Motion Pro Motorcycle Tools

You might not need to remove dowel pins often, but when you do this is the ideal tool for the job.

Anyone that’s popped a clutch cover off an engine or removed camshafts to swap valve shims is familiar with the steel dowel pins manufacturers use to keep critical components and gaskets aligned. Sometimes the pins are solid and sometimes they’re hollow to allow a bolt to pass through them (as is the case with crankcase covers and cylinders), but no matter the style the pins are a precise fit.

That snug insertion is necessary for the pins to fulfill their function, but the dowel's tight fit can pose a problem when it comes time to remove a pin to clean off old gasket material or to replace a part. When you encounter a stubborn dowel it's tempting to pull it out with a pair of pliers, but that inevitably mars the pin. If you'd rather not ruin the dowel or risk damaging the part you're removing it from, you'll want to check out Motion Pro's dowel-puller kit.

The kit costs $50 and comes with 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm collets that grasp the pin evenly, avoiding distortion and usually allowing you to twist the dowel out by hand. For really stubborn pins, the kit includes an adorable little slide hammer that threads into the back of the collets. I’ve used the kit to successfully remove some heavily corroded and very stuck dowels, and it’s worked perfectly every time.

The kit comes with a storage case, the collets are laser-engraved with their size, and the parts come with a lifetime warranty. You might not need the remove dowel pins often, but when you do you there’s no better tool for the job.

MOTION PRO DOWEL PIN PULLER KITPRICE: $50CONTACT: motionpro.comMC GRADE: A+VERDICT: Another highly functional tool you didn't know you needed.