cheap Pelican like case

[bubba zanetti]

Mid Life Crisis phonetically or maybe l337 speak.

Returned to Motorcycling after my 50th birthday....18 year Hiatus. (Bought a house, closed, no money, CB360 needed time and money)

Rebuilt my Brother inlaw's 1974 CB450 Transmission.  He bought a 2004 VTX1300 shortly thereafter and He insisted I ride it (It was brand new at the time).

While I enjoyed the ride, I didn't like the cruiser ergo's. But I remembered all the reasons I liked riding. So I went out and replaced my sadly deteriorated CB360t with a running Nighthawk 750. Coming so shortly after the 50th, some thought I was having a mid-life crisis. But the actuality was I just missed riding and the opportunity to get back came along at the same time.

But I liked the idea of the crisis, and being more than a half century old, I tried being cute and use some l337 spelling for my handle.

Maybe i am in crisis. Some think I am in second childhood, but little do they realize I am still in my first....

Doh !!! ... thanks ... maybe I will think of you as Myd then... I could not decipher that even though I am a similar age and now well into my Five - oh .... oh ... oh ... flashback ...    ... please don't share this on ST.n ... but here is Christopher Walken in Hawaii Fiv .. er ... 5 ... er ... oh hell post 40 OH .....  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMGuuyzrj4Y

[Rincewind]

Great pics and posting mydlyf, thanks.  Interesting that they are used, I didn't read that originally.  

I looked up the Pelicans for comparison, and IIRC they were 10lbs each.  Please keep us posted once you get them mounted on a rack.  

[Mydlyfkryzis]

I had already planned for a pelican style case and built some preliminary mounting areas:



I was going for this type of setup:




the cases from the surplus store are a lot bigger than these, but for the cost, I think they will do. The cases in the above picture were from here:

http://www.imcases.com/Storm_Case_iM2200_p/epscs-im2200.htm

About $150 for a pair shipped.

If I end up not liking the larger cases, I can always get these anyway.

[Mydlyfkryzis]

I've done a little grinding today.

Took off 2 of the ribs in the case top lid and the four nubbins on the "bottom" part. I decided to leave the brass screw inserts for future use.
The bottom and top look a little rough from the grinding, and the bottom has a glue residue that is difficult to remove. I decided to line the case with a trunk liner type material rather than bust my butt trying to scrape out the glue residue.




I did it the old fashioned way, brute force. A trusty angle grinder and a lot of patience.



Here's the top lid open showing 3 compartments that are useful size, rather than 5 smaller sizes:



Here is the lid with the compartment closed, held by a piece of nylon strap slipped through a plastic loop. Simple and rattle free. I will have to try some solvents to get the rest of the glue residue off. Haven't tried anything but alcohol. But WD40 and Goo-B-Gone are my next attempts. You can see a prop on the right that has no counterpart. I am going to fabricate a slotted piece of aluminum angle for the prop to ride in to keep the lid from falling open after it is mounted to the bike. There a three screw inserts on the same side on the bottom half of the case, that is perfect for this.



I am busy the next few days, so progress will be slow. I have a Boy Scout campout next weekend (I am an ASST Scoutmaster) so it will be a couple of weeks before I have some free time to go further. Meanwhile I'll gather some materials for the work like the liner I want.

[Mydlyfkryzis]

I finally made some progress on my Cheap Case add-on. Ironically, I spent nearly $150 on hardware (all stainless) and stuff. the cases were cheap, $45 for the pair shipped.

Attached are pictures. I still have some cleaning up. The specks and white marks are just dust. I am also adding on some red LED side marker lights. I spent $12 on cheap LED signals, needed the room.





The Nuts and Bolts are all stainless, the L-Brackets are from scrap 4"x2" aluminum angle I had around. I ran a 3/8 threaded rod across to stabilize the brackets to each other.



Some 1"x1" Aluminum Angle I ground and drilled to make a retainer so the bags don't open too far. I am going to line the interior with self-stick felt or maybe thin carpeting.



The Bike is leaning a little and the handlebars are turned slightly, so the bags look like they are angled (especially the right) more than they are in person.


It is not Givi bags, but Givi stopped making brackets for my Cycle, and I am too cheap to spend the $700-$800 Dollars for them anyway. If these work as well as I hope, I may cut off my backrest and add a top bag. One of those $110 ones that look nice in the ads.


I Believe the whole setup will come just under $200 with hardware, aluminum (strap and small angle from Home Depot) and Bags. A bunch of sweat too. I cut everything either by hand, a small jigsaw, or my trusty angle grinder. The bags are not interchangeable left and right, as they are "Hand Crafted" .

 

[Black Ice]

Just listed, watertight gasket and cheap at $14.95 .... anyone got one of these? I am thinking they would be great for the KLR crowd.

Nah, KLR riders wouldn't spend that much money on anything but a heart transplant.