Experienced riders: which Moto accessories should a new rider get?

[buffone]

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Perhaps more clarity from OP about main use for bike. Is it a few hours each weekend, commuting, group rides, mainly street or mixed, maybe all these and more. You planning on keeping this bike or are you learning on this one and getting a….
Then those more experienced in that direction can give you what they covet most about what they’ve done and what was the biggest/most expensive item they got for it and told their significant other it was only 10% of the cost. But had to get it and still love it.
So there is a contribution, I thought the Works shock, tank bag and Zumo GPS were my top 3, for long distance touring. ATGAT is a given.

Good point. I should have included a bit more info. It's a Svartpilen 401. I doubt I'll do any off roading on it. I'll probably use it to commute to work a few days per week. That's a mix of city roads and a 6 exit stint on the 401; I'll probably avoid that shitshow on the motorcycle for a while though. I'll do the occasional Sunday ride with a friend and hope to make a few more motorcycle friends to do the occasional group ride.

I plan on keeping the bike for two or three years. I'm not currently interested in doing any mods to the bike itself. However, if I find myself commuting to work more often and needing more storage than a backpack, I would certainly consider a top case or a rack for panniers/saddle bags.

 

[buffone]

Not to be a__hole, but I think OP's question is pertinent to visualise the state of this world in the sense that to have fun with something you need a whole plethora of stuff to make the "fun" complete and wholesome as possible. And this idea of complete fun is amplified more and more by "influencers" and posts on social media saying buy this, or this or this...
If it does serve as reference for future readers, I believe a general consensus of the matter states that you only need protective gear and knowledge in how the machine works. The later, btw, is getting neglected by new generations, not only in the motorcycles but in everything...
Regardless, I will spend time outside screaming at clouds. Have a good day!

You're not being an a-hole and you're also not wrong. I've watched more than a few YouTube videos that suggest buying this or that. I recognize that they're selling stuff - either the thing they're talking about or or just their content so they wind up saying things they don't really believe in just so they have a new video every day. But I digress.

I'm a cyclist, and can answer my question for a new cyclist with ease: get a pump for home, a mini pump for the road, a patch kit, and a multi tool. Those are must haves. I really like a gps unit that tracks a bunch of data and can also provide directions if I'm going somewhere I've never been. That's all I have and I put about 8000km/year on my bicycle. I'm sure the best way to ride a motorcycle is to just ride and not have to fuss with a bunch of do-dads. But I'm also sure most motorcyclists have a couple of things, like my gps unit, that they bought that enhances the experience.

 

[buffone]

And along the same lines, bring a metal or plastic kickstand plate if you regularly park on hot asphalt or other soft surfaces to prevent your kickstand from sinking in, and tie a cord from that to your bar to also remember to bring it with you. Either that or hope the next place you stop is where someone else forgot to pick theirs up.

I've never even thought of that.

 

[buffone]

Day 0

• All the gear you will wear in the summer
• Earplugs

Day 1

• Crash bits for your bike (frame sliders, axle slider, etc)
• If your bike has a chain final drive
  • Quality rear stand
  • Rear Spools/Bobbins (if your bike has provisioning for it)
  • Some sort of chain lube/wax/gear oil
  • Some sort of lube/wax/oil cleaner
• Whole lot of shop rags
• Brake cleaner

Month 1

• If you are going to go do the basic maintenance yourself
  • Socket and ratchet set
  • Hex set
  • Funnel
  • Oil drain pan
  • Figure out what kind of oil your bike uses and what you want to use
  • Figure out what oil filter your bike uses and what you want to use
• Luggage situation (backpack, thigh pack, gear with more pockets, tank bag, top case, side case, milk crate and bungees, none at all)
• Infotainment
  • Music via headphones/helmet comm/speaker system
    • Have you found your riding buddies yet? Do they use comms?
  • Navigation via Phone/GPS/Bike built in
    • If phone, mount? power?
• Gear
  • Did the gear you bought fit well? (fit= sizing, off bike use case, temperature regulation, riding style)
    • If you need more/different, do research into options now that you have lived what was only theory before
    • Use Case. Riding sneakers not cutting it? Waterproof = smell of death? MX boots too hard for standing in a tims parking lot?
    • Riding style. Rain riding not for you? Rain or shine you put in 500km a day minimum? (hint: weather app with weather radar like Weather Channel)
• Mechanic
  • You had your first maintenance if you bought new right? Did you like where you took it? Time to start thinking about who is going to do the bigger jobs or the jobs you don't want to do
• Bike Wash and cleaning supplies

End of Year 1

• Base layers for inclement weather
• Cold weather gear (if you want to ride in cold)
• Winter storage solution
  • If storing yourself
    • Battery Tender
    • Something insulating to put under the tires (tiles, several yard waste bags, up on stands)
    • Cover for dust/animals (motorcycle cover, old bedsheet, you are going to wash it in spring)
    • Exhaust plug if you have furry animals in your storage location
  • If not yourself, who? Do they also service it for you with their storage option?

Start of Year 2

• Depending on the mileage
  • Your next set of Tires (some research needed, or just go with OEM recommended, up to you)
    • Are you going to change them yourself? Take the wheels off yourself? Take it to your mechanic bike and all?
  • Maintenance items
    • Air filter
    • brake fluid
    • general lube and greasing

Anything past this, you should be able to figure it out by yourself based on your needs.

Amazing. Thanks for all this. I really appreciate it. I chuckled at the second instance of gear. I'll bet almost every rider goes through that.

 

[cvcb]

You're not being an a-hole and you're also not wrong. I've watched more than a few YouTube videos that suggest buying this or that. I recognize that they're selling stuff - either the thing they're talking about or or just their content so they wind up saying things they don't really believe in just so they have a new video every day. But I digress.

I'm a cyclist, and can answer my question for a new cyclist with ease: get a pump for home, a mini pump for the road, a patch kit, and a multi tool. Those are must haves. I really like a gps unit that tracks a bunch of data and can also provide directions if I'm going somewhere I've never been. That's all I have and I put about 8000km on my bicycle. I'm sure the best way to ride a motorcycle is to just ride and not have to fuss with a bunch of do-dads. But I'm also sure most motorcyclists have a couple of things they bought that enhances the experience.

Hey, thanks for that. At least you are a open minded person. And at least you could recognize what I was trying to talk about.
And the analogies you did with your bike can translate perfectly to motorcycling with ease: the logic of operation/maintenance required some stuff, and that's it. Out of that is superfluous.

 

[cvcb]

And the Husky is great bike, albeit, my heart throbs for the 701, in blue...

 

[buffone]

Hey, thanks for that. At least you are a open minded person. And at least you could recognize what I was trying to talk about.
And the analogies you did with your bike can translate perfectly to motorcycling with ease: the logic of operation/maintenance required some stuff, and that's it. Out of that is superfluous.

I'm sure even you have a couple of superfluous items that you think are fantastic and would recommend though.

 

[cvcb]

I'm sure even you have a couple of superfluous items that you think are fantastic and would recommend though.

That can lead to a interesting conversation.
I can only think of one that I want to have, which is a proper set of JIS screwdrivers... A just have a small set...

 

[Sunday Rider]

Wow that’s a lot of cycling, so you are probably familiar with punctures. Not sure if I saw anyone mention but a tire plug repair kit with a pump (12v). You may have to wire a 12v accessory output for it. The hand pump will take too long to air up enough to get to gas station. Rain gear? Bike alarm, looks like a cool bike.

 

[Relax]

Wow that’s a lot of cycling, so you are probably familiar with punctures. Not sure if I saw anyone mention but a tire plug repair kit with a pump (12v). You may have to wire a 12v accessory output for it. The hand pump will take too long to air up enough to get to gas station. Rain gear? Bike alarm, looks like a cool bike.

My preference would be for a C02 cartridge inflation system which seems more compact and mechanically simple (less to rely on/go wrong). But then again, I don't carry anything at all, so who am I to say.

 

[timtune]

The hand pump will take too long to air up enough to get to gas station.

Done it more than once.

 

[Relax]

I also like this compact tire plug tool, only $10 at Fort Nine:

Ryder Innovation Slug Plug Tire Kit - RU12002

Slug Plug is an instant tubeless tire plug system for sealing large holes and tears in tubeless bicycle tires. The Slug Plug tool uses an ultra-compact and safe capsule system for carrying a pre-loaded stainless steel needle and plug in your pocket when r

fortnine.ca

 

[Lightcycle]

I also like this compact tire plug tool, only $10 at Fort Nine:

Ryder Innovation Slug Plug Tire Kit - RU12002

Slug Plug is an instant tubeless tire plug system for sealing large holes and tears in tubeless bicycle tires. The Slug Plug tool uses an ultra-compact and safe capsule system for carrying a pre-loaded stainless steel needle and plug in your pocket when r

fortnine.ca

You still need to carry a rasp to enlarge and roughen up the hole. This tool is like 1/3 of what you find in a normal plug kit. You also need to carry rubber cement and additional string in case the first one doesn't take. Also, hopefully this tool has an airtight container if you preload the string in it, otherwise it'll dry out and be useless when you want to use it months or years down the road. Even the string that is sandwiched between plastic doesn't last forever.

 

[Lightcycle]

My preference would be for a C02 cartridge inflation system which seems more compact and mechanically simple (less to rely on/go wrong). But then again, I don't carry anything at all, so who am I to say.

You need at least 4-6 16g cartridges to fill a rear tire up from 0 psi to around 20 psi. That will allow you to limp to the nearest gas station. If there isn't one for hours, you'll probably need 10-12 cartridges to get it up over 30 psi. And that's not including the ones you piss out into the atmosphere because you didn't seat the cartridge properly, or you forgot to put your gloves on and freezer-burnt your fingers and then dropped the cartridge...

My preference is a 12V compressor attached to the motorcycle battery (which is actually smaller than a box of 12 16g CO2 cartridges. And less chance of a f-up. On our enduros, we carry a manual pump. The tires are small enough that we're not killing ourselves pumping at the side of road. We've used it often to air up and down when we enter and exit trails. The good pumps inflate on both the up and the down stroke for faster inflation. The size of the pump is the same length as our tire irons, so everything fits in a camelbak.

 

[Sunday Rider]

Check the 12v pump each year by pumping up a tire. That way you know the pump, hose are good and the valve locking rubber is air tight. I learned this the hard way. Same thing with a un-opened rubber cement tube, I broke the seal and it was all evaporated. So a tube of Slime glue every other year. I carry the CO2 cartridge thingie with a dozen canisters, but have never used. I think maybe I should carry a manual pump too

 

[Relax]

You still need to carry a rasp to enlarge and roughen up the hole. This tool is like 1/3 of what you find in a normal plug kit. You also need to carry rubber cement and additional string in case the first one doesn't take. Also, hopefully this tool has an airtight container if you preload the string in it, otherwise it'll dry out and be useless when you want to use it months or years down the road. Even the string that is sandwiched between plastic doesn't last forever.

Rubber cement you can get in single use containers and should go without saying (I never force my way in dry ). But the miniaturized tools are what I'm really just focusing on to save space. The rasp I think is optional for a quick roadside fix, you gotta draw the line somewhere (and again, better than nothing), otherwise I may as well weld a hitch to the subframe of my 998 and tow my toolbox around!

 

[Lightcycle]

Rubber cement you can get in single use containers and should go without saying (I never force my way in dry ). But the miniaturized tools are what I'm really just focusing on to save space. The rasp I think is optional for a quick roadside fix, you gotta draw the line somewhere (and again, better than nothing), otherwise I may as well weld a hitch to the subframe of my 998 and tow my toolbox around!

I dunno about the rasp being optional.

I just plugged a student's tire less than 24 hours ago. He had a nail in it and when we pulled it out with pliers (which is yet another thing you gotta carry), the pin-sized hole it left was pretty small. I don't believe you're gonna be able to jam that mini-tool with string in there without ripping the string off outside the tire.

 

[Relax]

I dunno about the rasp being optional.

I just plugged a student's tire less than 24 hours ago. He had a nail in it and when we pulled it out with pliers (which is yet another thing you gotta carry), the pin-sized hole it left was pretty small. I don't believe you're gonna be able to jam that mini-tool with string in there without ripping the string off outside the tire.

Hm, OK so add the rasp then, but I'll keep looking for a mini version.

 

[Lightcycle]

Hm, OK so add the rasp then, but I'll keep looking for a mini version.

This is a tire repair kit I got from CT for something like $13. It takes up half the space of a sandwich ziplock bag.

Also comes with a tube of rubber cement and a razor to trim off the excess. Also pictured is the tiny 12V compressor. Both fit in the palm of my hand - and I have small hands. I really like the leverage the T-handles give you when you're jamming in the rasp and plug-tool into a thick carcass tire.

 

[Relax]

Yeah, I have a similar kit in my garage. No way that's fitting under the seat of my 998 with the tool kit.

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