. Probably more than I need. You might remember I have this tail pack that I love. :heart:
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It has two zippered side pockets and a big main compartment in the center.
The contents of the right zippered pocket, Wire cutters, a small adjustable wrench, two good clean used plugs, and some paper towels.
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The left compartment, A small collapsible camera tripod, a few Allen wrenches, a compact multi tip screwdriver, a phone charger that plugs into my battery charging lead, and a plastic bag with zip ties, a couple small coils of wire, a shop rag, and normally a roll of electrical tape.
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The main compartment, my factory tool roll, and a package of foam earplugs. When I’m traveling I also throw in a couple water bottles, a baseball hat, a mask ( damn virus ) , and a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Under the seat, I keep spare fuses.
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Now I’m ready for anything! Right?
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Except for maybe that flat tire! :mad: The only time I’ve been stranded.
 
Yes, a couple more Allen keys would be good (4 and 6mm). The factory provided a storage spot for a small tool kit under the left side cover .....

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They just used an o-ring to hold the tool kit in, as I tried above, my my o-rings kept breaking within a month or so. I finally solved the issue with these, heavy duty hair ties from the dollar store, lol .....

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For normal riding around I carry the basic tools that would have come with the bike. Basically what Mailman shows. Plus 2 new plugs, a few fuses and a master link.
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If I'm going on a long trip and have the saddle bags on it one bag is for the bike. More tools plus oil, few more parts, inner tubes, tire irons and even a 12Volt air compressor.
I always carry my cell phone. One thing I never do is carry tools or parts in my jacket pockets. A tumble down the road with a screwdriver in a jacket pocket could be dangerous.
 
Gentlemen, thank you all for your useful suggestions.

The consensus is I should carry more than I do and in this you are undoubtedly correct. However, I don't use a tail-pack and only use throw-over panniers when we are going away for a few days. It's been a while since Mrs and I did a long holiday on a motorbike, but even then we would manage with just throw-overs.

Trouble is, I like 'em nakked. We are talking bikes here.

Will add the 4 and 6 mm Allen keys as 5T suggests. The tool space has been used to pack the flasher unit, but I will consider squeezing a couple of spare plugs in there, if I can find a compact plug-spanner to add to the kit. Spare master link sounds like a good idea too.

GLJ, good point about not carrying a screwdriver or anything long and pointed in a pocket. I plan to carry the detonator box in a rucksack but even in a pocket I don't think it would present a serious risk. At the very least, the detonators won't explode.

On my first foreign holiday, France and Spain on a Honda CB550 in 1978, one pannier was mainly for the bike - tools, engine oil, heck I even had a spare drive chain in there. But since then I have learned that if you check the bike, do preventive maintenance and make sure it is serviced before you go then you have a good chance of avoiding major problems.

And if you are going to let yourself be a hostage to fortune, then you need to accept the unexpected as an adventure. Which is where we came in with yesterday's incident.

Hope I don't come over as cussed . . . really I'm anything but.
 
If I have nothing else, like on the $200 Special (so far), I use a little magnetic tank bag .....

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In this case, it's doing double duty, hiding the less than pristine tank finish, lol. I really like this particular bag and in fact, this is my 2nd one (wore the 1st out). It's the perfect size and shape for daily use. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to get another, unless I happen to stumble upon an old one on eBay.
 
Yup, I have the same “RapidTransit” brand tailbag as Mailman and Jim. I like naked bikes too - but I hate wearing “backpacks”...

TRANSATLANTIC TRANSLATION: rucksack

....and I had a bad experience with an adjustable wrench (aka “spanner”) in a pocket during my bicycle touring days. Somewhere on my hip there is still a mark from that event.

Soooo...I have always used a tailbag on Lucille and frankly, I hardly know its there. It is however extremely handy if I pick something up at a store while I am out and it gives me a place for my enhanced toolkit. Also, for longer rides, I move it from the rack to the rear portion of the seat and it functions as a small backrest
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Pete
 
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Jim, I like that little tool pouch. In an idle moment this morning, thought that something similar to that might fit unobtrusively within the curve of the grab rail behind the saddle.

5T - a tank bag is certainly an idea. Once travelled two-up to the Ardeche region in France with my first wife on a ZXR750. We managed with a just tank bag - passports, ferry tickets, wallets, small camera and very little else. We had hired a cottage with friends, and they carried a small sports bag with our clothes in their not-quite so space-challenged sports car.

But would worry about scratching the paint . . .

Pete, I don't relish wearing a rucksack but for me sometimes it's the lesser evil.

And anyway, it's good to travel light.
 
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Just a random observation - over the past few tank-fulls, fuel consumption has averaged 59 to 63 mpg. Call it 60. That's Imperial gallons, would be about 48 miles to the American gallon.
 
Yes, that is very good. I average low to mid 40's, but most of my riding is local and in the lower gears. I'm sure I'd do a bit better if I was expending most of the tank on the highway.
 
That figure may start to suffer. I'm starting to really enjoy this bike. In fact, I'm sure there's a bit of hooligan in the XS DNA.

A few fun runs over the past couple of days. You know, no excuse for going out other than the bike is there and I've done all that work to get it ready and it needs to be ridden and it's late in the year. Starting to use just a few more revs and maybe even a wee bit more throttle. That's when you find out how the bike responds to that kind of treatment. Big grins.
 
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