Adventure Bike Rider Forum

Lurk a lot, lot more than I post. Apologies if this has been covered but cant find owt in my rudimentary search. When I'm out riding, a lot of the old fellas strap spares and parts to ingenious places, usually to a Serow. In attempt to get weight down I hope to emulate these gentlemen of the trails. Any ideas?

Well i have two tool tubes, one attached on each side of the front crash bars, looks quite cool too! (thumbs)

Cheers fella. Think tool tube and fender packs will be attached to the old gas gas gas, but I've seen chains bound in plastic to the swing arm and levers tied to the inside of hand guards. Did have a go at that but didn't seem to leave much room for me ands!

So you want to get weight down buy attaching around 5kg of not required shit to the bike....

Some.folks carry all the wrong stuff....a spare chain !!..

A dry bag strapped to rear carrier or seat works.for most.

It depends what your doing and how far your going and how good mechanically you are.
So a days trail riding in your local area wouldn't require much but a weekends trail riding at the other end of the country would require a bit of thought and extra spares left in the van or car, and if your a mechanical disaster then there is not much point other than the hope some one else with you can use the spares and tools your carrying.
More important is preparation so you don't need to carry much.

Steve

As below there isn't much point in carrying stuff you can't use.

I have a bag on my front mud guard with a spare tube, tyre irons and big cable ties, god forbid I should ever have to change a tube on the trail though . Tool tube at the back with alan keys and spanners, metal epoxy stuff, wiring crimps and a few nuts and bolts in.

Off road it would seem the risk items are brake lever, clutch lever, gear lever and possibly chain link(s), length of fuel line, some spare cable ties, clutch cable plus tools to change these and repair a puncture. These can be cable tied to different places without too much difficulty. In all my years these are the only things I have used.

I admit I carry more tools, fuses, bulbs, spark plug, electrical connectors, spare bulbs etc but that's for longer trips abroad. You can keep stuff like that in the van if you are travelling that way.

Now I've got time to do a better reply.

Since you've mentioned a Gas Gas I'll concentrate on trail riding.
I carry my spares in a pack around my waist (tool pack) as I found I lost less and it could transfer from bike to bike but I carry spare levers, various nuts n bolts, spare split link, puncture repair kit and small pump, cable ties and some electrical wire and tape. Also worth carrying is a length of fuel hose and a new plug.
I do the maintenance work on my bike with the tool I intend to carry so that I can make sure I carry the right tools and can also undo bolts or nuts like the wheel spindle.

I used to have my pump on the cross bar of the handlebars but most handlebars don't have a crossbar any more, regular tools in the bikes tool box wrapped up with a good rag to stop them rattling around and to wipe your hands or parts with if needed.
Preventative maintenance and prep are important, so chain and sprockets in good condition and correctly adjusted and good brake pads/shoes (I also carried a good old set sometimes if muddy) lever clamps slightly slack so a hard bang can just move them. I have bark buster type guard now so I usually have the clamps tight now though.

I never bothered carrying spare tubes as I found them too bulky but I also run high tyre pressures, 25psi, so don't tend to get punctures much.

Plus other bits n bobs that I can't remember because it's been nearly a year since I last went trail riding. Guess I'll have to sort through my tool bag and make sure everything is back in there now winter has come

Steve

Nice one everyone, been busy with a few things and didn't get time to check things out. Appreciate all the replies. I fully take the point don't take things you can't use, and my mechanical chops are just developing. Very good to work on the bike with the same tools you carry.

Would love somewhere to stash the oil I need for the Gas Gas but I think I'll be carrying it. I do like the Heath Robinson creativity of a good stashing place though.

I know there is an on going debate on the topic of Moouses or Tubeliss against Conventional inner tubes, but this thread is where the argument ends for me, not having to carry tyre leavers, a puncture repair kit or inner tube and a pump reduces your load by several kilos and also the burden of where to carry it all. This allows you to carry the most essential tools that I prefer to carry in belt around my waste. For greenlaining / trail riding it's Moouses every time for me !

Sarge