I built this compact tool kit for my Yamaha WR250R and carry it on every ride. It replaces the factory tool kit and is intended to remove either wheel, repair a tube, service the bike’s common fasteners, and improvise temporary repairs well enough to get home.
The best way to test a motorcycle tool kit is to use it for routine maintenance at home. If a tool cannot reach or loosen a fastener in the garage, it will not become more useful beside a trail. I also recommend practicing a complete tube change with the same levers, pump, and other tire tools you carry on the bike.
Quick-reference tool list
This is the core of the kit and the job each item is meant to handle. A few larger or more general items live elsewhere in my luggage and are listed separately below.
| Category | Tool or supply | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Heavy-duty motorcycle tool roll | Organizes the current kit |
| Tires | Motion Pro 22 mm combo lever | Front axle wrench and tire lever |
| Tires | Motion Pro 27 mm combo lever | Rear axle wrench and tire lever |
| Tires | Motion Pro 27 mm socket adapter | Adds a compact 3/8-inch square drive |
| Tires | Motion Pro Bead Buddy | Holds the tire bead in the rim’s center channel |
| Tires | Patch kit and adhesive patches | Repairs small tube punctures |
| Tires | Spare 21-inch front tube | Fits the front normally or the rear temporarily in an emergency |
| Tires | Topeak Morph pump and pressure gauge | Inflates the tube and checks pressure |
| Fasteners | 6-inch socket extension | Reaches recessed bolts around the skid plate |
| Fasteners | 8, 10, 14, and 17 mm sockets | Covers most routine fasteners on my bike |
| Fasteners | 4 and 5 mm hex keys | Services hex fasteners and my modified controls |
| Fasteners | Mini ratcheting screwdriver | Drives bits in compact spaces |
| Fasteners | 4-inch adjustable wrench | Handles odd sizes and helps on another rider’s bike |
| Fasteners | Spoke wrench | Adjusts loose spokes |
| Repairs | 5-inch locking pliers with wire cutter | Grips damaged parts and cuts safety wire |
| Repairs | J-B Weld SteelStik | Makes temporary repairs to damaged metal parts |
| Repairs | 0.021-inch safety wire and zip ties | Secures loose or broken parts |
| Electrical | Spare fuses and USB-C Battery Tender adapter | Handles a blown fuse and charges a phone or GPS |
| Visibility | Pencil flashlight | Illuminates fasteners and dark corners of the bike |
Wheel and tire repair
The bike-specific core of this kit is a pair of Motion Pro T6 combo levers. On the WR250R, the 22 mm lever fits the front axle and the 27 mm lever fits the rear axle. Earlier versions of this article had those locations reversed.
These levers are deliberately short, so they do not give you the leverage of shop-sized tire irons. Practice matters. The Bead Buddy holds the far side of the bead down in the rim’s center channel while the two combo levers work the remaining bead over the rim. I have been able to mount a Dunlop D606 with one Bead Buddy and the two levers.
I carry both glue-on patches and quick adhesive patches. A small thorn puncture close to home may only need a quick patch. For a more durable tube repair, I prefer a properly prepared glue-on patch. A spare front tube is faster and more dependable when a tube is torn or cannot be patched beside the trail.
A 21-inch front tube can be installed in the rear tire as a low-speed emergency measure, but it is not a permanent substitute for the correct rear tube. Replace it with the proper size promptly. The WR250R tire guide is a useful reference for tire sizes and common choices.
The Topeak Morph pump has an external hose, which is much easier to connect between motorcycle spokes than the fixed head on many bicycle pumps. I use the compact pencil gauge to make sure I have restored a workable pressure after the repair.
Common fasteners
The 8, 10, 14, and 17 mm sockets cover nearly all of the maintenance fasteners I expect to reach on my WR250R. The six-inch extension is especially useful for reaching bolts around a skid plate, and it makes an oil change possible without packing a full ratchet.
I also carry 4 and 5 mm ball-end hex keys. I have converted some handlebar fasteners to hex, which makes those sizes more useful on my particular bike. Your kit should reflect any modifications you have made rather than assuming every WR250R still matches the factory hardware.
Japanese motorcycles also use cross-head fasteners that are easily mistaken for Phillips screws. A JIS #2 bit is a better fit for the original hardware and is less likely to damage a stubborn screw. The mini ratcheting driver accepts bits and is compact enough for control adjustments and accessory mounts, although it cannot reach every deeply recessed fastener.
The little adjustable wrench is useful for an odd fastener or another rider’s bike. A dedicated spoke wrench adds very little bulk and is better suited to a loose spoke than the adjustable wrench.
Temporary repairs
The locking pliers, SteelStik, safety wire, and zip ties are my field-expedient repair group. The pliers can grip a damaged control or hold parts together while epoxy cures, and their built-in cutter handles the safety wire.
J-B Weld SteelStik is a steel-reinforced epoxy putty that can be mixed by hand and sets quickly. It can help patch a damaged engine cover or build material around a broken part. On longer rides, I also carry slower-curing liquid J-B Weld because it can flow into narrow cracks that putty cannot reach.
Safety wire can stitch cracked plastic, secure a loose exhaust part, or bind together something that has vibrated apart. A few zip ties cover the lighter versions of the same jobs. These are temporary repairs: the goal is to protect the motorcycle and get back to a place where the damage can be inspected properly.
The pencil flashlight earns its place even during daytime rides. Motorcycle parts cast deep shadows, and a narrow light makes it much easier to inspect wiring and fasteners. I also keep a lighter in the kit; I have used one to tidy frayed nylon webbing, although it is primarily an emergency item.
Carried elsewhere
These items are part of my everyday riding equipment, but they do not all live inside the tool roll:
- A full-size 21-inch front tube
- Assorted zip ties
- Nitrile gloves
- Topeak Morph pump
- Kershaw Cryo knife
- Spare fuses taped beneath the saddle, where the tools cannot batter them
- Sunblock
- A headlamp in my riding pack
Longer trips
This is an everyday kit, not everything I would take on a multi-day ride. Longer or more remote trips may justify adding:
- Webbing tow strap
- A compact ratchet
- Chain tool and chain lube
- Hacksaw blade
- Tweezers
- Radiator stop leak
- Longer screwdriver
- Spare spark plug and the wrench required to replace it
- A tire boot for a cut tire carcass
- Correct-size front and rear tubes
- Slow-curing J-B Weld
- Multimeter and electrical repair supplies
- Any special tool required by a recent repair or a modification to the bike
- Oil, eye drops, and glow sticks
The WR250R’s original wheels use inner tubes, so conventional tubeless tire plugs are not the answer for a stock wheel. A tire boot supports a damaged tire carcass; a patch or replacement tube deals with the air leak.
Build your own kit
Start with the repairs that can stop your own motorcycle: remove both wheels, repair and inflate a tube, reach the battery and fuses, adjust the controls, and tighten the fasteners you are most likely to disturb. Use the proposed kit for ordinary maintenance until you find every missing size and every tool that cannot reach its target.
Then perform a complete tube change with the wheel on the ground and the bike supported the way it would be on a ride. That practice tests the tools, but it also reveals small missing supplies such as valve-core tools, lubrication, or a way to keep dirt out of an open tire.
Pack for your bike, your modifications, and the distance you ride from help. A compact kit you have practiced with is more useful than a large collection of unfamiliar tools.
If you have a suggestion that has earned a place in your WR250R kit, please send me an email.
Long live long rides.