JIS - or Japanese Industry Standard - is a Pacific Rim standard used for "Philips" (cross) type screwdrivers. Most people, professional mechanics included, don't even know that such a thing exists. But every "Philips" screw on a Japanese vehicle is not a Philips screw at all, but a JIS screw. They can be identified with a small dot on the top of the screw:
Philips screwdrivers don't fit JIS screws, at least not properly. Because they don't fit all the way into the screw, you tend to mangle the screw when attempting to tighten it, or loosen a tight one. If you have any "Philips" screws on your Goldwing that are stripped or mangled, this is what has happened. The solution? A set of JIS screwdrivers.
The first time you use a JIS screwdriver, you'll realize what you've been missing. It fits solidly into the screw, and turns it securely, without "camming out" like a Philips driver does. No mangling of the screw, no difficulty loosening or tightening fasteners. Philips screwdrivers were actually designed to cam out of the screw, to prevent over tightening. On soft JIS screws, this just destroys the screw head.
I started out with a set of Hozan JIS screwdrivers, and upgraded a few years back to Vessel screwdrivers which I reviewed here. Vessel really makes premium, luxury screwdrivers - they are of very high quality, fit your hand well, and work great. But the full-size screwdrivers aren't great for your roadside repair kit. So when I saw this ball screwdriver appear for sale, for only $15 no less, I snapped one up:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E5 ... ge_o03_s00
It arrived in a neat little plastic package, with the ball handle and three double-ended bits:
As is the case with most JIS screwdrivers, they are made (and packaged for) the Japanese market. Therefore, all of the instructions are in Japanese. No worries, I'm pretty sure I can figure out how to work it:
Out of the package, the driver handle is a nice, solid rubber piece, with lots of grip that fits readily in your hand. The bits included are:
#1 JIS
#2 JIS
#3 JIS
#2 Pozidriv
#3 Posidriv
#6 flat blade
The Pozidriv is a European standard, also an alternative to Philips, and also with the same aim as the JIS: to avoid camming out of the screw and stripping it.
The bits slip right into the handle with a solid click - there is nothing to tighten, once it goes in, it will take a good pull to remove it. The bits are also quite magnetic - they will stick to one another, as well as any screw fastener. The bits are made of a very high quality steel (as expected from Vessel) and are coated to prevent corrosion.
Overall, I'm very happy with this small purchase. I'll likely throw the Posidriv bit in a drawer somewhere, and will put the other bits and the handle in my bike's tool kit. Hopefully I won't ever need it - but if I do, this is an excellent tool that will get the job done.
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I do have the handled version in all 3 sizes too and can tell at a glance, by their unique color, which ones are which.