The tools you need: Building the ultimate workshop

By
Zac Kurylyk
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If you’re going to be spending serious time wrenching, a full-sized motorcycle lift is going to save you a lot of back pain.

The Pro Shop

The tools listed here aren’t for everyone, because not everyone has the know-how to use them. However, if you do have the time, money and know-how, these can almost completely rule out any need for professional mechanical help.

You can do a lot with a drill press, especially if you have a set of hones to go with it. It takes up a lot of space, though, as does a tubeless tire changer; you’d have to use them a lot to justify the expense.

A shop press also takes up a fair amount of space, but when you need one, they’re incredibly useful.

A full-sized motorcycle lift is something you’ll see a lot of use from; I’m talking about the kind that you roll your bike onto, and it lifts the whole machine, instead of just the rear wheel, which is the case with the more affordable hydraulic lifts. If you’re putting in long hours wrenching, this will save your back.

A vacuum carburetor syncronizer tool will help with old-school inline fours.

A vaccuum caburetor synchronizer is a must-have for working on older multi-cylinder bikes, particularly Japanese inline-fours. If you’re working on older bikes, you’ll probably also need an abrasive blaster (sandblaster or soda blaster) to strip off rust or paint; depending what system you buy, you’ll probably also need a decently large air compressor and tank to power the blaster, or whatever other air tools you might have.

Get into engine rebuilds, and a compression tester or (ideally) a leak-down tester is useful to have around.

A tap and die set is also going to come in useful on older bikes, especially if you have sloppy threads in the frame or engine’s screwholes, or if you overtorque a bolt in soft aluminum. It can also be used to tidy up grungy bolts or machine screws.

When I bought my first tap and die set, I wondered if I’d wasted my money, but I’ve got a ton of use out of it lately, and so have my friends.

Welding equipment is most useful to the custom motorcycle set, but does come in handy if you have an issue like a cracked frame, or if you want to add some hard parts to your bike (kickstand foot, DIY luggage rack — there are tons of possibilities). It’s also handy if you want to make a one-off specialty tool, like a clutch plate holder. Speaking of which …

There are countless specialty tools available on the market; the Motion Pro catalogue is a good example. Whether it’s a bearing puller, fork alignment or disassembly tools, an oil filter wrench, crankshaft puller or some other one-off specialty tool, chances are you’ll eventually end up wishing you had one if you’re working on in-depth projects.

The average motorcyclist, even the average home wrencher, won’t own most of these tools (I don’t have most of them in my shop), but eventually, many riders will accumulate some of them. However, if you get these tools and learn how to use them, you should be almost completely self-sufficient, mechanically speaking.

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5 COMMENTS

  1. A good tip I have heard (but rarely put into practice!) is to actually use the tool kit that you carry on the bike.. reason being is so you know what is there, how useful the tool is and that it is serviceable. Anyone ever have to (or be with someone who had to) fix a fault on the side of the road only to find that much of the stock tool kit belongs at the bottom of a swamp!? Also, while you are carrying out maintenance, lay your tools out as you do the job… you see what is needed and what is most frequently used. With that information, build a useful tool kit with quality tools to carry on the bike!

  2. I think it is worth mentioning in the interest of consuming and owning less (and saving money), many cities at this point have tool libraries or co-working shops where you can use shared tools and the knowledge of other people around you. Since moving to Vancouver and going from owning a 1,000 sqft shop to renting a 600sqft apartment, I have had to get a little creative with doing my own wrenching, but it has saved me money and made me friends! I changed my oil last night while outside watching the sunset.

    • Yeah, that is a big help IF you live in the city. However, they can also come with a cost, and it’s best to be self-sufficient. But you’re right, that’s a good way to access rarely-used tools.

      Screwdrivers, a socket set and a wrench set shouldn’t set you back too far, though, and you have more uses than just motorcycles.

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