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General Topics/Tech TipsDiscussion on break in periods, rider comfort, seats and pad suggestions. Tech tips as they become available will be posted here.
Nothing wrong with the beagle. I have gotten burned by cheap *** junk enough, I have a knack for it! Would rather cry once and be done.
I have a Proto spud ajustable that I bought right out of dive school in 1989. I have beat, pried, used as a hammer and somehow that dam wrench won't die. Good tools last.
Both points of views have their place and neither are wrong. Buy the best you can afford
One of the first tools you should buy and a factory service manual and the parts manual. You will use the hell out of these!! Best tools in your tool box!! I was an auto technician years ago, and my tool box is filled with the good stuff.... I don't buy Snap On or Mac much anymore, but I do stay away from cheap stuff. there is a site called ToolGuyd https://toolguyd.com/tool-brands-cor...-affiliations/ that will give you who makes what. I will try to attache a spreadsheet I made 15 or so years ago for my Sportster....what fits what.... that may give you some ideas. As others have suggested, start small and build your way up. Don't get all you may ever need to start.... get some basics and build from there. I saw someone mention "you may need a 10mm wrench"..... You WILL need a 10mm for your battery. Check the toolguyd and see who makes what, try to stay with decent tools, build up and enjoy!!! Others will give you a lot of info...take it all in and spend time around your bike, trying different wrenches, sockets, and torq bits on parts to figure what your minimums are. Save the special tools for when you need them.
Good Luck!!
Oh yeah...the spreadsheet would not copy well.... sorry
Mac tools roll away and top box combo, the biggest one they made in the 80's. Filled with Mac & Snap.On tools. Was a auto mechanic in my dad's garage back then. You name it,too much to list and much money spent over the years. The box combo was $ 1.400 empty back then.
Basic hand tools is what you're after. I started acquiring my tools back in the late 60's early 70's. About five years into it most of them got stolen and I had to start over. Since then I've managed to amass four tool chests full of new and used hand tools and three cabinets full of new and used power and air tools. I have pretty much everything I feel I need but nowhere near what I'd like to have.
Not everybody goes out one day and and buys everything all at once. Tools of all kinds are collected over a lifetime and just about the time you sit back and marvel at the collection you've managed to acquire momma starts making noises about downsizing and moving into a condo with a garage barely big enough to fit one car.
the easier question is what ISN'T in my tool boxes!
I have Craftsman boxes filled with S&K, MAC, Cornwell, Snap-On and my original Craftsmen tools from 1971
Over the last year I bought a lot of Milwaukee M12 and M18 tools, the high torque 1/2 drive impact wrench is a monster!
I TRY to buy good tools, something that will last without breaking and tools that won't round off hardware or otherwise damage the work
a set of thread files and thread CHASERS ( not dies or taps!!) are great for cleaning holes before reinserting hardware ( removing loctite, etc) without removing material.
When in doubt running one of those into a hole or over a bolt to make sure all is well can save a lot of headaches.
Which one? Tool ***** here...I have 3 HUGE toolboxes at home...and several at work that I use to make a living...
Not many tools that I don't possess ...most in multiples...Hell I have a whole drawer of cheap wrenches bent with a torch... to get in tight places from when I worked on forklifts...
Same problem, easier to ask what I don't have, list would be much, much shorter. And 10-4 on the " specialty " wrenches My industrial days left me with all kinda souvenirs.
I sure don't have as many tools as some here but then I've probably got more than most. My biggest problem has been the tool boxes to put them in and I've got a lot of small boxes crammed full making it a pain to find what I want sometimes. A 5 drawer full of nothing but wrenches, a bigger one nothing but sockets/rachets etc.
I put a "Harley" box together with everything I needed to tear my Sporty down and put it back together. Now I'll have to retool that box somewhat most likely for my Softail.
A couple boxes of specialty stuff you rarely use but need it when you need it.
I sure don't have as many tools as some here but then I've probably got more than most. My biggest problem has been the tool boxes to put them in and I've got a lot of small boxes crammed full making it a pain to find what I want sometimes. A 5 drawer full of nothing but wrenches, a bigger one nothing but sockets/rachets etc.
I put a "Harley" box together with everything I needed to tear my Sporty down and put it back together. Now I'll have to retool that box somewhat most likely for my Softail.
A couple boxes of specialty stuff you rarely use but need it when you need it.
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Gunner..... you might just find you won't have to retool as much as you think going from the Sportster to the Softail. Unless you have model specific tool, you'll find the basic sockets, wrenches, and bits are the same.
i am a retired auto tech, I use everything. get an air compressor and impact wrench and impact sockets. On a bike you'll use it for the wheels etc,but for cars, it is a must.
Motorcycle,? I use 1/4 drive ratchet and 3/8 drive. You don't want to use "big stuff" around the tank and painted tins etc. Torx, screwdrivers, etc.
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My industrial days left me with all kinda souvenirs.
