If you're a motorcyclist and regularly go on group rides or rides outside of a city - whether it's an extended tour or just a short day trip - you should have some kind of emergency kit with you. Mine has saved my butt more times than I can count. When things go wrong, whether you're in an accident or get a flat tire, you need to be prepared. That's why I'm going to let you in on what I use and even what I keep it in, so you can be sure you're not going to be left stranded miles from home.
While you obviously can't prepare for everything, carrying a small, well-thought-out emergency bag is one way of mitigating some of the risks of riding a motorcycle - or, at the very least, taking the sting out of those risks if they catch up to you. This list is composed of stuff that I personally use or things that are similar to what I use. Some of it might seem like overkill - like a GPS tracker or a spare bolt kit - but rest assured, there's a good reason for everything on this list.
The GPS tracker is another list item that seems kind of extreme, and it's not super cheap, but there are plenty of places not that far outside of big cities like Los Angeles that don't have a cell signal and that aren't necessarily regularly trafficked by people. Having some means of letting people know where you are even when you're way off-grid is good.
The Spot tracker has become an industry standard, and the Spot 3 offers an SOS function, a periodic update function that lets others track your progress via Google Maps and plenty of other cool features. It's also a small and relatively robust piece of gear, and it's something worth considering if you ride a lot by yourself.
The downside is that the Spot requires a service plan to work, which is either $122 a year or $15 a month if you choose a pay-as-you-go plan. Both include unlimited SOS calls.
When things go wrong, make sure you packed right
While it's not necessarily practical to carry this bag all the time (like if you're just riding around town, for example) it's easy to toss it on your bike if you're going to be riding all day and aren't planning on leaving the bike unattended. If I'm only going to ride around town, I'll keep the Leatherman, the small first aid kit and the tire inflator and plug kits in my riding backpack (also a Kriega, this time an R20). That's enough to feel like I can handle a situation just a couple of miles from home or not far from a shop. It's also helpful to carry some cash in your emergency bag. You don't have to go crazy here, $20 or so should suffice - enough for some food or a coffee and a tank of fuel should you forget your wallet on a ride.
I'm a firm believer in the whole ATTGATT mentality, which stands for "All The Gear, All The Time." It's something I've spoken about before at length. While most people apply that to safety motorcycle gear like riding clothes and helmets, I also feel like it's responsible to have what you need to stay safe in a variety of situations without relying on technology or the kindness of strangers.