Vendor Does It Right

[skyskier]

I would like to say a public well done to the folks at Adventure Designs. After seeing a post on this forum awhile ago about the Adventure Designs tool kit for the R1200RT and R1200GS bikes I decided to purchase it. It was shipped to me in just a few days and I was very impressed when it arrived. The tools were packed very nicely in their carrying case, but a lot of the tools were also individually wrapped inside the case. You can see in the picture that the case is very compact and fits easily in your side case. I'm sure some of you that have the large BMW sized tankbag could put it in there.

 

I have a small RKA tankbag, and when I extend it up I can get the toolkit in there and still have room for my phone, a small camera, and a bottle of water in the top compartment.

 

I threw this picture in to give you a better idea of the size.

 

In this picture you can see all the tools that are contained in the kit. The tools are top quality tools, not cheap pot metal junk that I have seen elsewhere. Notice they wrap the duct tape around a wrench and the electrical tape around the razor blade, a good idea for storage.

 

I went to the Phil and Jamie tech day at A&S and with only the tools from this kit (plus feeler gauges I bought from A&S) I did all of the following work on my bike:

 

Removed all the tupperware from the R1200RT

Oil and filter change

Transmission fluid change

Valve Adjustment (needed the feeler gauges for this)

Throttlebody Sync (I did use a TwinMax for this, NOT included in the kit)

 

Honestly, I saw some nice tool kits at the tech days but, most were in a much larger packages and had taken their owner a long time of trial and error to make them complete. Adventure Designs have taken care of that trial and error part for you. Not only have they given all the tools you need to do maintainance on your bike, they put in things like a small amount of emergency tape (that new silicone tape that self adheres to itself), duct tape, electrical tape, zip ties, wire, several different sized ziplock bags, and a microfiber rag just to name some of the stuff.

 

Lastly, I would like to mention their customer service. At the tech day when I was tightening up some of the larger bolts, like on the transmission, the ratchet mechanism locked up. Not a big deal, a little bang on ground or workbench and it freed itself up. I emailed Chad at AD to say how happy I was with the kit and mentioned that the ratchet was acting up. He wrote me back the same day and thanked me for my letter and said he would be sending me a new ratchet ASAP. I got a new ratchet in the mail two days later, no charge.

 

These are the type of businesses that we need to support. They put out good products, they stand behind their products, and they want to hear from customers about their products.

 

A tip of my helmet visor to Adventure Designs.

Check them out at www.advdesigns.net

[CruisinCruzan]

I have a toolkit that I made up in a Kathy's roll up pouch that easily fits under my pillion seat. Do you think your tool kit would fit under the seat? Looking to get another tool kit and yours looks interesting.

[skyskier]

The R1200RT has the cable that releases the seat running right through the middle of that storage area and basically cuts the useable space in half. If I could re-route that cable I think it would fit, but with the cable where it is right now it doesn't fit.

 

Your profile doesn't say what type of bike you have. This toolkit is specific for the R1200RT & GS models.

[Kathy R]

Its amazing how cool the right tool kit can be and, I have to add, you have the best man nails I've ever seen!

[Polo]

Its amazing how cool the right tool kit can be and, I have to add, you have the best man nails I've ever seen!

 

Is that a French manicure?

[skyskier]

They grow naturally like that and my wife and daughters hate me for it.

[Dietrich]

That looks like a neat kit. It is amazing though how much it costs. The individual tools are readily available at any Auto store. Most likely at less than half the price. Even with the special oil filter socket included. And a suitable roll can be found too. Not saying one should not buy this but there are alternatives for a lot less. Like with everything else, you pay for the convenience of someone else putting it neatly together for you.

Like most guys though, I am a gadget guy too and like things that are well designed and a bit out of the ordinary. Need it or not.

[skyskier]

Well......, I'll agree with part of what you say. You certainly can put a comparable toolkit together for less, but not that much less if you buy comparable quality tools. Also there are some specialty items like the plug coil puller that’s about $35 anywhere I have seen it on the web. Again you are right that you pay a premium for having someone put it together for you. What I like about that is that these guys have done the research and what is in the kit is what I have to have to fix my bike. I wouldn’t have gotten the special oil filter if I had a choice, but again it is a nice quality tool that does the job right.

 

Also, doesn’t owning a BMW automatically make us all gadget guys.

[Dietrich]

No kidding! There is a whole industry catering to our need for this kind of stuff. It is a real bummer when you got everything you can put on the bike. Then you scan the BMOA magazine for ads with new stuff.

 

As far as the toolkit goes, I have been looking at those for a while too, but then I say to myself, come on you got the toolbox in your garage full of the stuff in triplicate. Hey, but then I have to break up a kit. So, in the meantime I got nothing. But sooner or later I'll get there.

 

Ride safely.