#Wrenching

One of the essential ingredients of any home mechanic’s toolbox is a set of combination wrenches in all the common sizes for your bike. After a while, many motorcycle mechanics find they need a stubby set of combination wrenches to get into a tight spot. With that first step down the rabbit hole of wrench variations, they begin a long and interesting journey toward adjusting fasteners that previously were unreachable. Here are some of our favorite styles of combination wrenches for your perusal. And remember, if you happen to buy any of these wrenches MO gets a small infusion of cash to keep the doors open and the motorcycle articles coming. 

Updated February 2020

We recently covered how to check to see if your coolant is in good enough condition to protect your bike during its winter hibernation. Even if your coolant can handle the temperatures of winter, most manufacturers have a recommended service interval of two years or so between coolant swaps.

The photo above points out how important properly functioning brakes are to getting the most performance possible out of them. Brakes, however, are instrumental in more than riding quickly. They are necessary for your safety.

We all know the cliché: The motorcyclist who is intimately acquainted with all the parts of his motorcycle. His man cave may not have a TV, but it has a bike lift. Then there are the tools, cabinets of them. However, like most truisms, they are only partially based in fact. Yes, there are home mechanics who fit this description perfectly, but there are also tons of riders who never turn a wrench on their bikes. Is the distinction the difference between hobbyists and and dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts? It would be easier if the answer were that simplistic, but the reasons people have for wrenching – or not – on their motorcycles are as varied as the people out riding bikes.

One hallmark of a skilled rider is the ability to precisely deliver the right amount of throttle at the right time. Smooth transitions on and off the throttle play a vital role in keeping the chassis stable in a corner. Since the throttle cables are still, for the majority of bikes, the direct link between your hand and the butterfly valves in the mixers, minimizing slop in the system will pay big dividends.

Friday is winding down here at the MO Towers. Naturally, the topic of what is happening this weekend has come up as we stand around the espresso bar waiting for our pre-commute massages. We’ve got our weekends planned out: Tom is busy with the construction of the motocross track in his living room. Troy has almost grafted the baby seat to his CBR600R test bike. Burns will be rearranging the furniture in his garage for optimal XDiavel placement. The Dukester is investigating the latest shark guard technology. I’m planning on getting intimate with my R6 as I install another test product. Sounds like we’ll be busy with plenty of moto-entertainment.