Wilsons Sandbox

I'm heading for Alaska in a few months, and as a result I want to outfit my KLR with hard luggage, so I'm here looking for recommendations. So far I have looked high and low for what is available out there, and the price is a major turn off for me. I'm no different from your typical cheapskate in that I want to ensure that I'm getting the most for my money, and I want to ensure that it will work for me before I spend $3-400 bucks. The heck with $800+, sight unseen. I'm making my own racks for the bike so I can custom make these for any cases that I decide to use. I feel I need the side cases for most of the heavy stuff like tools, spare parts, oil, etc. while I plan on using the top case for lighter stuff like clothes, sleeping bag and stuff like that. I also have a wolfman tank-bag for hydration, gloves, camera, etc. ========================== For a rear Top case: GIVI Monokey is for the most part to expensive once you add the mounting plate to the already high price. GIVI Monolock E350 is a viable option. If you have any experience with it I'd love to hear about it. I'm worried about it not being sturdy. Any pelican case large enough on top is WAY to heavy at 30 pounds IMHO. Rafting cases and other alternatives are viable, but in the same price range as the E350 and don't look nearly as cool, or as functional, or as aerodynamic. As for the JC Whitney trunk, I was steered away from a local Friends experience with other JC Whitney stuff. Any comments on their trunk ?? =================================== Side cases: Soft is an option, and I have the Kawi bags that came with the bike, but I want to go hard-cases for muck/water protection. I feel I can get setup with basic hard cases for the price of Ortlieb waterproof bags. Most all Aluminum cases seem to be too expensive so they are out. Pelican 1550 seems like an OK alternative although relatively heavy, but very tough in case of a downer. I could even go with the 1520 for a smaller profile and less weight, but then the capacity starts to suffer. These cases don't open on top either Pelican 1420 is a very intriguing option for a low profile side case. But perhaps they are on the smaller side. Anyone tried these ??. For an excellent list of Pelican cases you can go to: http://www.pelicancases4less.com/sizes.html Then there are the GIVI E21 cruiser cases that open on top, but I have not heard of anyone mounting them on a KLR. Perhaps for good reason http://www.happy-trail.com/category.aspx?categoryid=28&openid=28 I could also make my own cases, but that would take time I really don't have. So I'm in a bit of a pickle, and I would appreciate any feedback and comments. -Bjoggi in Oregon A17 - Not yet Ready for Alaska Ps. I'm starting to lean towards the GIVI E350 top case, with the Pelican 1550's on the side.

At 10:24 PM +0000 3/29/05, bjoggi308 wrote:

>So I'm in a bit of a pickle, and I would appreciate any feedback and >comments. > >-Bjoggi in Oregon >A17 - Not yet Ready for Alaska > >Ps. I'm starting to lean towards the GIVI E350 top case, with the >Pelican 1550's on the side.

My recommendation would be the Givi E45 on top, Pelican 1520s on the sides and a Wolfman Alpha Pack in front of the Givi. This system works very well for me, except that I have Pelican 1550s. The 1520 is more appropriate though 'cuz the 1550 gets in the way if I have to paddle through mud or snow. The top-loading design of the Pelican 1420 is sweet, but the case is way too small. Too bad they don't make a 1500 series version of it. Mark

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Tengai Mark Van Horn wrote:

> My recommendation would be the Givi E45 on top, Pelican 1520s on the > sides and a Wolfman Alpha Pack in front of the Givi. > This system works very well for me, except that I have Pelican

1550s.

> The 1520 is more appropriate though 'cuz the 1550 gets in the way if > I have to paddle through mud or snow. > The top-loading design of the Pelican 1420 is sweet, but the case is > way too small. Too bad they don't make a 1500 series version of it. > > Mark

Are your 1550's removable or hard mounted ?? How do you keep the stuff inside from falling out when you open it ?? -Bjoggi in Oregon

At 11:45 PM +0000 3/29/05, bjoggi308 wrote:

>Are your 1550's removable or hard mounted ??

Mine ride on home-made 1/2" tubular racks via J-hooks that are cinched with nuts from the inside of the boxes. To remove the boxes, the nuts are loosened and the hooks lift off the racks.

>How do you keep the stuff >inside from falling out when you open it ??

I lined the boxes with canvas tote bags. Others have installed bungee nets to retain the box contents. Mark

On Tue, 29 Mar 2005, Tengai Mark Van Horn wrote:

>> How do you keep the stuff >> inside from falling out when you open it ?? > > I lined the boxes with canvas tote bags.

Large plastic trash compactor bags will serve also, if you're not too proud . -E

Well, being tight and all you probably won't listen but "Buy the Givi setup!" You'll never regret it. Those things are as tough as nails. Back in '98 I had a Toyota pickup sideswipe me in a curve. My Yamaha Seca 750 had the Givi bags on it and the end of the pickups bumper (which wrapped around the side of the p/u) tore through the lid of the left side Givi bag. Impact was enough to send me through the handlebars bending the square tube bars so that they faced forward and leaving a hematoma down my entire right side. Even with all of that force on it the lid did not unlatch, the bag did not tear loose from the mount, and nothing else on the bag was broken. Givi carries a complete line of replacement parts and after I recovered I ordered a new lid and went right back to using that bag. Later that year I bought a new Suzuki Bandit 1200 and immediately put a new Givi setup on it. Rode that bike 42,000 miles and the Givis never let me down. Another bonus with the bags is that the bike is a lot easier to pick up if it's leaning on one of the bags and you can easily remove the high side bag (and its weight of contents) before doing any lifting. Like I said - you probably won't listen but you did ask. L.D. Graham bjoggi308 wrote: I'm heading for Alaska in a few months, and as a result I want to outfit my KLR with hard luggage, so I'm here looking for recommendations. So far I have looked high and low for what is available out there, and the price is a major turn off for me. I'm no different from your typical cheapskate in that I want to ensure that I'm getting the most for my money, and I want to ensure that it will work for me before I spend $3-400 bucks. The heck with $800+, sight unseen. I'm making my own racks for the bike so I can custom make these for any cases that I decide to use. I feel I need the side cases for most of the heavy stuff like tools, spare parts, oil, etc. while I plan on using the top case for lighter stuff like clothes, sleeping bag and stuff like that. I also have a wolfman tank-bag for hydration, gloves, camera, etc. ========================== For a rear Top case: GIVI Monokey is for the most part to expensive once you add the mounting plate to the already high price. GIVI Monolock E350 is a viable option. If you have any experience with it I'd love to hear about it. I'm worried about it not being sturdy. Any pelican case large enough on top is WAY to heavy at 30 pounds IMHO. Rafting cases and other alternatives are viable, but in the same price range as the E350 and don't look nearly as cool, or as functional, or as aerodynamic. As for the JC Whitney trunk, I was steered away from a local Friends experience with other JC Whitney stuff. Any comments on their trunk ?? =================================== Side cases: Soft is an option, and I have the Kawi bags that came with the bike, but I want to go hard-cases for muck/water protection. I feel I can get setup with basic hard cases for the price of Ortlieb waterproof bags. Most all Aluminum cases seem to be too expensive so they are out. Pelican 1550 seems like an OK alternative although relatively heavy, but very tough in case of a downer. I could even go with the 1520 for a smaller profile and less weight, but then the capacity starts to suffer. These cases don't open on top either Pelican 1420 is a very intriguing option for a low profile side case. But perhaps they are on the smaller side. Anyone tried these ??. For an excellent list of Pelican cases you can go to: http://www.pelicancases4less.com/sizes.html Then there are the GIVI E21 cruiser cases that open on top, but I have not heard of anyone mounting them on a KLR. Perhaps for good reason http://www.happy-trail.com/category.aspx?categoryid=28&openid=28 I could also make my own cases, but that would take time I really don't have. So I'm in a bit of a pickle, and I would appreciate any feedback and comments. -Bjoggi in Oregon A17 - Not yet Ready for Alaska Ps. I'm starting to lean towards the GIVI E350 top case, with the Pelican 1550's on the side. Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Yahoo! Groups Links --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Read only the mail you want - Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

D*mn, Pat you must not be living right! I got the new lid in about a week. Once I orderd three new locks so I could key all the bags the same and that took about 2 weeks. The parts do come out of Europe and the distributor is sometimes waiting on a shipment. Bad news is that with the $ going downhill all over the world the Givi's will just get more expensive. My experience with the bags has been excellent! L.D. kdxkawboy@... wrote: In a message dated 3/29/2005 7:16:11 PM Pacific Standard Time, d30digital@... writes: Even with all of that force on it the lid did not unlatch, the bag did not tear loose from the mount, and nothing else on the bag was broken. On a long road trip of mixed dirt and pavement the last thing I want is a bag that can be knocked off the bike with a hard kick from most any kid. I had a shopping cart run into the Givi's on my Suzuki and it broke the mounting point. Took nearly three months to get the 'readily' available replacement part from Givi. I'll take the stouter mounting of the metal boxes any time. Pat G'ville, NV [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Yahoo! Groups Links --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I got myself two "mermite cans" just last week for 25$CAN each. They do need to be stripped of their inner lining, but I think they're a good value (aluminum, good size, 11 lbs each). Lots of info there: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71704 jp

> I'm heading for Alaska in a few months, and as a result I want to > outfit my KLR with hard luggage, so I'm here looking for > recommendations. > ...

JP I'm assuming the ones pictured are on someone else's KLR, not yours? Any idea what rack system he/she is using? What rack are you planning to use? I still use a combo of pannier soft luggage and hard topbox on all my bikes, but would like to consider a non-clamshell hard system, mainly for shopping and moving stuff that needs 'security' while doing errands. This looks good. How thick is the insulation liner? - been sometime since my 'service' days, but I do remember cleaning the 60's variants on these from my halcyon days as 'MISTER KP'. I think I hold the record at Ft Dix of 18 days, all during one basic 'cycle'. js on 3/30/05 3:34 PM, jean_philippe_valois at jean_philippe_valois@... wrote:

> > I got myself two "mermite cans" just last week for 25$CAN each. They > do need to be stripped of their inner lining, but I think they're a > good value (aluminum, good size, 11 lbs each). > > Lots of info there: > http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71704 > > jp