Importance of tools

Lowes and Home Depot have their "own brand" tools which are actually pretty darn good. Lowes brand is Kobalt and Home Depots is Husky. Also Harbor Freight/Northern tools are pretty good.

I used to be a mechanic at a dealer ship and I'm actually a mechanic on pumps and turbines at a refinery. Tools are important. Snap on not so much unless used all day every day. I actually use craftsman professional series from Sears for my wrenches and just craftsman sockets and a good set of Allen head wrenches. Over time it seems the cheaper tools tend to round the heads on bolts and strip screw heads. Just my .02. I do have a set of snap on sockets wrenches and many other tools from them. I would t spend the money on them. They do habe a pretty sweet ratcheting screw diver with a bunch of bits that is actually very handy.

I think torque wrenches are important, a 1/4 drive for 4-stroke heads, clutches and suspension and bicycles, and a 3/8 drive for nearly everything on the bike. There arent many bolts on a dirtbike that need a 1/2 drive torque wrench.

CDI are USA made, and a very fair price. i think they even make them for snap on

http://www.cditorque.com/

i like a lot of the craftsman stuff.

i definitely think a lot of the moto specific tools are really important, especially for suspension stuff.

plus, with a little innovation, sweat and a digi caliper, you can make the odd custom tool from aluminum off cuts.

i like the makita 18V impact also!!! makes quick work when something goes wrong at the track!

I love my digital craftsman torque wrench! Iol

Craftsman tools are great. Kobalt (lowes) are nice tools for the money. What's nice about lowes is that you can buy individual sockets and wrenches so you only have to buy what you need. They've got some great ratcheting wrenches which can really come in handy.

Snap on tools aren't necessary unless a tool is how you make your living every day.

I have used Craftsman tools for 35 years without issue. Snap on is a waste of money in my opinion for the shade tree mechanic.

I have mostly snap on tools, they are expensive but if it's something you use every day than their worth it for the comfort on your hand's. I just inquired about a snap on 1/4 inch and 3/8 drive torque wrenches that go way down on newton meters/inch pounds, 340.00 apiece, way to much in my opinion so I did not buy either. I have a snap on 1/2 inch drive 18v impact, that thing has been a great investment, it's a little much for most of the stuff on bikes but makes changing a flat tire on your vehicle while on the road a breeze!!

My shop box is filled with SNAPON & CRAFTSMAN and my track box is mainly from HARBOR FREIGHT, the main reason if someone "borrows" a wrench and it disappears I wouldn't start a war over losing it.

Whatever you do DO NOT buy Kobalt junk at lowes. The stuff will break just looking at it. We buy it at work when we need throw away stuff while working with epoxies and harsh chemicals, and laugh all the time at how junk the shit is. Harbor freight is a better option for cheap tools.
Craftsmen professional series is a good line at a decent price. Ebay can get Snap On and Matco reasonable also, if you are patient and can wait for deals.

I've had my best luck with craftsman tools.
I also go to alot of flea markets and yard sales. I've found lots of quality tools in these places.

As stated above Snap On is nice if you are a mechanic for a living and the tools are used all day everyday. The shape of the tool makes a big difference when you're using it constantly. For the "at home" mechanic nothing more than Craftsman is need IMO. I live a stones throw away from a Sears and if I do blow a ratchet or snap a wrench I ride the single speed bike down the road and swap it out free of charge. Unless it's screwdrivers Harbor Freight is garbage.

Just like xnationalwrench my SnapOn cab is filled with all snap on and a Blue Point. My home box is filled with a mix of craftsman and harbor freight and my track box is all harbor freight. If you go to http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=136120 there are loads of great tools that are equivalent to the tool truck. It all depends on how often you use it but if you arent using them every single day for hours on end then I would stick with craftsman

Craftsman are great and good prices. As long as you don't get super cheap stuff like Walmart tool kits you will be fine. A nice ratchet and torque wrench are worth the money.

Whatever brand you choose, use some kind of organization so you can quickly find what you are looking for. Get a good box large enough to keep what you need. Leave room for special tools like seal drivers, tire irons. Put numbered socket trays, screwdriver holders and a combo wrench rack in the drawers.

T-handles are what I use most of the time when I work on dirt bikes. You can get them from any bike shop for a decent price. Sockets shouldn't cost too much if you buy it in a set. 6-12mm 1\4" drive, 10-22mm 3/8" from a large chain home improvement store is fine for dirt bikes. Buy the larger sockets individually in 1/2" drive you don't need many. Ratchets, screwdrivers, Allen wrenches from the same place work well most of the time. Remember its a dirt bike, not the Shuttle Columbia.

just buy sidchrome mate.. that stuff will last forever.

Kincrome are good and stanley are also making some nice stuff these days..
get a true wrench and a good set of T bars nd you'll be set

On my bike the tools I use most is my bike master t-handle set with interchangeable sockets, u can also put a socket on the short T end for alot more leverage if your having trouble breaking stuff loose, that was a whopping $13.49 lol

I agree, I have a huge Sidchrome shadow board that was my Grandfathers (he was a mechanic and used them every day for 30+ years) that I still use every now and again.

I did get some King Tony T handles a few weeks ago also, at about $35 each they were a little pricey but seem to be incredibly balanced and nice to use.
Also having some great luck with Kukon sockets.

I try and not skimp on tools. A good tool should last at least your lifetime.

Spend the extra money on a good set of screwdrivers, your brass carb screws and hose clamps will appreciate it. Signet has a nice comprehensive set that won't break the bank.

sidcrome are still better than kincrome but we arnt working on the space shuttle..
we used to get some sidcrome hand tools at work for free but i would still buy em out of my own pocket.
Bunnings has a pretty good selection of specialised tools now..

I thought this was gonna be a thread on jlaw, or Hansen, or whatever - to illustrate how some characters are good for the sport

There are good quality tools other than the "truck" brands. I used Craftsman for years until there quality began to slip, though
they still sell some very good ratchets labeled as Premium for a decent price.

Interestingly, most people don't realize that their Japanese built MXer have JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) fasteners. What
this means to you and me is your standard philips head screwdriver will work, but does not engage the fasteners correctly
which makes it easier to strip it. A friend of mine told me about a company that markets Japanese tools designed for JIS
fasteners. Here's a link to their website: http://www.levelchrome.com/

They sell some very cool tools like the Vessel impact screwdrivers and the Koken hex bits that you use to locate the front axle
in the lugs correctly. I have used these tools for years and I found they are every bit as good as the Snap On tools in my box,
but for much less money.

dogger

I like Snap On for ratchets and screwdrivers but it is overkill unless you use them for work. The reality is that for 1k, you can have a whole box full of craftsman etc. That only buys 1/10 of that in Snap On. It is better to have a bunch of average quality tools than to have just a couple of fancy tools.

edit: always buy a good torque wrench. Digital is the way to go. Click type are actually not very accurate at the edges of there scale.

I think it really depends on what kind of maintenance or work you will be doing on the bike. 11 years ago, I was only doing oil and air filter changes, chain adjustments, tire and tube changes and very basic stuff.

I've tried inexpensive wrenches and socket sets to my own demise. Nothing like stripping a bolt head in between motos at the track when you're in a hurry because your 12mm wrench or socket is about a 1/4 mm sloppy.

I try to only buy Craftsman or Craftsman Professional..easy to find good deals on eBay or Craigslist in that brand. It's in the budget and not too expensive where someone is going to risk walking away with it at the track or break the truck window during after moto beef.

My $0.02..good luck!

Doug

If you don't have many tools, no I would not jump in with a high end tool like Snap On.

Most people don't realize that guys with a handsome array of high end tools usually didn't just buy them all in short order. It was usually a gradual process that occurs through the years, phasing out lower end tools for nicer ones when you find the demand for it. In some cases you find the cheaper tools were not only just fine, but are some of your favorite "go to" tools. Other times you might get so fed up with a tool breaking or not working properly that you plop down $500 on a couple really nice torque wrenches like I finally just did.