cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/48175584

---

these are the tools that we have pieced together and organized to bring on our honda trail 90. the dimensions of the M19A1 .30 cal ammunition can used are 11.75″ x 3.75″ x 7″ or 280 mm x 95 mm x 178 mm, and it weighs roughly three kilograms (6.5 pounds) we’d guess with all the tools n stuff.

this is how it looks when opened.

and this is all the stuff laid out!

all the way to the left are some replacement wheel spokes rubber-banded together, and just to the right of that are a couple empty Ziploc bags. the big colorful makeup bag at the top is the main toolbag, then under to the left is some Scotch-Brite; under to the right is a squeeze bottle of baby powder. in the bottom middle is a plastic snack bag with a microfibre towel and a couple paper towel sheets. and finally, in the bottom right is a plastic case with small consumable and/or volatile items.

this bottle makes it easy to coat stuff in baby powder, which we find to be a really good dry lubricant, especially for changing tire tubes.

this are the items in the plastic case. note the magnetic tape on the case to keep it secure to the inside of the ammo can. from left to right, top to bottom, it contains:

• scuffing pad for tire tube repair
• big tube patches
• smaller tube patches
• assorted rubber bands
• butane lighter
• (terrible) instructions from the kit the patches and rubber cement came from
• small adhesive bandages (yes the packaging is dirty but it is still undamaged)
• rubber cement
• much better instructions from a bicycle tube patching kit where we got the scuffing pad

these are the contents of the tool bag, except the sockets:

• 3/8″ ratcheting wrench
• stainless steel scissors
• small phillips screwdriver
• a slightly rusty but functional file
• double-ended screwdriver shaft (1/4″ and 5/16″ shanks, with the latter end having a double-ended PH2 & slotted bit in it)
• pressurized carbon dioxide cartridge, for tire inflation
• snack bag with extra goodies (will touch on later)
• plastic tire levers for getting the tires off. they’re made for bicycles but work well for our small tires!
• nylon cable tie
• screwdriver handle that goes with that shaft
• needlenose pliers
• sidecutters
• spoke wrench (the blue thingy)
• longer 3/8″ wrench extension
• electrical tape
• shorter 3/8″ wrench extension
• 8 mm/12 mm double box-end wrench
• 10 mm combination spanner
• 14 mm combination spanner
• 17 mm/19 mm double box-end wrench
• 5 mm hex key (with phillips end)
• 4 mm hex key (the shiny one)
• slip-joint pliers
• crescent wrench
• 1/4″ ratcheting wrench

then the sockets, top-down then left to right:

• 10 mm deep 3/8″ drive
• 14 mm deep 3/8″ drive
• 17 mm deep 3/8″ drive
• 18 mm deep 1/2″ drive with 3/8″ adapter (for the spark plug)
• 14 mm 3/8″ drive
• 12 mm 3/8″ drive
• 10 mm 3/8″ drive

this is what’s in the snack bag. the snakey black thing is heat shrink. the peacock-looking thing at the bottom is a feeler guage, and is used to measure the small gaps between stuff. it was about 11 cents and has seen better days but it works okay. then, the rest:

• a foot or two of 16 AWG stranded wire
• 8 mm 1/4″ drive socket
• 6 mm 1/4″ drive socket
• 7 mm 1/4″ drive socket
• 10 mm 1/4″ drive socket
• 3/8″ to 1/4″ wrench adapter
• 1/4″ drive 1/4″ socket (for driving screwdriver bits with a wrench)
• long PH2 screwdriver bit
• pipette
• 1/4″ wrench extension
• three butt connectors (blue is bigger, red smaller)
• four female bullet connectors (same deal)
• three male bullet connectors
• tire inflater (for use with carbon dioxide cartridges)
• 7 mm hex head screwdriver bit
• two “crimp on wire connectors” (the translucent thingies)
• male spade connector
• 1/4″ hex shaft to 3/8″ square drive bit
• 5 mm socket
• 3/8″ drive 5 mm hex key driver
• pencil sharpener
• 10 mm hex head screwdriver bit
• 5 mm hex key screwdriver bit
• (another) long PH2 screwdriver bit
• short PH1 screwdriver bit
• long PH1 screwdriver bit

and thats all the stuff in the toolbox! ideally we’d have a second tire tube in there in addition to the one zip-tied to the downtube, but we don’t. our tire pump is also located on the milk crate on the rear rack. same goes for the rest of the zip ties! although those are ABS, not nylon. most of the actual tools were bought secondhand for a little under $10 total—a few we already had.

as for the ammunition can itself, it was about $5. it is structurally sound and watertight, although the carry handle would rattle. it would rattle a lot in fact. the solution was simple: cut a strip of magnetic tape to stick under it, so it can’t shake around on its own, but still functions as a proper handle when grabbed intentionally.

now finally, latching this thing closed…

voila! we have a capable, durable, nice to work with, and above all cheap toolbox.

---

a VERY IMPORTANT note for owners of these old japanese motorcycles

(click here if that's you)

from the factory, the engines on many of these antiquated japanese motorcycles used lots of screws that look like philips-head screws, but that are not. DO NOT USE NORMAL PHILIPS SCREWDRIVERS ON THEM OR THEY WILL STRIP!

specifically, they are JIS screwheads, and necessitate JIS screwdriver bits. on our motorcycle we replaced the stock JIS engine screws with 4 and 5 mm hex key screws, so we needn’t carry those. but do make note of this if you do spot anything like we described. and we absolutely do recommend replacing them with different screws.

---

hopefully this proves useful to at least one rider out there haha