DIY Motorcycle Tools

Article by Mark Trotta

Fabricating your own tools is not only fun, it saves you money. Besides, most of the stuff you see online is foreign-made and often inferior to what you can build yourself.

The following are some motorcycle tools that I made as the need arose.

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Flywheel Centering Jig

The picture below shows a Harley flywheel centering jig, made out of pieces of C-channel stock. Each piece was cut four inches in length with a hole drilled in each. A length of threaded rod goes through them.

The wing nut on the end is from a spare tire holder.

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Flywheel Holding Jig

On many old bike engines, crank-pin nuts must be accurately torqued to 150 ft-lbs. Classic Harley Big-Twin flywheel nuts are torqued to 175 ft-lbs. So you need to have a way to hold the round flywheels in place while you torque the nuts.

The engineers who designed those old flywheels put holes in them for a reason, to allow you to slip them into a jig while tightening the nuts.

I fabricated this simple holding jig starting with a cardboard template. Then I took a piece of steel and cut it to the shape needed. You can find lengths of 1/2" round stock at hardware stores and home improvement stores.

The "V" is needed to clear the crank pin.

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DIY Sander/Polisher

This bench sander is an old electric motor fitted with an arbor purchased separately. The motor weighs about ten pounds, and when not in use, I store it in a plastic tote under my workbench.

Read: How To Polish Aluminum Motorcycle Parts

A bench sander has dozens of uses. I use it mostly to remove rust off metal and clean bolt threads. I have also used it with a buffing wheel to polish aluminum.

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Flywheel Truing Stand

A truing stand is a nice luxury, but homemade units work just as well.

Read: DIY Flywheel Truing Stand

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For those who can weld, here's a few more DIY motorcycle tools:

DIY Bearing Puller

This is a tool I made to remove the inner sprocket shaft bearing on an Ironhead Sportster. Materials needed were a piece of 2" metal tubing, a 7/16" SAE nut and bolt, and two heavy washers.

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Motorcycle Engine Stand

If you'll be working on your motor for a while, a motorcycle engine stand is invaluable. I built this stand for a Harley-Davidson Flathead, but it will also accept Harley Big-Twins 1936 to 1999 (Knucklehead, Panhead, Shovelhead, and aftermarket engines). Sportster engines are different and won't fit.