Hi. I am currently prepping my bike for a Cape Town to London journey on a 2008 DR650. I am after some ideas on where people have found nooks and crannies to store tools and spare parts on their bike. I have removed the stock tool container (as its rubbish) and currently have all my tools and spares in a bag on the rear rack - this doesnt worry me, and id be happy to keep them there. However I am trying to keep as much weight off the subframe as possible. Today for example, I have bolted my 2 spare front sprockets to the inside of my bash plate, on the left upper corner. Its a perfect fit. If anyone else has found any other neat places to hide tools/spares please let me know. Thanks.

hi make sure there is still space between the sprockets and engine cases, the space allows the bash plate to deform absorbing some of the energy of the impact, if theirs too little space your sprocket could smash its way into the engine ,hope this helps steve

I keep my tools in my side bags and when i needed them it was a nightmare to undo all the straps just get all my crap out and the repack after.

I saw another DRZ with a soft tool bag on the front fender which looked ideal to keep tools you would need to hand for doing up lose nuts/Tyre repair ect ect

I brought one front fender bag but to be fair it was to small so i came across the Moose Racing Dual Sport Fender Pack which they say is big enough to fit a spare tube in.

I also brought a metal fender brace to compensate for the extra weight on the front fender so i plan to keep small handy tools for the bike and small tools for punctures ect ect and maybe even a rear 18" tube (you can use the 18" for both the rear and front 21" if needed)

I will see how i get on with this

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One problem with a bag on the front mudguard is that it blocks quite a lot of the headlight beam.

Thats why i am fitting this also

I junked the tiny tool tube and used an Agri Tube for South America, but still too small.




A year or so ago, a DR owner on DRRiders.com got a local fabricator to build these aluminium tool boxes and a bunch of us bought them







I can fit all my tools in, tyre levers and compressor, the tube is 15 inches long.

The back end of the DR is pretty strong, we rode around South America 2up with full Happy Trails luggage no problem, so I would not worry about keeping tools in the original location, as long as they are close to the centre line of the bike and as far forward as possible

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Great idea on sprockets! I do the same.
I went back to stock tool container after trying various tool tube ideas. It's fine for me .. but does not LOCK. Rubbish? Mine seen over 50,000 miles, plenty of off road. Still holding up fine.

The larger custom Alu ones shown seem good and lock up. So, someday I'll up grade to that. The stock tube location is not bad; it's well centralized, could be lower of course .... but where? And how?

Some build custom bash plates that incorporate a tool kit. $Pricey$ and heavy. Some store seldom needed items in and under bash plate. Storing the WHOLE kit on rear rack does add weight to sub frame. It's strong but don't push your luck if doing serious aggressive off road work. Keep tools away from anything delicate, wrap and secure it well to minimize vibe damage.

I also tried a BIG tool tube (3 in. PVC) mounted under bash plate up front. Had a negative affect on handling ... and allowed too many tools ... some of which I really did not need. Once on the road for a while ... all this stuff falls into place.

Mounting tools on front fender may affect handling also ... but if not ... then go for it. But storing tools and tubes together may not work out. I tried this years ago ... not for me. I store only one front tube on my fender.

I carry 3 tire irons ... two zip tied between bash plate and frame, wrapped in inner tube rubber. I carry a larger (10") iron in top bag. I carry very basic day to day tools in my top bag and/or Camel Back ... as I rarely need to access main kit. (AUX kit:Phillips, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, side cutters, Swiss Army)

Camel Back also contains: 2 part epoxy, Super Glue, patches/glue, Loc-Tite, spare valve stems / caps, valve stem tool and more. My Camel Back has several pockets and places for small stuff, plus things like glasses, maps, rubber gloves, lighter, pen, zip ties, and much more ... plus 3 liters of water. I don't mind wearing it ... after a few days I forget about it. My biggest problem is leaving it places I stop. (but that's another issue!)

Agree with you there Mollydog, I just don't like tool tubes hanging off the bashplate - personal preference I guess, it would also have to be fully waterproof for river crossings - I hate soggy tool kits

@ DR650Bandit

I forgot to mention, the rear frame mounting tab for rear rack/ passenger handles on LHS of the DR650 is a captive nut on a small bracket with 2 short welds - it is very weak, after SAmerica I noticed this tab had broken off the frame on my DR.

I got a new longer steel tab welded properly to the frame to hang the tool kit/mount tail rack and cut the helmet lock off to make opening the aluminum tool box door easier.

All DR owners should check this badly designed tab - worth sorting it out at home properly before a long trip.

If that doesn't make sense let me know and I will try and dig up a photo

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca