November 8, 2007

All-time Top 10 Motorcycle Tools

Tool chest ‘must haves’ for wrenching

By Dave Shepherd, motorsports technical specialist, Yamaha Motor Canada

While tidying up my tool chest the other day, I noticed that certain tools were definitely more worn out than the rest… that led to me picking my Top 10 motorcycle tools:

1. Crosspoint screwdrivers (especially in #1 and #2 sizes). Commonly referred to as Phillips screwdrivers they are not the same; true cross-points (JIS) are designed to “cam-in” and grip tighter for use in metal applications. If you commonly slip when using a cross point, make sure you have the right size and type and that it isn’t worn out. (I have a really cool “bevel drive” screwdriver, which is great for getting under a carburetor and adjusting the mixture screw without burning your fingers on a hot crankcase.)

2. Sharp-edged pry bars. Don’t use a flat screwdriver for prying; you’ll end up with a damaged tool!

3. A good-quality ratchet in the size that fits your sockets. For motorcycles, almost every bolt torque is low enough that either a 1/4″ drive or a 3/8″ will do. Go for the best quality, because anyone who has had a racket slip on the pawl will remember that knuckle pain for a long time!

4. Sockets, in short, deep and impact (for use on your air wrenches). Metric motorcycles will eat eight and 10mm sockets, and 12, 14 and 17mm sockets are commonly used everywhere. For these small sizes, always buy six-sided sockets if you don’t want to round the bolt heads.

5. The opposite to socket is the Allen wrench. Most common size for usage for metric bikes are the 5mm and 6mm.

6. A good set of combination wrenches (from 8mm through to 19mm). A good wrench has slim lines, a smooth, high-quality chrome finish, and a fairly flat angle to the closed end. The 8, 10 and 12mm wrenches tend to snuggle down amongst the other shiny bits on the bike and hide.

7. A full punch” set. Punches can be worth their weight in gold if used properly. A sharp chisel can remove a rounded screw (because you used the wrong driver – see #1). A smart rap on the center of a tight and rusted bolt with a straight punch can help shake it free and get it out. And tapered punches an help align holes and prevent crossthreading.

8. Hammers. Note the plural here; there’s a right size and type of hammer for every job.

9. There are more different kinds of pliers than you can shake a stick at, especially when you group cutters, wire strippers and any other grip tool in with them. Two things: pliers should be comfortable in your grip, and should have a good, sharp tooth pattern. Indispensable in this drawer is a diagonal cutter and a “long nose” plier to get into those tiny motorcycle places.

10. And last, but not least, a grabber tool. No matter how careful you are, sometimes you drop a screw or clip and it lodges in a narrow space; a “grabber” is a long, skinny device with 2 or 4 fingers that retract and hold whatever you are trying to reach; it’s also available in magnetic types. Caution: don’t use this on your finger; it’s much stronger than you think! (Don’t ask how I know this

All manufacturers will have the dreaded “special tool” designed for a particular purpose, but for the most part, they are only required for more complex operations. (The big exception to this rule is the oil filter wrench, used on cartridge-type filters.)

Do you agree with my Top 10 Motorcycle Tools? If not, what are your picks / favorite tools?

November 6, 2007

Welcome from John Bayliss

Hi, my name is John Bayliss, but you can call me JB. I’m the product manager for motorcycles and scooters at Yamaha Motor Canada Ltd. Welcome to the Yamaha Bike Blog!

One thing I would like to clear up right off the bat, is although I have been involved in the bike biz for many years (at Yamaha for 20 of them), I do not profess to know everything about motorcycles.

Unlike my snowmobile counterpart at Yamaha, Chris Reid, who blogs at Sled Talk, I don’t have an in-depth knowledge of all the technical aspects of our bikes and scooters. However, between me and my work colleagues also blogging here about bikes, we petty much do know everything about bikes – and what we don’t know, we want to hear from you about!

I am an avid on road and off road rider, plus I also dabble in track days. Most weekends (when I am not working), I usually spend at least a few hours riding or wrenching, especially restoring some vintage bikes of my own.

I own 10 motorcycles, ranging from street and dirt to a R6 track day bike. My fav ride right now is an ’07 Yamaha FZ1.

In the off-season, I can be found snowmobiling, skiing, and playing on the Yamaha hockey team.

I’m looking forward to sharing stories here that people can’t find anywhere else – such as behind-the-scenes peeks at Yamaha product development, long before the bikes hit the market. Hope you enjoy the insights!

November 1, 2007

Welcome to the Yamaha Canada Bike Blog

Hi, my name is Chris Reid and I am the Senior Product and Research Manager here at Yamaha Motor Canada. If you are also a ‘sled head’, you might know me as CR over on our sister blog, ‘Sled Talk‘.

We have assembled a group of Yamaha Motor Canada employees who all love to ride and have some stories to tell. We hope you’ll check in often, and read what we have to say.

(As far as I know, Yamaha is the only motorsports company in Canada to host a blog where we interact with our friends and customers.)

If you have any questions or feedback for us, you’re welcome to add a comment and we’ll try to respond to as many as we can. There are some areas that we won’t be discussing (please see our Terms of Use) but for the most part, be nice and anything motorcycle-related goes!

If you like what you see, you can subscribe (enter email address on the right) and we’ll email you whenever we add a new post, or you can add Bike Blog to your list of RSS feeds. We’ll be populating the blog with a wide selection of content over the next few weeks and we’d love to hear what you have to say about it all.

I sincerely hope you enjoy Bike Blog and if you do, please let your friends know about us.

Cheers cr