Tools

   My family has always insisted the girls be just as good with tools as the boys. My Grandfather Wenker gave me my own set of carpenter's tools for my 6th Christmas, and my Uncle Willie added bigger tools as I got older. My Dad insisted I pass Auto Mechanics with straight A's before I was allowed to take Driver's Ed. I knew how a manual transmission car worked long before I could drive one!  

General stuff about tools:

   I’m going to get REEEEEEALLY basic here, because you never know just how much experience a person has with this kind of stuff. Just skip over whatever you already know.
   Generally, tools come in two different sizings – metric and SAE. Different bike manufacturers use different sizings. If you ride a Harley, you’ll need SAE tools. If you ride a Honda, you’ll need metric. Double check your bike. Also, if someone has added aftermarket parts (that’s stuff that did not come with the bike and is made by a different manufacturer), they may use a different sizing. But, generally speaking, Japanese bikes are metric and American bikes are SAE. 
   Metric is measured in millimeters, centimeters, meters, etc. The metric wrenches you will use most are 12mm and 17mm for your oil changes, and  8mm, 10mm, 14mm, and 19mm for other work.  SAE is measured in inches: halves, quarters, eighths, etc. Common sizes you will need are: 1/2in, 7/16in, 3/8in, 9/16in, and 5/8in.
   My favorite mechanics recommend Craftsman tools as a good value – durable enough for the home tinkerer, cheap enough to buy what you need. Don’t get anything lower quality than Craftsman. If you can afford it, and want to, feel free to buy better.

Tools lists:

Tools that will live on your bike -
   I bought inexpensive ones from Walmart, tiny enough to fit in a makeup bag which is the perfect size to fit in my itty-bitty under-seat storage. Since they are pretty much for emergencies rather than regular use, I figure they don't need to be that durable, and if you leave one by the roadside, it's not a major loss. Notice that the tools tend to be adjustable - that' cuz you can't always be sure of what will need fixing, and tools are heavy enough that I don't want a big set on my little bike. Versitility is a GOOD thing!
   Notice that I also have a few PARTS in the kit!

   1 Tire (air pressure) guage (keep it someplace very accessible, you should check your tire pressure regularly)
   1 Pliers
   2 Adjustable wrenches
   1 Vise grips
   1 Multi-point screw driver (the kind with the spare points stored in the handle)
   1 rachet handle
   1 spark plug socket
      spare spark plugs, gapped
    Set of allen wrenches
    Clutch and brake levers (after-market cheapies)
    Rag
    Bag to keep it all in

Tools you should have in your home tool box
    In this category, I buy the best I can afford. For regular maintenance, cheap tools wear quickly, break, bend, can hurt you, and hurt the stuff you are working on. They'll round off the corners of nuts and bolts, slip and smash something, or snap and stab you. Cheap rachets will freeze up or go loose.
    Unless you are rich, I wouldn't run out and buy a full tool set. For us beginners, make a plan for your bike maintenance. As you come up on the stuff that needs tools, say an oil change, purchase those tools to fit your bike. Also, there are a lot of really nifty specialized tools that unless you decide to do all your own work, you won't really need. But they sure do look cool hanging on your shop wall!
     If you can’t figure out what some of the stuff is, just ask the folks at the store. (If they don’t know, either, don’t shop there!). They can explain what the tools are and show you how to use them.

     Screwdrivers - both blade and phillips - be sure they fit the screws on your bike and that the shanks are a length that makes it easy, instead of hard, to work.
                      impact driver - Sort of a screwdriver on steroids. One of those gadgets you don't HAVE to have, but it sure makes life easier. You’ll need a hammer to make this thing work.
   Pliers - regular, needle nose, vise grips, and channel lock - each one does something different and wonderful. Sort of a "normal" size that fits comfortably in your hand is good, as they do adjust (within limits) to the size of the object you are working on.
                      Circlip pliers are really cool, but you don't need them until you decide to start doing your own tranny work.
   Wrenches - box and open end - you can get them in sets where each end is a different size all in one kind, or you can get a set where each wrench is the same size on both  ends, but one is open and one is a box. I like the second kind. The box type dosen't fall off the bolt head or nut as easily, but the open kind will go into a flat space where you can't easily get the box.
                      adjustable - (crescent) I like to have one 8 inch and one 6 inch handy. I don't like to use them for the primary loosening or tightening (they tend to loosen and suddenly slide off), but they are great for holding a bolt steady while you loosen the nut with a box wrench (or vice-versa), and sometimes you just can't find a box wrench that fits THAT bolt.
                      Socket set - These are really cool. You slip a thingie that looks like a lipstick case attached to a handle over the nut. The handle has a rachet inside that can be set for tightening or loosening. Makes life SOOOO much easier. You can buy attachments for this that will let you work at all kinds of odd angles.
                      Spark plug socket – Your spark plugs are fussy and need their own special socket. Be sure to get the one that fits YOUR bike's plugs.
                      torque - a specialized socket wrench handle that lets you measure exactly how tightly the nut or bolt is installed.
                      allan - An allen wrench looks like a little metal "L." you stick the end of the short side inside the bolt and use the long side for a handle. And if the bolt is tucked way in, you can often reach it by poking the long end down and using the short end as a handle. Fingers not strong enough to turn the gadget? Use your vise grips as a handle. Neat, huh?
                     oil filter wrench – Some bikes need this, some don’t. You’ll have to check.
   Hammers - Yes, really! You'll find all kinds of uses for these.
                      steel hammer – You’ll need this to make your impact driver work. And you’ll find other handy uses as you do more work on your bike.
                      mallet - it's a soft faced hammer made from plastic (old ones were leather) and is good for loosening things, popping tightly fit stuff together, and adjusting the position of stuff.
   Spark plug gauge - Looks sort of like an alien Swiss Army Knife. The doohickies that fan out are used to measure the gap in the spark plug.
   Looooong tweezers - these are great for retrieving tiny things like screws and washers that fall into inaccessible places (like the molded groove for the place your air filter sits) and picking rocks out of your cooling fins. You'll find ever more uses as you do more work on your bike. They are also good for threatening small children – “Stick that pea up your nose and I’ll have to take it out with THIS!”

  Books:
   OK, if you have read this trying to learn something (yeah, I know you mechanics read it to see how many mistakes I made), then I strongly suggest you purchase the following books for your Motorcycle Library:

   FIRST, purchase The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Motorcycles. It’s a great starter book. I have listed the books in the order in which I suggest you purchase them. Purchase the list as rapidly as your budget allows.

  1) The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Motorcycles: Darwin Holmstrom: Alpha Books / Simon & Schuster Macmillan Co: New York, NY

 2) Your Bike’s Owner’s Manual – If it does not come with one, order it. It will tell you the basics specific to your bike. I like to keep mine in my bike log, where I keep all the records of oil changes, parts repairs, replacements, etc.

 3) Your Bike's Repair Manual - This would be something like a Clymer (Intertec Publishing, P.O. Box 12901, Overland Park, Kansas 66282-2901) or a Chilton

 3) The Complete Motorcycle Book, A consumer’s Guide: Jim Bennett: Checkmark Books / Facts on File: New York, NY

 4) The Shop Manual for Your Bike – This is a gotta-get if you become serious about doing your own wrenching. OR if you end up with a mechanic who is unfamiliar with your specific bike, it will be helpful.

    There are a lot of other books you will enjoy if you love bikes, and I will be making a list of them to add here, so please keep checking back!