WORKSHOP
FRP, look for one which has reinforcing metal plates inside for strength and durability. For general motorcycle use a 3 / 8 ratchet will cover most fasteners, but adding 1 / 4 and 1 / 2 ratchets will cover everything you need on a bike.
CAN YOU REALLY MAINTAIN A RATCHET? Yes. The main thing to keep an eye on are all the moving parts that are within the head itself. These are what you need to look after so the ratchet system works trouble-free. These are moving parts, which means metal teeth engaging on metal teeth so you want these clean and not worn. Think about the chain and sprockets on your motorcycle: if you use sticky oil or wax, it can attract grit and dirt which can grind the teeth of your sprockets if you don’ t clean it regularly. Use a light, non-sticky oil, like sewing machine oil. This should give enough lubrication but not be sticky to attract dirt. Also, do try and keep your ratchet dry and free from rust and dirt.
THE MORE EXPENSIVE A RATCHET IS THE BETTER, RIGHT? Not necessarily, but it is a guide. When it comes to price look at where you’ re buying from. Any manufacturer that has long lines of distribution before it’ s sold to the customer will have each level of distribution charging their cut. Use your head and think if you’ re paying for manufacture or distribution. means less torque and this can be an issue. If you’ re working in a confined space, a 72-tooth ratchet means that every click is five-degrees, move it that much and you engage the next tooth. If you have a 30-tooth ratchet there are 12-degrees between every click.
BACK-UP In general if the ratchet has a brand name on it, you should have some sort of warranty. Check on this when you buy. If you’ re buying online, can you identify the supplier and the manufacturer? If not, who do you take the ratchet to if you have a problem? Most professional brands offer back-up, spare parts, springs etc.
USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE RIGHT JOB That means use the correct size ratchet for the fastener. If the fastening is 4mm, you wouldn’ t use an inch ratchet and if it’ s a 36mm socket, you don’ t use a ¼ inch ratchet drive to move it. So, choose the correct ratchet. And don’ t – whatever you do – use a scaffold pole on a ratchet to loosen it. Use a breaker bar instead, it’ s what they’ re designed for, to loosen the Loctite, rust, or whatever is holding the fastener in place.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR Some of the Chinese ratchets will be cheap and nasty, so do look for a well-known brand and find out how many teeth it has and how many teeth it engages on. Some of the cheaper ratchets may only engage on one or two teeth, and have just 30 teeth in total, while more expensive ones engage on five or six teeth and could have up to 72 teeth. Less teeth means less materials and therefore costs. Also, the cheaper ratchet may well suffer from poor tolerances. Fewer teeth on the wheel or cog
96 KIWI RIDER