/// UPDATE: As of late 2020, this tool roll has been updated. Some of its components went out of production and we took the opportunity to revisit and revamp the tool spec with some choice additions.

Check out the new Uber Deluxe Tool Roll, now with Proxxon sockets and drivers, an upgraded SOG multitool, and a full 30-piece bit set. We've also released a lower priced "Toolkit Lite."

This 50-plus-piece premium tool complement has been carefully chosen and painstakingly sourced to help keep your steed running strong, yet it still packs down small enough to comfortably carry on a motorcycle.

We unapologetically modeled our tool roll after the best example we know of: the complete BMW factory toolkit that came with the company’s iconic air-cooled twins produced from the mid 1960s through 1995. The legendary reliability of these bikes owes no small favor to their original kits, which came with everything an owner would need to complete regular maintenance tasks like oil changes and valve adjustments.

But for as good as those originals were, it’s been 25-plus years since the last airhead rolled off the production line and the plastic material most were made began disintegrating long before the turn of the century. Even those kits that have survived are often ratty, tattered and missing tools after decades of service.

We saw an opportunity to introduce a product that not only serves as a direct replacement for the classic BMW kit, but also improves upon it. Our tool roll provides all the same functionality or the original, and then some. It even fits into the same under-seat tool tray on most airheads, and also has built-in brass grommets for hanging on a pegboard. And while it works especially well with vintage European bikes, it’s universal enough to make a great base for owners of a wide range of vintages and breeds.

Each Tool Roll now ship with a 15-piece Chapman bit kit with a Topeak micro ratchet, Chapman screwdriver handle and extension with set-screw. The bit kit is available separately in configurations ranging from $39 to $46 at this link.

/// Equipment Overview

The kit’s tool spec starts with Heyco open-end wrenches sourced direct from Deutschland—the same type used in original BMW factory tool kits but with a black phosphate finish. We also spec a Heyco-made combination mini screwdriver/test light, which is small enough to store easily but still fully capable of setting static timing or general electrical troubleshooting.

Other than the tool roll construction itself the other blatant weak points of the original BMW kits were the chintzy Allen keys and clunky pliers. We upgraded these components with U.S.-made alternatives: Leatherman folding pliers and professional grade Bondhus Allen keys.

Also in the kit: a universal stamped-steel spark plug wrench, a U.S.-made 0-50psi tire pressure gauges, and a high-output LED flashlight with an adjustable beam for nighttime repairs, or for peering through a timing port to find the registration marks on a the flywheel.

The roll features a dedicated sleeve for a Moleskine maintenance log to chart your bike’s service history, and another for a pair of 8-inch-long steel tire levers for those times when there's no other choice but to change a tire on the side of the road.

We also included a ¼" folding T-handle socket driver with a handful of metric chrome vanadium sockets and a short extension swivel for getting into awkward spots. And for smaller jobs, or those that require getting into tight spaces, we sourced a lovely little micro reversible bit ratchet from Topeak in Taiwan, and include a kit packed with 12 U.S. made bit options from Chapman Mfg., based in Connecticut. We included a T-25, a flat-head and #2 phillips bit, as well as a smattering of metric allen keys and a 1/4" socket adapter, to use the sockets in combination with the ratchet or Chapman-made screwdriver. We also include one very tiny standard bit, which is used for the set-screw to hold bits into the screwdriver, and also to hold the extension piece of the screwdriver itself into the handle. The extension can be removed to make for either 1) a very stubby screwdriver, or 2) use the extension with the ratchet for hard to-get-at fasteners.

 /// Making the Roll

When it came time to design a tool roll to accommodate our chosen tool we enlisted the expertise of Square Foot Crafts in Manhattan. Run by master craftsman Walid Halabi, who has 40-plus years of experience working in New York City’s Garment District as a highly sought after sample maker, Square Foot Crafts is a respected authority in the sourcing and manufacturing of premium leather goods and accessories.

We developed a truly tailor-made final product that we’re proud to put our label on. After more thought, time and effort than is reasonable, we’re confident in saying this seemingly simple tool roll packed with its full tool complement will provide decades of smart service and utility to you and your motorcycle.