Way back when, practically every new motorcycle was delivered with a toolkit packed in a vinyl bag or a cloth pouch and tucked away somewhere—usually under the seat or stuffed into a compartment barely bigger than the kit itself. With the possible exception of the elaborate kits that came with BMWs for a while, the [...]

If you think you’ve seen this tool here before, that’s because you have—sort of. This is Park Tool’s (www.parktoolmotorcycle.com) AV-5 Aluminum Vise Insert ($34.95), which is a more-versatile variation of the Park AV-4. Both of these tools are designed to securely hold axle, transmission, shock absorber or any other steel shafts in a vise without [...]

At first, the announcement of yet another thread-locking compound seems about as groundbreaking as a new way to boil water. When it comes to thread lockers, Loctite, Permatex, 3M and an assortment of other companies already have the bases covered. But this one is different. It’s called Vibra-Stop, and rather than being designed to hold [...]

Gee, a crescent wrench—how exciting! Astute observation, except that this isn’t your typical crescent wrench. Technically, it’s not a crescent wrench at all. “Crescent” is the name of the tool company that invented this style of adjustable open-end wrench in the early 1900s. But so many other companies have produced virtually identical tools over the [...]