Most everyone likes a road trip, whether it’s on a motorcycle or in a car, or whatever. But there are some things that you need to have along with you so that that trip can be safe. And we have Lyndon Abel from Rommel Harley-Davidson to tell us some things about bikes, and a little cross over for cars.  

LYNDON: Sure, so great to have a little bit of a safety, or a tool kit before you take off on a road trip. This is an example of a very inexpensive tool kit. It’s a great starting point. I would recommend customizing that based on your vehicle and perhaps to an extent, your skill level. Although the kindness of strangers can help too.

PAT: Like what you’ve done here…

LNYDON: Right, this is an example of my personal tool kit which has been expanded over the years based on the bikes that I have.  

PAT: Alright, now one thing that’s always a nuisance is a flat tire, so here we have a pump.

LYNDON: Yea, this is really great. I mean, even just setting your tire pressure can be very difficult on a long road trip…this thing is very compact, plugs into the pigtail that most of us have for chargers on our motorcycles, and will reinflate your tires very quickly.

PAT: Okay and that would work on a car, too.

LYNDON: Absolutely.

PAT: Alright, rubber gloves…

LYNDON: This is handy; you’re working on your bike, you don’t want to put things back together and be a mess afterwards. You can have clean hands.

PAT: Clever idea that you had here.

LYNDON: Save the end of your electrical tape, and it flattens down and gives a nice length of electrical tape without making a mess in your toolkit or taking up a lot of space.

PAT: Alright, lights.

LYNDON: Always want to have a flashlight, even if it’s light outside. When you’re getting into the nooks and crannies of where you’re working, it’s good to put some extra light in the right space.   

PAT: And here’s one of my favorites…

LYNDON: Yea, fuses. So don’t just buy a big sack of fuses. Figure out which fuses your vehicle uses and bring the most common ones along. Sometimes there’s even space in the fuse box for spares.

PAT: I’ve seen a lot of people that go out to these stores and buy a big kit, and it doesn’t have a single fuse that’ll fit their vehicle.

LYNDON: That’s handy…

PAT: Oh yea! And this?

LYNDON: This is a kickstand puck. So Harleys have a pretty good platform, but sometimes if you’re on soft ground or even really fresh blacktop that will sort of sink in. This gives you a nicer, safer platform.

PAT: Alright, you’ve got a quart of oil, there.

LYNDON: If you’re going to bring some oil, that can be very handy, but you’re going to bring oil, bring some of these paper funnels. These are terrific. They fold up, to take up literally no space at all, but open up and allow you to put the oil where it belongs. Instead of all over the motor, which is where it winds up anyways.

PAT: Giant mess. Alright, a bulb.

LYNDON: Spare brake light bulb I think is the most important. Spare bulbs in general are nice, but brake lights are obviously critical.

PAT: And, paper towel…regular wipes.

LYNDON: Yea something to clean up with, I think is great. And then a plastic bag I think is a nice thing to bring along. So you can take your dirty stuff and put it in there. It’s not mucking up your clothes.

PAT: And have a safe trip.

LYNDON: Absolutely.

PAT: Thanks, Lyndon. And if you have a question or a comment, drop me a line right here at MotorWeek.