It's been almost four years since my post earlier in this thread, and I've made some changes to my tool kit since then. One of the changes was to replace my original homebuilt tire inflator with a newer one that would stand up to abuse better. The new one was also rebuilt from an old Slime compressor, only this time I built it with an aluminum housing and a built in illuminated power switch. I made the power cable and air hose detachable, so it would be more compact and easier to store. Just like with the old tool kit, the goal was to make everything fit into the tool tube, the under seat storage, and the crash bar bags; basically, I want to be able to remove the panniers and top case if I want, and still have the entire tool kit.
I know some guys dismiss the idea of jumper cables, but mine came in handy when I had to jump start my bike off a good samaritan's pickup truck when my battery was failing during a trip. I also needed my socket and hex key set on that same trip, to remove my crash bars and battery. I believe I've fixed three flat tires now with the tire strings and inflator.
Here's the most recent version of the tool kit:
This is the tire inflator. I built it so it would fit inside the tool tube as efficiently as possible:
I made that 12 volt adapter for the inflator power cable in case someone needed to borrow it and only had the standard circular 12 volt outlet and not a two pin connector.
My bike is really hard on headlight bulbs, so much so that I always carry two spares with me, I made the foam padded box out of ABS plastic, to try and protect them from damage as much as possible.
It looks like a lot when it's all spread out like that, but most of it packs down into my tool tube:
The 27mm rear axle wrench is just a combination wrench that I cut off the open ended portion and ground it smooth. I had one of those aluminum purpose made axle wrenches, but with the rear axle nut at 90 ft/lbs, having the extra leverage of the bigger steel wrench comes in handy.
It's like a game of Tetris in the tool tube:
Rather than having the sockets, hex bits, etc rolling around loose in the tool bag, I made pouches for these items out of vinyl cloth. It makes it easier to keep stuff from getting lost if you find yourself working on the bike when there isn't much light.
This is what goes under the seat:
I used to have the standard plastic handled tire tools, like you buy at O'Reilly Auto. But after fixing a few flats, I started to realize the tire needle wasn't super strong, and it might break while trying to insert a tire string. I ended up buying some metal handled tire tools where the tire needle could be replaced, and I now carry a couple spare tire needles and rasps. The handles for the tools are also bigger and offer a better grip than my old plastic handled tools. Plus, I'd read some accounts online where the handles of those plastic tools had broken while fixing a tire, so hopefully the metal handles will avoid that problem.
And the jumper cables go into the left side crash bar bag. That's where I also keep my rain gear. There's a matching bag on the other side for my pillion's rain gear.
I don't have any illusions about my ability to effect a major roadside repair; I'm not that skilled. But the tools I pack have come in handy on multiple occasions, either to fix something on my bike or on someone else's.