Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Tool Kit

Just bought a 2011 America & looking for any suggestions for a tool kit I could carry in my saddlebags in case I have issues on the road.

You have to post a pic of your bike in the members rides section before well help you ... just kidding

Welcome to the site!

This topic has come up in the past. Check here:
Tool Kit thread 1

Tool Kit thread 2

Just in case you get the wrong idea from those threads - you are probably not going to need one. Never-the-less, I still carry a tool kit but I have never needed to open it (except to get my tyre gauge) in 11,000kms from new.

Welcome to the site Kim. Congratulations on your new America. You won't be needing a toolkit unless you are riding with other people on Harleys. Your 2011 America will be trouble free for a very long time. Have you had other bikes before? How do you like it so far? Oh yeh and we want pics LOL.

Kim:

For day trips and round town trips, I don't carry anything. For longer, overnight trips I pack some spare plugs, a crescent wrench, plug wrench, some sockets from 8-14mm, pliers and some allen wrenches. It all fits into a really tiny fanny pack I bought for a buck and then cut off the waist strap.

After nine years and 34k miles, haven't used it yet. But its nice to know its there if I need it.

As for relying on AAA, I checked into that a couple of years ago and they said they don't support motorcycles.

So make sure you have your cell and a credit card, just in case.

But like the posters above said, you ain't gonna need it.

GEICO Cycleguard.

Welcome Kim. I keep a full tool kit on my bike, got the actual tool role from Fast Eddy. 2 full sets of allen wrenches, one metric and one in inches, screwdriver with star heads. Socket wrench and sockets. And any tool for any aftermarket part I have put on, at least until I know it's something I want to keep. Zip ties, knife, flashlight, tire pressure guage. I know that sounds like a lot, I've had to take it out more than once for other bikes, never for my America. It all fits in the tool role from Eddy. I'd prefer to be prepared than stuck somewhere.

Welcome to BA.com Kim.
Two items that I haven't seen any mention of in any of these posts yet are:
1/ WD-40 or some other reputable brand of water repellant &
2/ The business card of a local motorcycle pick-up service. (I bet there is a business card on the counter of every local bike shop in your area.)
So far in the 6 months of ownership, my '06 BA has only failed me twice.
The first time was when I scored a tek screw in the rear tyre which of course I only discovered when I came out of work and it was already dark. I got a lift home with a buddy and bought a can of tyre sealant/inflator. Pulled the tek screw out and dumped the can of tyre sealant in my rear tyre. It did the trick and got me the 30km to my local bike shop where I had the tyre & tube replaced. The mechanics were none two happy though when they pulled the tyre valve out to deflate the tyre and their whole workshop was filled with the tyre repair gas.

The second time was when I rode home in an extremely heavy storm and my spark plug leads copped a thorough drowning. I knew immediately what the problem was but unfortunately didn't have any WD40 with me to fix the problem. I also had the local motorcycle pick-up service business card in my wallet and gave him a call to find he was able to come to my assistance in about 40 minutes. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for me after a couple of minutes my BA had dried out sufficiently to fire up again and I made it a point to pull over in future once the rain got too severe. Unfortunately for me, my rear tyre scored another 2 nails in it on that wet ride so it was off the the bike shop again but this time with the wheel under my arm with no tyre repair goo in it.