Tool Time

Tool Time

If you didn’t know that Snap-on (www.snapon.com) makes tools for motorcycles, well, now you do. The company famous for its high-end, professionalquality shop equipment has several products aimed specifically toward the two-wheel market, including this Low Profile Spark Plug Socket

(part #S9724RHS; $25) for plugs with a 5/8-inch (15mm) hex size. The plugs on some engines are sunk down into deep recesses that are so close-fitting that getting any kind of conventional wrench or socket on the plug’s hex is nearly impossible—a real problem if you don’t have the original plug wrench from the bike’s toolkit. Similar plug locations on other engines may allow clearance for a traditional socket, but there’s an obstacle in the way (cam/valve cover, frame member, close-fitting gas tank, etc.) that prevents the socket from slipping over the plug. Snap-on’s little tool is a simple but clever solution. It’s a male 5/s-inch hex above a short female 5/s hex, with a center opening large enough to fit over the plug’s insulator and walls thin enough to let the tool slip down onto the plug’s hex. You then just use a 5/s-inch box wrench to turn the plug. The socket has a patented hex design that holds the plug securely without a rubber insert or a magnet; this makes it easy to lift the unthreaded plug up out of its hole, and the plug is easily removed from the socket just by pushing to one side or another. Like most Snap-on products, this little tool isn’t cheap, but after you quickly and easily remove those difficult sparkplugs a few times, you’ll consider that $25 a worthwhile investment.

Don’t you just hate changing dirtbike tires, fumbling around on the floor hoping to prevent the brake rotor from getting dinged and trying to keep your knuckles from being gouged on the sprocket? Even if you use an old tire as a base, the process can be an exercise in aggravation. Slik Designs (www.slik designs.com) has a couple of items that can alleviate most of that grief. Its Tire Changing Stand and ZIP-Ty Tire Changing Ring let you do the work while standing, whether in your home garage, your race trailer or anywhere the

ground is reasonably flat and level. The Stand has adjustable leveling feet and is also adjustable for height, and it even includes a built-in holder for tire irons. The Changing Ring bolts to the Stand and cradles the wheel in a way that prevents damage to the rims, the rotor and the sprocket. The wheel is held in place by inserting either of two different sized stems through the bearings, and a fat vertical pin keeps the wheel from turning while you’re working on it.

Slik Designs sells these two steel, powdercoated pieces individually, listing the Ring for $90 and the Stand for $99. The Ring can be used separately by just placing it on the ground, but then you’re back to working on your hands and knees-though it’s still eons better than using an old tire or nothing at all. If you rarely change dirtbike tires yourself, it would be difficult to justify the $189 total cost of this pair; but if you’re a racer or off-road rider who goes through tires on a regular basis, the Slik Designs Changing Stand and Ring would soon be counted among your favorite tools.