In reality, most riders like the comfy upright riding position, and the ability to carry enough luggage for the rider and a pillion on a fortnights touring holiday. Big aluminium panniers bolted to the sides of an autobahn cruising machine, rider and pillion in matching high tech textile suits, clocking off the miles in sumptuous comfort, looking like a lifestyle advertisement for the Touratech catalogue. I have become a convert to this kind of motorcycling. It just seems to make sense to the type of riding I do. I am too broken and unfit to ride sports bikes for any length of time anymore.
But, it doesn't matter how many crash bars, armoured skid plates, or GPS mounts you have, an Adventure Bike is not a true Adventure Bike unless it has a tool tube fitted.
Tool tubes have become a must have accessory for a serious Adventure Bike. They allow you to carry even more stuff that you probably don't need. But, they do allow you to use some of the wasted space at various points around the motorcycle, and add a certain utilitarian look at the same time.
Humble looking homemade tool tubes started appearing a few years ago, as a means of carrying a few tools and spares on off road bikes for longer rides, conveniently and securely. Before that, it was a case of using a fender bag or carrying them in an enduro tool belt or backpack. Then someone on an internet forum posted a picture of a tractor operators manual storage tube fitted to their bike. Since that day, the "agri tube" has become a phenomenon!
So, I have fitted not one, but two tool tubes to my Tiger. A double dose of adventurism. I'll be able to complete the Road of Bones in a weekend now I they are on my bike!
I had a pair of tool tubes fitted to the pannier rails of my Aprilia Caponord. I used to carry fuel for my camping stove in one, and a tool kit in the other.
Tool tubes fitted to the lower pannier rails of my much missed Aprilia Caponord
As, I am planning a long trip on my Tiger this summer, I thought I could do with a little additional storage for spare inner tubes and a puncture kit etc. I purchased a pair of the agri tubes from a seller on Ebay. I then had to work out how and where to fit them to the bike.
I looked at various places on the bike to decide on the best place to mount them . As, there is some wasted space behind the left pannier rail, this looked like the obvious place to mount the tool tubes.
On the Triumph Tiger 800 there are some blanked off threaded holes on the lower side of the subframe rails. These are the mounting points for the genuine accessory pannier kit. These mounting points just so happen to be the same spacing as the mounting holes on the tool tubes. It was almost as if Triumph had designed it that way!
If I was only going to mount one tool tube, I would just bolt the tool tube straight on to the subframe using the pannier mounting points. But, as I was wanting to mount two tool tubes a bracket of some description would have to be fabricated. Ideally I wanted to mount the tool tubes in a stacked position, so that I could access both tool tubes from the rear of the bike. But, due to the strengthening bar between the two panniers on my bike ( see picture above ), it would prevent me accessing the bottom tool tube. I was also concerned about the clearance of the bottom tool tube with the swinging arm when using the full suspension travel.
So, I decided to mount the second tube facing forwards.
I mocked up a bracket from some scrap steel, and then fabricated the final bracket from some 3x20mm flat steel stock I had. I painted the bracket with some etch primer and a few coats of black stone chip paint. I chose stone chip as the bracket will get subjected to quite a bit of weather and debris coming off the rear tyre.
Bracket all painted and ready to fit
I then mounted the tool tubes to the bracket with some stainless button head bolts and nyloc nuts. I have also removed the yellow graphics from the tool tubes with a little bit of brake cleaner and a rag.
The lids of the tool tubes screw on tightly and have an o ring seal to keep out water and muck. I did find though that the tool tube caps on my Aprilia Caponord could come loose over a period of time. I decided that I would fabricate and install some safety wires to prevent the caps from unscrewing themselves on rough roads. This would also provide a little security for the contents from opportunist thieves. I am not planning in carrying anything of real value in the tool tubes. But, it can be extremely frustrating to find the tool you need for a simple roadside repair is now occupying some little cretins pocket.
I bought some wire rope and fittings from a chandlers shop. I made up two six inch safety wires with loops at each end. I attached one end of each safety wire to the tool tube mounting bolts using a stainless top hat fitting and passing the wire through a p clip. I will them secure the other end with a small padlock. I have fitted a strap loop to each tool tube cap with stainless blind fittings for a neat and tidy finish.
A couple of pictures showing the safety wires fitted
And here is the finished assembly fitted to the bike
And, the finished job with the pannier fitted
Overall I am very pleased with the results. The tool tubes are nicely tucked out of the way, but easily accessible when needed. I bought a little extra of the wire rope, so I will fabricate a PacSafe style security cable for wrapping around my roll bag that I take with me on camping trips. That will be my next project.
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