A minimalist, Mr. Craig Dewart (RIP) passed along this advice on tools to pack:

"A credit card, a cel phone, a bag of weed and a 9mm."

For those of you that may want to take along a little more...

Davey D. wrote the next couple of paragraphs in a another thread:

"What tools do you use to do regular maintenance? What bike do you ride? This is a good place to start. And if you don't do your PM start with 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8 combination open/box end wrenches. Farmer pliers, small water pump pliers. Wire cutters and needle nose pliers. 8in Crescent wrench, spark plug socket, chain breaker (the small one), master link (preferably 2 of these with an extra couple of links. Screw driver with interchangeable bits that store in the handle. A small and large pair of vice grips. Throw in a hunk of 12 ga wire and electrical tape. With the newer bikes a set of ball ended allen (socket head) wrenches is a must. And a Mag light and batteries. Leave the batteries out until you need them. Throw a rag in there someplace and light gloves like batter gloves for working on the hot stuff.

If I am on a trip, I'll throw in a bigger crescent wrench and some tire tools. I also try to do all of my PM work with the tools in my tool bag. This way you will figure out what you can and can't do with what's in there and what will make life a little more pleasant on the side of the road, be it you or somebody else. Over the years I have included in mine besides the above a set of six sockets in a tray with a cut down 3/8 ratchet. You will find that the people with the most extensive tool bag are the ones that don't need/use it. Because if they thought of all the tools they need they have probably thought about everything else that could go wrong in the first place. And don't buy expensive stuff"

Barb reminds us:

"Don't forget the 10mm wrench for tightening the battery connections. The only stupid metric."

and Jim Groh adds:

"I still carry duct tape and wire, the inside of the roll of duct tape is where my plugs, points, condensers, master links and wire is taped."

Conehead adds this about electrics:

"electric tape, dual-filament bulb, single-filament bulb (both wrapped in bubble-plastic), 30AMP breaker, 15AMP breaker, some 16 ga wire, tiny multi- meter, rectifier/regulator, coil, ignition module (all the old stock stuff), small stripper/crimper tool, alligator clips, dielectric grease. Toolroll > Bedroll."

George (fzzt.pop!) discusses the best way to handle a flat tire if you're far from home:

1. "Carry a cold-patch kit. Auto-part stores have simple ones, or you can spend a bit more for one from a bike shop. BMW has a really nice but $30 kit. Yeah, yeah, cold patches aren't 100% reliable. It could blow out again. The point is to get the bike rolling so you can get somewhere to do a real fix.

2. Carry two cans of Inflate-a-Seal stuff. [If you use Fix-A-Flat be damn sure to tell the garage that fixes your tire before they break it down.]

3. Join Motorcycle Touring Services, which is a motorcycle-only towing service, anytime, anyplace, until you're on the road. 1-800-999-7064.

Tires Irons are a hard way to change tires unless you've done it a lot and are good at it. Learning roadside will really ruin your day.

In any event, plan on buying a new tire. Anything less is not as safe."