Carrying tools stems from living where Winter evening temps can kill via hypothermia within in a matter of hours, and also from my truck driving days. I carry tools, gloves, and flashlights in my cars as well. (Ever change a tire with no gloves at 10 F? It is indeed a memorable life lesson.) I suppose it's just an old habit to carry all that stuff. I'd just as soon get rolling again and get home as wait for a screw driver to be brought out to me.
The Triumph factory (and perhaps the ghost of Prince Lucas?) installed a rear fender wire clip upside down on my bike. The entire rear fender wire harness fell down on the tire 900 miles from home in Knoxville, TN at 10 at night, and two wires got cut fully through, one of them naturally, was the common ground for all the rear lamps. Thanks to spare wire, a pair of dykes, butt connectors, and a roll of electrical tape, I had it fixed in a half hour. Me thinks MoTow would have meant a 4 hour wait and then a motel charge.
