Hi,
I'm planning a trip through Central and South America and wanted to know if anyone had experience as far as what tools are essential to carry for the trip. Are there other tools that may not be essential but are very useful to have along?
After doing tons of research I've decided on the Caribou pannier system which uses the Pelican bags. I decided on this set-up after seeing the Pelican bags first-hand and reading good reviews about the Caribou mounting system. In-case anyone else is in the same predicament I was in. The aluminum bags look the business but the Pelicans seem the logical choice, and, they look great as well.
I've gone for the 'usual' up-grades but is there anything else anyone has had experience with that may be valuble?
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hiya Jeff, a right can of worms your opening here eh? But IMHO this is what I would take....

QUALITY ( no cheap crap, you dont want them snapping, BUT no need for snap-on either ) tools that fit every nut on your bike ( ie can you do a full strip down and replace say steering head bearings or pull the engine cases off for a clutch change) but at the same time try to keep it MINIMAL, (I know that seems a contradiction but an adjustable spanner and a set of spanners is better than 2 sets of spanners)

ALLEN KEYS (HEX WRENCHES for our USA friends) that fit your bike

DONT FORGET THE SPARK PLUG TOOL!

PUNCTURE OUTFIT & TYRE LEVERS ( Learn how to use these, they are your friends)

12V MICROPUMP ( normal car one with casing removed, plug off and crocodile clips on instead) OR A FOOTPUMP ( yep I KNOW a foot pump is heavy, but trust me, they are reliable too and hand pumps are crap, C02 bottles exspensive and wastefull, you need too many)

A DIGITAL MULTIMETER (proper handy)

JB WELD, ARALDITE RAPIDE, DUCK TAPE, CABLE TIES, SELF AMALGAMATING RUBBER TAPE (will repair burst hoses on a KLR)

SCREWDRIVER ( i use a reversible one pinched from a BMW car toolkit)

A WIRING DIAGRAM FOR YOUR MODEL BIKE PLUS ANY EXTRAS ADDED ( colour photocopy if it is colour and laminate it, if you dont, you will wish you did)

With luck this lot wont take up too much room the spanners etc in a tool roll and the tape can have the middle taken out and squashed flat (duck tape) or wound round a film can (containing fuses etc) The Araldite, JB weld etc can fit in a small box ( a lightweight crushproof spectacle case is handy for stuff like that and tucks away easy) the only PITA (pain in the ass) is the Footpump

Hope this helps

Martyn

A properly looked after electric pump is a viable alternative to the footpump. Just make sure that it is placed in something waterproof, as it is not meant to survive being dunked accidentally (that said, my $10 pump that took such a dip is still operational - just cleaned and dried it with compressed air).

You may also open the footpump casing (usually a cheap plastic box), and see if you could benefit from mounting it in a more rigid manner, (which will also make it more compact). Sure, rugged footpumps work when needed, but occupy FAR too much space, and tend to crush everything around it, and the lighter ones are a bit of a lottery.

Thanks for that. Also, what about spare parts that are essential? Is there anything that I should have with me besides tubes, sparkplug...etc? I ride a KLR-650 btw.

run it next to the current one then tape it on ,its out of the road ,and ready to go, just duct tape the ends to keep out the crap , i needed mine ,oh yeah a couple of sets of rear brake pads , do your self a favour and get the 320 mm front disc from KLR650.com ,and you will have front brakes that work , i never came close to needing pads for that either, a stainless washable oil filter ,oil ,as klr's burn a little at speed, levers ,clutch and brake,air filter oil ,keep that sucker clean and a clymer manual off ebay for about $25 bucks
there is another thread a little further down here with some guys input to what is good for the klr
aussie dave

Hi,

My rule of thumb is Only take with you

1. the tools you use to complete your 12,000 k/mile service.
2. the tools you know how to use (not like two celebs)
3. spares that you do no 1 with
4. a set of tubes, tire levers and a way to inflate a tire
5. a full set of levers and pedals, and cables
6. spare bulbs
7. chain links
8. some tape, ties and wire
9. a Mr. Funnel to clean your dirty gas
10. CREDIT CARD

Anything else can be scrounged up on the road Cambodian Field Repair style, the above is simple and doesn't weigh too much. If you take the kitchen sink then don't cry to me that you broke your suspension on rough ground because if you need something that's not in the above then find a garage and use the card.

Lee

My contribution: not regarding what tools to take but how to carry them.

A friend of mine made this for me a couple of weeks ago, he is a plumber:





It is very strong and 100% waterproof, it is made from pipe used for toilet drains.

32cm long with a diameter of 12cm

It is composed by:
-one piece of pipe, a few mm thick
-a "blind" end
-an "inspection end" = screw lid with seal

It will go in front of the bash plate.
The lid has a seal that will keep the contents away from the elements, the material is very cheap and it can be easily found the only thing is you will need a plumber to weld things together or you can try heating up the parts on your hob and put them together but I wouldnt guarantee the same result as the welding-without-burning is a very precise temperature...

Securing the contents from theft: being waterproof I wouldn't attemp to drill any hole but a screw can be placed through the side of the lid (BEFORE the seal) but not so deeply to reach the inside (the pipe itself is 4mm thick).
The screw can be placed at the bottom, facing the ground, and it can be a hex-screw so you will need a hexkey and not just a screwdriver to undo it.
The screw will also prevent the lid to come off due to vibrations.


Detailed pic of the lid and seal:



Just wanted to share this.

cheap and strong.

__________________

... and Nelly The Elephant packed the trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

Hi alexpezzi, How did you mount it in front of the bash plate? cable tyes? ali clamps? cracking idea
TDMalcolm

Hex screw is good idea, but then you need a tool to get it out. My cap came off once and now I have a saftey wire attached (small hole drilled). Also, be sure you can remove cap by hand after a good length of time closed. Mine became "stuck" and without tools I wouldn't have been able to open it. Backup your tie system to the bash plate. If it falls off when you're in a lean you're probably going down as the rear tire hits it. Don't trust just one method. Stainless steel hose clamps will wear and break eventually (mine did w/ rough roads); I inspect mine regularly and now back them up with heavy duty black nylon cable ties.

Just made this, it's a lid stopper for the tool tube, those who are in the computer field will recognise the strip of metal: it's one of the masks that cover the empty pci slots at the back of the computer case.
I drilled a hole on the lid only and made a thread (4mm), it doesnt look like is going to come off easily.
Some pics:

__________________

... and Nelly The Elephant packed the trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

Errrr NO. You will need parts for these repairs .. so you'll be somewhere where there is a post office and most probably a workshop of some description where the required tools are (or can be frabricated or sent for).

What you need are things for regular servicing and brake down repairs beside the road. Anything that requires more can be done where there is a workshop with tools, parts, water, food and mail.

You do not want to be burdend with tools and parts that you hopefully won't need.

----
alex - on your lid stopper thingy ..

I did the same kind of thing for a DR650 - but the metal goes all the way over the cap and is held both sides by the hose clamp; loosen the calmp to remove the lid stopper .. then unscrew the lid. This way there are no holes in the lid nor tube.

Plastic and stailess steel threads should be lubricates to prevent sezing .. plastic ones = petrlum jelly .. but in a pinch anything will do. Stainless steel .. nver seve .. but if nothing else .. then anything ..

Stainless Steel is not good for fatigue .. plastic is better that way .. but mild steel will do .. so thoes nice rust free stainless steel hose clamps might not be the best long term .. the old plated steel ones that rust might be better ... replace when rusty?

--------------------
More on the mounting system .. you 'only' have two clamps .. if one brakes the other won't be far behind .. there go your expensive tools .. better to use 4 clamps and preferably to different things .. the different things bit can be hard.

__________________
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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

A small bag of nuts, bolts, washers and safety wire.

Pliers
Vise grips (the small ones with the long nose)
5 min. epoxy
Small file
Box end wrenches and sockets for the nuts and and bolts on your bike (not the whole set)

Not tools but more use full
some rope and/or string
A tarp (never ending uses for a tarp)

Things you may want to take
A small pipe to add a little more help getting nuts and bolts off
Some Never-Seze for any bolt that gets hot or rusts or is bolted in to any thing not a nut (there buggers to get out some times)
A small tube of silicon selent
A small tube of grease
small can of penetrating oil, like 3 in 1

To save some space rewind the duct tape on a cut down pencil or on some part of the bike looks too funny

Thanks Frank,
will definitely add two more hose clamps, when one gives up I will hopefully have time to find a replacement along the way.

I didnt make the lid stopper go all the way across to meet the clamp on the other side as I wanted something I can open quickly without having to unscrew the clamp, maybe if I fit a section of inner tube around the lid it will prevent the screw to come off and probably will hold the lid even without screw?

__________________

... and Nelly The Elephant packed the trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

Some more thoughs ...

Rather than 2 more hose clamps .. 2 U clamps .. like they use on car/truck exhausts .. but better if made from flat metal so as to spread the load on the plastic tube. Bolts that to the skid plate. Best if the inner nuts are locked to one anbother so you can tighten it from the outside, this way if it gets loose you can easily tighten it without taking the bash plate off.

On my cap stopper .. you only have to lossen the hose calmp so the metal stopper slides off.. the ends of the stopper are raised so the hose calmp really has to be loose ..not just vibration loose.

Other ideas .. less secure to theft ...
Rather than screw you cap to the metal tang .. make the metal tang spring into a notch you cut in the cap. That way the cap will lock by the tang.
You could do the same with the rubber tube - make notches in the cap for the rubber to sit in.

__________________
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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

Make sure you have a spanner that fits the front wheel nut, the KLE's don't have one in the toolkit. You don't wanna leave home without one!

Nicki