What tools or spares do you carry with you.

[Trumper]

  Yesterday I took the opportunity and had a 40 mile ride in lovely weather on my Triumph 5Ta speedtwin [makes a change this year] .
 Whilst riding along i had packed a spark plug spanner and a couple of screw drivers - just incase.
  Now i am not mechanically minded and i did wonder if the bike broke down what could i actually repair.
  My questions are,
1,What spares or tools do you carry with you [my bike did'nt come with a toolkit]

2,What running repairs could you realistically make on the roadside or have made on the roadside.
  All stories on repairs and advice welcome please ,Thanks  

[Rex]

Bike looks good!
One one primary tool, and always carried, is made by Nokia, and that's all I carry now, (although to be fair,there's a small screwdriver, a pair of pliers and some insulation tape hidden under the seat).

Don't mind small running repairs (bodges!) to get home, but the days of puncture repairs etc by the roadside are long gone.

[thunderbird]

nice looking bike trumper,i tend to carry adjustable spanner,allen keys,small mole grips,spark plug socket,screwdriver, fine emery paper,small wire brush,spare fuses,sparkplugs,insulating tape.i have also lockwired most most of the fixings due to the vibration on these old bikes things tend to work loose its worth checking things are tight before setting off.did have a problem a few weeks back i was on a 200 mile ride and the oil feed pipe developed a split ended up depositing 3/4 of the contents of the oil tank down the side of the bike before i noticed luckily it never ran dry was able to repair on the roadside top up with oil at the nearest garage and continue my journey.with todays brakedown and recovery cover available its probably not worth getting to involved with a larger breakdowns.hope this helps steve

[Goldy]

I look at this in a practical way. Ask yourself what is likely to go wrong. So the first thing is electrics. Look at the tools you would need to deal with ignition problems ie to access points, battery etc. Also on electrcs  access to the headlamp and tail light. Then move on to the mechanical parts one section at a time ie brakes etc. You then have an idea of what is needed and can go through the tools because obviously you want to keep the number to a minimum.

[Goldie]

I carry a plug spanner, plug, a small and large adjustable spanner, screwdriver, pliers and a rear chain split link.

[twolitre]

I have only had two breakdown with my 5TA, both probably rather unusual.  I always have carried on my vehicles along with a few basic tools a length of electrical wiring flex.  Good for jury rigging electrics (obvously) but also useful for tying up bits that are about to fall off.
   Some time ago I realised that the fairly new (then) plastic, ratchet, cable ties would perhaps fasten things on better.  So..........
The first problem was a broken clutch lever handle-bar clamp. Two or three cable ties got me home.
The second was a centre stand which broke in two!  The side with the spring stayed put, but the other made sparks. Guess what got me out of the jam.
I know these are odd-ball breakdowns, but not everything comes back to ignition etc.

Jim.  

[henry_norton]

I've found the best use of tools comes from using them before I go out on a ride. I've avoided a few mishaps discovering loose exhaust pipe clamps and light fittings before I set out. Having said that I always carry something to tie up loose items - thin steel wire is good 'cos you can also clamp up oil pipes and cobble electrics if need be. Elastic bands are supposed to be good should your gear lever return spring break.