Good tools?

Depends on how much you will be using them, and what your budget is.

For occasional use, the higher end Hobo Freight stuff is ok. Their screwdrivers are junk.

If you can afford better tools and are using them often, S-K, Matco, Snap On, Mac are all good.  There are other manufacturers like Williams that also supply tools to Snap-On that are well built. Do some research, you can find those things out.

Also, definitely get good, JIS screwdrivers. Vessel makes some nice JIS screwdrivers that can be found on that Jungle website.

KLEIN

I've been extremely impressed with the ratchets and other tools I've gotten from Tekton.  

I use a bunch of northern tool and harbor fright stuff at work because if it walks off, I ain't out much.

The better northern tool wrenches are very solid.

As mentioned by AHRMA, skip the cheap screw drivers or torx drivers. Get Klien, or something like that. 

I beat the hell out of some northern tool wrenches, sockets, and ratcheting wrenches working on blow mold machines for a decade.

Ratchets, I buy good ones.

SK, Williams, Proto, etc.

Also pay attention to what kind of sockets you are buying. 

What are you doing with them, and how many points do you need?

As the number goes up, the slip and strip does too.

A lot of people shit on dewalt but I love all my stuff

I use a wide range of tools for both work and my bikes. I love Milwaukee tools, I try to get everything I can from them. Husky is good for the warranty, if you can get Home Depot to honor it the way they are supposed to. 

Tekton. JIS is no longer a standard, make sure any screwdrivers meet ISO 8764 standard which has long since replaced JIS. Snap on, SK, Williams, etc are all hilariously overkill for this situation. Pittsbirgh pro is great, made in Taiwan- which is normally a good indicator of quality for an affordable tool. most high end made in Taiwan stuff outperforms and snap on from 20-30 years ago. Proto still uses an old 24 swing pawl design that is outdated though reliable, the point is just because it is made in use does not mean it is good just because its from America.

If I turned wrenches for a living I’d use name brand.  For weekend stuff it would take a lot of weekends to even wear out cheap stuff on dirt bikes.  Rebuilding race car engines, no doubt harder on tools.  I have some Harbor Freight stuff I’ve had for as long harbor frights been around in Houston.  I’ve put some of that harbor freight stuff through some serious weekend stuff, SCCA race car builds to building high rack hunting trucks and dirt scooters and more.  I have some Northern Tool stuff also which seems to do good.   Like said above, Harbor Freight screwdrivers suck.  Lowes and Home Depot screw drivers do pretty good, same for Kobalt sockets and wrenches.  It wouldn’t surprise me if the Chinese Craftsman stuff was similar to Harbor Freight.  I have a pile of tools, everything from my dads old Snap-on to cheap.  

Gearwrench seems to be very good, and decently priced.

Socket sets look at Sunex or Gray Pneumatic. If you're just starting out they have master sets in each drive size you can buy that are a great deal. Get some socket rails or trays and you're in business. Astro pneumatic has some great ratchets for cheap as well as air impact guns if you have a compressor. As mentioned earlier Gear wrench, Capri, Husky etc for open end wrenches. 

get on marketplace and find some older Craftsman stuff in good condition.  lots of it listed there.

If you want a reliable set of T-Handles, I hear this new brand is pretty good. They were sponsoring the MCR team last year. 

https://factorywrenchtools.com/

If you have hours to spare, go watch Project Farm on youtube. He tests tons of stuff from power tools, hand tools, oils, protective equipment, etc. He includes top of the line to bottom of the barrel brands on whatever subject he's testing. He buys everything he tests himself so there is no chance of bias in his reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm/videos

This guy’s videos are awesome. Super informative. 

This Dewalt set is the best bang for the buck lately! google this part number DWMT73804

1/4 in and 3/8 in Drive Socket Set (34 pc)

Pair it with a nice impact driver and youll be set.

Don’t marry one particular brand unless you work in the trade and that brand has a rep that comes to you once a week. For personal stuff, get things from different brands. Sunex makes good impact sockets for the price. Klein screwdrivers have worked well for me. I have an old set of MI-USA craftsman combo wrenches that have been solid. I got a Milwaukee socket set for a decent price and the square sockets are a little gimmicky but the beam is comfy and the pall mechanism is smooth. I have some Wera torque wrenches and they are really nice at a price that’s right in between snap on and hardware store brands. Knipex pliers are great too. 
 

Some guys have a cabinet full of snap on, and that’s pretty cool. But if you don’t mind mixing and matching brands you can get top quality tools for a good price if you focus on a brands’ strength. 

This is the Northern Tool sockets set I bought about three years back.  I throw it in the truck when I go to the track.  

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200737637_200737637

Pittsburgh pro, icon, craftsman, sunex, Milwaukee, Klein, Husky, Bosch, DeWalt, Ridgid, and Ryobi have been good for me!

Speaking of Ryobi, they make a 18 volt cordless hand held compressor with digital gauge.  One of the handiest tools I’ve ever owned.  Great to grab instead of an air hose.  Great to throw in the truck for track/trail etc.

RYOBI ONE+ 18V Cordless High Pressure Inflator with Digital Gauge (Tool Only)

DCMXTools.com is a good resource. Dan, the owner, is a hardcore moto guy and forum regular. He sells Tekton, Milwaukee, Gear Wrench, complete boxes and other useful accessories for bike maintenance. You could hit him by his contact info on there and he's always down to chat.

When you start really using them, you will figure out which ones you need the spend money on or not.  Don't shy away from some of the cheaper stuff.

Thank you ML 👍🏻

thank you ML this is exactly what i needed just in time for the holidays!!!

Haha Thank you. I was a Franchisee for a major tool brand for ALOT of years. In 2020 I decided to branch out on my own and do Moto specific stuff as this sport is my passion. We are growing each and everyday. There are a lot of really good tool brands out there these days. I am an authorized retailer for Tekton and a bunch of other brands as well. If you don’t see something on the website, just message me. I can get anything tool related. We have worked with some top teams in the sport, sell to many privateers, and many top guys in the 250 and 450 class! Appreciate y’all’s support! 
TMD 

I have a lot of craftsman tools. They've been good over the years.  My only complaint has been that the ratchets fail when I abuse them .  In know they're lifetime guaranteed.

I have a set of American, and a set of metric allen wrenches that are Allen brand.  They've been great.

I have 2 Tekton torque wrenches, a 1/4 in. and 3/8.  I'm happy with them, but I think the 1/4" needs to be calibrated.

I only buy metric wrenches and sockets. The sizes are close enough to American, and increments small enough that I rarely ever need to use American, even when working on American vehicles.  They actually fit well.

I have a breaking bar and a large 1/2" ratchet from Harbor Freight I'm quite happy with, but the reviews are not kind to their hand tools so I generally stay away from them.

Being a machinist before becoming a software engineer, I really appreciate quality tools, so I try to buy quality tools a little at a time.

I figure if I'm going to use a tool for decades, I'd rather spend a few extra bucks, and not wish I would've gotten the good stuff every time I use it.

Quality (and price) have to match the use.  I'm not going to spend a ton of extra money for a tool I'll hardly use.

It would have to be an incredible sale for me to buy Snap-on mechanic tools, but for machinist tools, I have to have close to the best.

Can you please give us an hour amount you've owned the tools and stop saying years ...

Like parts on your bike, tools wear out too. Buy once, buy quality and you will have them forever. I’m a big fan of Snap-On / Caterpillar, Milwaukee and Motion Pro (for bike specific stuff). There is a difference between the top tier and the cheap stuff and that comes down to material and tolerance. A good tool is made from good materials and to a tight tolerance - think Snap-On Vs Stanley.

I’m a diesel mechanic by trade and my tools are my living so for me quality, longevity and warranty are very important.

Tekton is a decent middle of the road option for most people.  Their warranty process (send in a picture and they mail you a replacement) isn't bad either.  I'd say this is about as close as you'll get to USA-made Craftsman from a price/quality standpoint.

There are obviously better options, a lot of them personal preference.  I like NAPA Carlyle stuff.  It's mostly Taiwan-sourced with a bit of USA stuff thrown in.  A lot of it is the same or similar to Harbor Freight's Icon, impact sockets are rebranded Sunex.  The benefit here is that every town in America has a NAPA, making warranty easier.  My road box that we take on riding trips is almost entirely Carlyle for this reason.

If you want USA-made, that's pretty doable these days at an affordable price.  Channellock and Klein for pliers, Williams (Snap On's industrial brand) for sockets and screwdrivers.

One thing to not overlook is how you're going to carry all of this stuff.  Modular storage systems seem all the rage these days, except in the moto world where it seems as though the Craftsman 3-drawer box still is #1.  I find Packout to be too large personally.  Here I went with Dewalt TSTAK (same as Craftsman VersaStack), because it was what I wanted from a size/price/features perspective.  After finalizing which boxes I wanted, I was able to find kaizen foam inserts to keep everything secure.

GarageJournal is pretty much the Vital of the tool world.  I'd highly recommend poking around there a bit.  This is my (not recently updated) thread which chronicles how I built out my road box:

Road/Portable Box for Track and Trail | The Garage Journal 

i have a lot of name brand tools as i use to need them for work, better brand names cost more but are worth it in the long run.

snap on / mac / matco etc. well worth the extra money.

hobo freight stuff is mostly total crap BUT i keep some in case someone asks to barrow a wrench or something that way if i never get it back no loss.

im surprised how good gear wrench ratchets are though and not a lot of money.

marketplace and swap meets are good for og craftsman tools if you want to save some bucks.