Can-Fu for the KLR

[bubba zanetti]

Well, it is going to be a long winter and I have hopes of farkling and tinkering on the KLR to make it a great adventure bike. Money is a little tight and like many I delude myself that through a little Can-Fu I can make a decent hardbag out of something cheap. Some sort of slick curse out of a scows pier or the like.  It is the KLR way after all is it not? Marmites, pelicans are all out there but I found something on ebay today that I hope will do the trick. I also do not want to load the bike excessively to keep it as nimble as possible. Small hardbags, a locking top case, my waterproof duffle and tank bag are what I have in mind with a few extras bungied on for pure adventure rider poseur aesthetic charm.  

Enter the notion of ammo cans. No, not the heavy duty steel ones but a plastic can, with o ring seal, nice hinges and about 20 litre capacity measuring 14.5 x 6 x 13.5  ... er .... like this. ..




Found them on ebay for $10 each.   They are 25mm plastic ammo cans. Shipping is another $25 or so. I will likely mate them to set of Happy Trail or like racks as I want something solid. But who knows ... I may make my own rack for fun.

After I ordered them and confirmed with the folks shipping etc ... I googled up a storm to see if anyone had used this particular can and voila ... a fellow named GSanderson over at ADV rider has and they look sharp !!


Nice huh ?  

About the right size and room on top to strap some tent poles, extra fuel bottle and a four pack of Kilkenny Cream Ale ... "tastes like an angel cryin on your tongue"...  

So ... they should be here in a week or so and I will keep you updated from time to time on the progress.

Now the question is .... leave em stock and scary, hardcore military like .. or spray em down with bed liner ???  Hmmm ?

Picked up a set for the A Man as well as he was taken with the notion too.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Welcome to the world of cheap KLR farkle  


I have two suggestions: leave 'em as is and when you mount them, do it so that the tops are even with the rear rack. This can make for a really nice wide base if you need to carry something a little more "awkward".  Unless you can mount them low enough to still be able to open them and not disturb the load strapped across the top. Every once in a while I find it annoying not to be able to get into the side cans without unloading the back. But that's pretty rare.

Nice find, bubba. I approve!  

[bubba zanetti]

Welcome to the world of cheap KLR farkle  


I have two suggestions: leave 'em as is and when you mount them, do it so that the tops are even with the rear rack. This can make for a really nice wide base if you need to carry something a little more "awkward".  Unless you can mount them low enough to still be able to open them and not disturb the load strapped across the top. Every once in a while I find it annoying not to be able to get into the side cans without unloading the back. But that's pretty rare.

Nice find, bubba. I approve!  

Unlike the photo of them mounted, I would mount them higher, though not flush, to leave room for a few items.

Thanks ... cheap is good neh ??  

[Tejasbusa]

Can you give the e-bay listing to see if the seller has more?

[bubba zanetti]

Can you give the e-bay listing to see if the seller has more?

Sure ... should have put that in, sorry.

They are showing 26 in stock and there is the most helpful woman at their site who responds very quickly to any questions.

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMMO-CAN-25-mm-PLASTIC-MILITARY-SURPLUS_W0QQitemZ220275185609QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

[ZED]

Those are great.  I used one of those plastic ammo cases as a tool box in my baja bug for years.  Now it caries spare parts for the Unimog, strapped on the outside behind the rear tire no less!  I've never had water get in.

I had been considering this for my KLR originally but couldn't find a source for any more of them at the time.

Good way to go Bubba.  

Think of all the long winter nights that can now be spent tinkering and cobbling  the KLR together cheaply now.  

[gilgamesh]

leave 'em military  



They work well for changing your tires too  :-)

[bubba zanetti]

 

Awesome !!  Is that a Happy Trail SU you have them mounted to?

Oh ... welcome to ST.n !!!   Head over to the intro thread and tell us about you.

[gilgamesh]

 

Awesome !!  Is that a Happy Trail SU you have them mounted to?

Yeppers  - I dremeled out the insides a little - the 'shelf' & moldings in the top/bottom inside takes a little effective space away - but they are nice and watertight - very light - super solid and pretty easy on/easy off too - not quite 'quick detach' but it's good enough for me  

pic of insides before dremeling:

























[/quote]

[sagerat]

Wow, those look really cool.  And I love the "leave 'em military" approach.  

[srm970]

i also am in the same boat as you are.. with winter comming on and gwyn in school full time . not working, money is tight.. saw one of these at a gun show a couple weeks ago.. and decided to look them up online and see what the price differance was.. LOL. he wanted 50 bucks per. as you can see from the link.. i got them for quite a bit less.. although shipping was almost as much as the cases..  i ordered 3 of them.. two as side cases and 1 as a top case.. they should look good on my klr..
http://store.colemans.com/cart/aviators-kit-boxcontainer-heavy-duty-plastic-p-261.html

[bubba zanetti]

Had some time today to finish installing my Happy Trail SU rack and fitting the various surplus military pieces I got off ebay and other spots.

I picked up two 25mm plastic ammo cans for $10 each and an aluminum aviator's night vision goggle container for $25. Everything installed easily and I think it looks right on a green KLR

The ammo cans are extra tough as is the aviator's box. Together with my waterproof duffle and a tool tube and first aid tube I am getting there. Next is nerf bars, skid plate etc ... etc ... etc. By spring I hope to have a very functional and, keeping with KLR tradition, cheap adventure machine.

The ammo cans ... should make going through customs interesting.




Side view of the set up



Rear view ... lots of clearance



Loaded with everything I normall take for camping.




 

[R Doug]

Coolest panniers ever.  

[ZED]

Looks good Bubba!  

What do you think of that top aviator box?  

I was looking at those at Coleman's too, but they wanted so much to ship it here I stopped to contemplate.  My fake pelican case has died though, so I need to replace it with something.  Maybe I'll use a real pelican case, but they're pretty expensive.

[mtrider16]

Like you said about customs... let me know if it works out for you.  

David

[bubba zanetti]

Too many latches Zed .... otherwise the best box ever.  Buy the plastic one as it is hinged. I am thinking a coordinated order from there ... I want few items like their folding cot ... etc.

 

 This afternoon ... no heated gear ....

[ToadRide]

Good to see you are still rollin, Bub.

[shawn and gwyn]

a pic of my bike with the new topcase installed.  as soon as i can aford it.. i have two more of these for the side cases.. but need to order the SU racks to mount them on.. so till then  i will have to make due with the soft luggage.  these cases are waterproof and air tight  LOL at least till i drilled holes in them.. but with the rubber washers i used they should still at least be water tight..

shawn

[bubba zanetti]

That is the box I wish I had ordered instead of the aluminum one.

I added quick release aluminum knobs to my new panzer campwaggon.    Thanks Dr. Zorko !!

[shawn and gwyn]

That is the box I wish I had ordered instead of the aluminum one.

I added quick release aluminum knobs to my new panzer campwaggon.    Thanks Dr. Zorko !!

there are still alot of latches on the one i got.. 6 to be exact.. but having it hinged is nice. and even here in the US it was almost as much money to ship them as to buy them.. they were 20 bucks per to buy.. and 40 to ship all 3 .. so for 3 it was just a little over 100.00 to get them. but still prety cheap luggage..

shawn

[bubba zanetti]

Two more different night vision goggle cases.

These are perfect. About 18x13 and 6.5 deep. Got them of KLR.net forum for about $35.00 shipped. They are very light at 3lbs each.

They hold my tent poles perfectly. Tent in one side. Sleeping stuff in the other. Waterproof and virtually indestructible !!  

Sprayed em with bed liner and they are the poor (cheap?) man's Pelican 1500's  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Those looks sweet, Jim. Nice job!  

[ZED]

Nice and light.

[Walker]

You know, back in the day I when I had a KLR ('89... sold it in 2002) I was the second ever person to mount a set of the Happy Trails SU racks.  I tried several different types of bags too.  Everything from soft sided coolers to 50 cal ammo cans to even some 30mm ammo cans.... cool stuff, glad to see some people are still keeping it up.