Nearly every time you?re working on your bike, there are three types of tools that you?ll need: Wrenches, screwdrivers and pliers.
Let?s start with wrenches, or spanners as they’re usually called in Britain. Since your motorcycle is mostly bolted together, you?ll need different types of wrenches to take it apart. So I?m going to focus on the wrenches that give you the most ability at the lowest cost.
The Ring-and-Open-End Wrench This is probably the most used tool in my kit. Let?s look at it in more detail.
Not surprisingly, there?s a ?ring? end and an ?open? end, and you need to select the size that fits over the bolt or nut snugly. Nut and bolt sizes are all standardized, so you will find there is one wrench that fits best. Let’s look at how the wrench drives a nut or bolt head:
The ring end should be your first choice. The ring fits over the nut and contacts all six corners. This gives you the safest way of loosening or tightening the nut.

The flat jaws of the open end make contact with only two corners of the nut. The head is offset by a small amount. This allows you to use the open end in a restricted space where the ring end won?t fit, turn the nut a small amount, then flip the wrench over, put it back on the nut and turn it a small amount, and so on.
If you are working on European, British or Japanese bikes, you will generally find the nuts and bolts are metric sizes. If you are working on American bikes, you will generally find the nuts and bolts ...