Tools Rules;

1. You will use 20% of your kit, 80% of the time and 80 % of your kit 20% of the time.

2. The day after you ditch an item that you never use, is the day you will need it most.

3. The number of 'spare' washers that you accumulate over time is directly proportional to the number of bikes you have stripped

down and rebuilt.

4. When dropping small items they will always ping a world record distance away from their initial impact point and hence outside

your initial search zone.

5. When small dropped items lodge themselves in the frame/engine area they will occupy a space smaller than their own physical

dimensions, usually resulting in dismantling of the offending area. This will occur after hours of unsuccesful jiggling with one of

those magnets attatched to an old car aerial and has a similar success rate to picking up a toy with a crane in a seaside

amusement arcade.

6. When tightening small items without a torque wrench, they are usually tightened enough and then juuuust a bit more to be on the

safe side. This final torque will usually just equal the shear value for that item

What rules have you discovered?

When searching in the garage for a screwdriver or spanner, or other such item, it is usually to be found in the 1st place you looked, when you look there for the 3rd time.

If, on the day before a Trial, the bike is ready, the car is loaded, you have fuel, food and clothes all ready to go, things are going too well. The last look at the bike before locking the garage at nightfall will reveal:

Collapsed rear shock absorbers

A large pool of liquid on the floor

A puncture

A frayed/snapped control cable, or other such details. The rest of the evening will be spent fixing and wondering how the fooook any one of those things happened in the 10 mins when you went indoors for a cuppa . . . . .

6. When tightening small items without a torque wrench, they are usually tightened enough and then juuuust a bit more to be on the

safe side. This final torque will usually just equal the shear value for that item

What rules have you discovered?

I've discovered that number 6 is easily fixed by backing the item off a smidge

My contribution

1. When you need a posi driver you can always find 10 flat bit drivers and vice versa

2. The special tool you made and put away somewhere safe for next time- You can never remember where 'somewhere safe' was

3. The hack saw always has a broken blade

4. The only drill bit you have is either just too big or just too small for the job in hand

5. The socket you need is the only one missing from the socket set

6. The power tool you need is always the one you loaned to your mate/ brother/ son and hasn't been returned

7. The tool that you pinched the plug off to mend the wife's hoover is always the one you nee

Tools Rules;

1. You will use 20% of your kit, 80% of the time and 80 % of your kit 20% of the time.

2. The day after you ditch an item that you never use, is the day you will need it most.

3. The number of 'spare' washers that you accumulate over time is directly proportional to the number of bikes you have stripped

down and rebuilt.

4. When dropping small items they will always ping a world record distance away from their initial impact point and hence outside

your initial search zone.

5. When small dropped items lodge themselves in the frame/engine area they will occupy a space smaller than their own physical

dimensions, usually resulting in dismantling of the offending area. This will occur after hours of unsuccesful jiggling with one of

those magnets attatched to an old car aerial and has a similar success rate to picking up a toy with a crane in a seaside

amusement arcade.

6. When tightening small items without a torque wrench, they are usually tightened enough and then juuuust a bit more to be on the

safe side. This final torque will usually just equal the shear value for that item

What rules have you discovered?

Jezza, your observations are not just total BS, they are amazingly accurate!

I should add that if you want to complete more trials without a mechanical failure, buy more spare parts to tote around with you. Chances are you will never use them and yet still not have what you need when you need it!

I always like to have two of any tool I use frequently.

If you have only one you will lose it.

If you have two, you will never lose either, and the spare will gather dust.

Damn insurance costs.

The screw that you can see at the bottom of the old jam jar, can never befound once you empty the jar.

the torch battery is always flat when you go to use it and if i loose a tool whilst working with many i always forget to check my pocket before emptying the tool box.

When sat on the garage floor working on your bikes electrics, the small screwdriver you can't find will be on your lap and under your belly ...

If you are some kind of Engineer and have lots of tools like spanners and sockets in your garage then your bike will have noticed them and will expect you to regularly run them over it just to give reassurance that it should not break down.However if your for example your a Builder and have no such tools in the garage only your bike, then it will expect you to do nothing to it and will continue to run forever untouched.

This knowledge comes from personal experience.

PS. my mates a Builder.

Never thrown away those old imperial allen keys, they always come in handy for undoing those pesky deformed metric allen keys bolts on the bottom of bash plates, inconjunction with a imperial 10lb hammer!!!!!!!!!!

Doesn't matter how well you thin out your tool box, ie: 1 phillips, 1 flat head, container of only metric nuts & bolts, only metric spanners, only metric allen keys of 4,5,6,8,&10mm, one front inner tube, only new spark plugs, and one spare link, when you finally brake down at a trial you will only find an adjustable wrench, a 5/8 openended spanner, a used plug from the lawnmower, a $2 made in china screw driver set, and a 520 spare link when you need a 428!!!!!!!!!!

Never leave the dubbin for your boots in your toolbox in 40deg heat with the lid off!!!!!

If you buy an engraver for your tools somebody will steal it because they saw how well it engraved your tools!!!!!

The more techo, expensive and professional your toolbox looks the quicker the handles brake!!!!!!!!!!!

A chain oiler and a plastic spray nozzel never reside in the same toolbox!!!!!!!

Whenever your in a hurry no matter what spanner or socket you use it wont fit even if its the right one.

Never leave the chain lubricant cap on it when it