Edit: The TooL PooL us already underway, but feedback is still welcome regarding terms of membership, donation amounts, etc. etc. etc. I have updated post number 2 (below) with the tools currently available. Original post: Has anybody tried to get a tool sharing program going where overpriced specialty tools are donated to a pool and shipped around the country to those that need them next? Is BMW the only manufacturer that loves to invent wacky (and expensive) tools like this $78 f650GS steering head bearing socket?
TooLs Available (U.S.A.): Category 1: Ship-able items (PooL owned) BMW f650GS steering head bearing tool & "drain extension" tool (ship-able) photo request this tool KLR "doohicky" wrench (ship-able) details request this tool "Whitworth" end wrenches and sockets (ship-able) details request this tool motion-pro flywheel puller - 27mm x 1.0 left thread (ship-able) details request this tool Category 2: Ship-able items (privately owned) KLR "doohicky" wrench (ship-able) details request this tool 1150GS Manual, 1100S Manual (ship-able) details request this tool Motion Pro 45mm Fork Seal Driver for Showa forks (ship-able) details request this tool Triumph valve shim removal/adjustment tool (ship-able to Canada only) details request this tool Category 3: On-site use only items Tire changer, balancer, TwinMax, air and hand tools (Arroyo Grande, CA) details contact Tire changer, 2 mig welders, cutting / welding torches, air compressor & TwinMax carb balancer (Midcoast, ME) details Fluke meter, clamp-on AC/DC ammeter, Snap-on 1/2" drive ratchet (Midcoast, ME) details MC/ATV lift, tire changer, tire balancer, MIG welder, Oxy torch (Draper, UT) details contact 4 line carb balance tool (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) details contact Twin Max, Mighty Vac (Colorado City, TX) details request this tool Basic to advanced hand and power tools + gas grill :dg (West Hartford, CT) details Good tool box full of tools, Digital Multi-Meter, Doohickey tools, Motorcycle lift (Craftsman), Clymer manual for KLR 650, DVD "Dust To Glory" (Northwest Indiana, near Chicago) details Misc. tools for KLR & R11GS, carb tools, digital RPM gauge, manual tire machine. (Phoenix, AZ) details Mig welder & basic welding skills (Fort Collins, CO) details roll around full of tools, mityvac, etc. (AR/MS blues country 1hr S. of Mempho) details Well set-up garage: lifts, tire changer & balancer, torque wrenchs, etc. (Denver, CO) details Shop with most hand tools in West Texas (Colorado City, TX) details Doohickey Tools and experience for on-site only (Natchitoches, LA) details Tire changer and balancer (New Orleans, LA) details contact Twin Max TB / Carb syncronizer & BMW (Hazet) oil filter wrench (Newburyport, MA) details contact Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift (just north of Chicago, IL) details contact KLR shop manual, hand tools, MIG and ARC welders, basic welding skills, advanced electrical knowledge, digital multimeter, Ninja 650R shop manual (Charleston, SC) details contact Everything from a Lincoln 215 Pro Mig to most tools needed to get you back on your way (Chattanooga, TN) details contact Harbor Freight tire changer, tire balancer, motorcycle lift, most hand tools, Fluke meter, mig welder, couple homemade specialty tools: a tool for holding the damper rod while disassembling the forks, for a KLR , and one for a Yamaha XT350 (they may fit other bikes too) (Lockport, IL) details contact full machine shop, near philly, PA. I got a large bandsaw, milling machine, tons of handtools, sanders, nuts+bolts, etc. (Philly, PA) details contact I've got garage space, No-Mar tire changing setup, advanced hand/air tools, all welding/cutting processes, some light fabricating equipment, lift, Twinmax, basic parts (fuel hose, o-rings, electrical, etc) and truck/trailer for breakdown assistance. (S.E. PA near MD/DE border) details contact Marc Parnes balancer set up with the cone for BMW rear single sided swing arm, but works for most wheels up to 170 in width (Eugene, OR) details contact Garage with various tools to fix, modify or destroy bikes (Goodyear, AZ) details contact small, well-equipped shop (Chatanooga, TN) details Garage with various tools to change oil, tires, etc. (Eagle, Idaho) details contact Well equipped home workshop for ADVRiders passing through. Trailer available. Wheel balancer/GS hub, HF lift & tire Changer, Oxy/Acet gas welding, Good set of hand tools, wrenches and etc. No projects please! Just repairs and emergencies. Over night stays possible. (Claremont, CA near Los Angeles) details contact full shop, including: Tire changer and balancer, 4 different flywheel pullers, every socket size, air tools, drill press, welder, plasma cutter, grinders, sawzall, lift, stand, wheel truing stand, etc. also access to lathe. (Keweenaw, MI) details contact garage space and tool usage: small MIG welder, torches, air, Sawzall, dog, small fridge that is generally stocked and a bunch of hand tools. If you need transport, I have a pickup and a small trailer as well. (Fond du Lac, WI area) details contact lift, compressor and assorted tools incl. KLR tools (NW Houston) details contact metal shop with MIG, TIG, plasma cutter, bandsaws, airtools, grinders, sanders, CNC mill, lathe, lotsa other stuff. No motorcycle lift, though. glad to donate time and tools to someone needing a bike-fix spot, kickstand repairs, frame touch-ups, etc. (San Jose, CA) details contact hand tools, laptop and place to work (Buenos Aires, Argentina) details contact Rules: Membership fees (for use of ship-able tools): $10/use ($50/lifetime max). Free lifetime membership for a donation of tool(s) worth $50 or more. If you want to borrow a tool but can't afford the fee and/or shipping please PM a confidential request to Zen Slug Borrower pays all shipping fees for privately owned tools. Shipping fees for pool owned tools are payed by the previous borrower when the tool is shipped to the next person. Expedited shipping by request only (to be payed by requestee). Please send all requests for ship-able items to Zen Slug. Requests for on-site use tools can be sent directly to the lender and are not subject to membership fees. Thanks! If you'd like to donate or allow use of a tool, please post in this thread. If you'd like to donate money to the TooL PooL paypal fund (for use in replacing lost or damaged tools) please use this email address: advtoolpool@sbcglobal (dot net) Current paypal fund balance: $229.38 Thanks for participating!!!
Now this is a great idea. I have a DR 650 so there are not too many specialty tools but there are a few and I would share my tools if I had one someone needed. Ray
I am not sure the best way to organize such a thing, but wanted to check if anybody else has done it first. I am guessing we'd have to have 3 classes of loaner tools: 1. small tools that have been donated shipped to the next person who needs them by the last person who used them 2. small tools that people are willing to lend out shipped out on loan by somebody who gets them back afterwards, borrower pays shipping both ways 3. large or fragile tools that must be used locally or on site come to my garage to mount your tires, synch your trottle boddies, that sort of thing I guess we'd have to find a way to weed out unscrupulous types (must donate a tool before you can borrow one, must have another ADV member vouch for you, must ???) but I think with some logistical planning it just might work. I am willing to purchase the BMW SHB tool pictured above to kick things off if others think this is a good idea
Mr. Ray and geode, Thanks for offering to participate. I can update the first two posts with specific info (tools available, etc.) as needed. I don't mind being the coordinator for this if it does take off. You can PM me info about specific tools you are willing to share if you like. Let's give it a few weeks and see if it generates more interest.
This could be a great thing. As long as someone manages the details (like who has what where) and also sets up the what happens if/when... policies. The third class or catagory could be exanded a bit for those with expertise (and a willingness) to help n00bs with learning some of the skills to maintain/service/repair their particular bike. Having access to a local 'expert' when things go sideways is always 'a good thing'. JJ
Thanks for the great suggestions johnjen! I think you're right about the expertise being another thing to add to the pool for the third category... maybe local experts could even offer a tech day once in a while where they help a bunch of nOObs learn one new wrenching skill (e.g. "how to mount a tire") all at once I'm happy to manage the details (who has what where) and coordinate the tool request/shipping cue. I'm not as good with the "what happens if..." part of the equation. I tend to believe that people are honest and trustworthy and I realize that's not always the case. Do you think I need to find a bouncer? Do you think we need to have people put down a Paypal security deposit or something before they can participate in the program as a remote borrower?
Another thought is since ADV is truly international in scope do we ship tools from Yerup to 'merika to N-Zed to Asia to.... you get the idea.... or do we make localized pools of tools? As for the Policies... There has to be responsibility on the borrowers part. Some one forked over the coinage to procure the part in the first place and potentially he might want the tool back... However to force a borrower to replace a tool lost by Fed-Up (like, he forgot the insurance or something...) might lead to 'difficulties'. So we could do a paypal thing and have a 'rental fee' of some sort to build up a tool recovery/purchase fund which would cover say 50% of the cost of replacing the tool (the borrower would cover the other 50%). Now all of the above are just ideas but all of a sudden the level of complexity of this swell idea has risen yet again to new heights. And we haven't even touched on wear and tare of the tools... JJ
Now that's not a bad idea. Establish a fund, and participants pay into the fund to participate. On the other hand, that more or less turns the program into a tool rental sort of thing, instead of a loan program. On the other, other hand, there is going to be shipping cost associated with the program anyway, so no one is getting anything for free anyhow... And then there's managing the "insurance." What consistutes a claim? Who judges whether or not a tool was actually lost or damaged? Do fees get adjusted depending on the cost of the tool? I'm trying to think of the sort of things that would get shipped around. Brand-specific things like that BMW socket might work; the borrower gets a $60 tool for $5 in shipping, plus maybe the insurance. How many of that sort of thing are out there? My bikes are pretty simple, and so are my tools. Can't imagine too many folks would want to borrow what I've got, and I'm not sure I'm in a position to loan my only torque wrench out. Maybe carb synchonizers or such might be useful... I'll be watching the thread, but I don't know how much I'll be participating.
I don't think it would be cost efficient to ship tools across international borders. I can agree to coordinate the USA tool pool and maybe others can step up to coordinate tool pools in their own country or region if there's enough interest. Other tool pools could post their information (tools available, contact person, terms of borrowing, etc.) farther down in this thread and then I can put direct links to them in the first post. A flat fee sounds like a good idea, certainly it would be nice to have cash in a fund to replace tools that are lost in the mail or suffer extensive wear and tear. Does anybody have opinions about a reasonable amount for this flat fee ($5 or $10). The cost should take into consideration that the borrower will also be paying for shipping of local tools. Or maybe there is a 1 time flat fee ($50 maybe, or outright donation of a tool worth $50 or more) when a person signs up for their tool 'library card' and after that they only need to pay for shipping? Also, who should manage and account for the money in the pool... I've never done that sort of thing before.
Good point... I changed the link in my sig line to "Wannna borrow some tools?" to see if we can attract some potential borrowers for input. You're probably right about category 3 being the most popular, although I'd like to think that category 1 has potential as well. Category 2 is probably the least likely to work because most people won't feel comfortable shipping "their only torque wrench" to somebody the don't know. Edit: I just ordered the f650GS steering head bearing socket pictured on page 1. After I do my SHB job next week I will donate that tool into the pool (in category 1) and ship it to the next person who needs it. In other news... I'll be on vacation for the next week and a half and may not be able to check in here. I'll be curious to see what kind of ideas people have posted when I return.
Peter B and I own a tire changer and Marc Parnes balancer. They are stored in my garage in Arroyo Grande, CA. If you have a need to change tires. You can drop ship them to me, ride up to the glorious Central Coast, change the tires, and ride home. If you have tire work to do, you are welcome to do it here. And you must take your used tires with you. Additionally ,I have this: Gold Bond and maple syrup are extra, but otherwise, I am willing to extend use of tools to other advriders here or passing thru. Generally need to schedule around some work I am doing, but there is usually time and space for most any kind of work... I have a Twin Max balancer, too. bb
I shipped out the f650 GS steering head bearing socket tool to the first borrower yesterday. I sent it by USPS "Priority Mail" and it cost $4.80 to mail. The first borrower was Beem Dubya and I'm hoping he'll chime in here in a bit with some feedback regarding donations, shipping, etc. He said he's willing to contribute to the TooL PooL fund once we hammer out the details. TooL PooL membership terms (proposed): lifetime membership = $50 donation (or donation of a tool with a value of $50 or more) a la carte tool borrowing = $10 donation (after 5 donations automatically converts to lifetime membership) All donations will be put into a Paypal acount that will be used to replace tools that are damaged or lost and/or purchase new tools for the shared pool. The borrower is responsible for shipping the tool they borrowed to the next person who requests it. How does this sound? P.S. Since Beem needed the tool before I got a chance to use it he'll be shipping it back to me when he's done. If you want to be next in line for that tool send me a PM
Thanks to everyone who has offered the use of their tools! I have edited the second post on page 1 with a list of the available tools. If anybody has anything they'd like added (or deleted) from that list post here or send me a PM anytime! -Eran
I have some "wentworth" end wrenches and sockets that I would donate to the cause. If anyone would need them?? Corky I have been asked to add a little info to this post describing the donated tools. Many British (UK) motorcycles use "Wentworth" as opposed to metric or SAE. Don't know if this is still the case. I purchased these tools to work on a Velocette that I was racing in the desert at the time. 1963!!! I have sent these tools to Zen Slug for him to dispurse as needed. Have fun, Corky
Used tires make an excellent camp fire.:eek1 Just make sure your good clothes are far away. The soot gets everywhere.
I have the doohickey wrench I could send around. Based in Casper, WY. Even the socket and breaker bar if needed.
