Wilsons Sandbox

I mounted a set of Pelican 1430 top opening boxes to my KLR this weekend. They are nice boxes though the opening method causes a few difficulties with installation. First, the box itself is pretty close to the size of the "hoops" on the HT SU rack. This makes bolting it directly to the rack pretty tough because the bolts would be very close to the bottom of the box and to the upper lip/hinge. Second, the boxes need to be "shimmed" out about 1-1/2 inches, otherwise there isn't enough clearance for the lids to open without hitting the luggage rack. The solution I came up with is to use composite (wood/plastic) deck material (similar to TREX) that is available at Lowes. This stuff is dimensionally stable, easy to work with and shouldn't split, warp, or crack. I rejected steel because the boxes have to be moved out at least 1-1/2 inches and I couldn't find square tube this large. I bought a couple ballusters for about $3.00 each and this turned out to be the perfect size material because it fit perfectly in the channels on the back of the boxes. I mounted two shims vertically to the HT rack. The box then bolts to the shims. I wasn't crazy about not bolting directly to the steel, so I also added two bolts through another horizontal shim that goes through the two holes in the top center of the rack. I'm pretty happy with the results and look forward to hearing about other's solutions for the mounting. They are not quick release but can be removed by removing the six nuts/bolts. They seem pretty solid so far and I haven't noticed any vibration or other problems, so I think I'll stick with the non-removable mounting. Pics in the photo section under "Pelican 1430 boxes" Thanks, John A18 Houston

Hi everyone, For those of you who live in the Bay Area, California that is, there's a great ride coming up that you shouldn't miss. It's that time again! Easter, Spring, you name it - it's time to ride the easter sunrise to the top of Mt. Tam. Time to get up at a terrible hour on a Sunday, ugh. I usually leave Ashby BART at ~ 430 AM, wait for awhile until there's a group who wants to go, and zoom over to Tam junction to meet up with all the others of us who love this ride. It can be cold, foggy, rainy, slippery, or warm at the top, you never know. There's always warm camraderie though, and sometimes people bring coffee and donuts to share. Afterwards if you're not cold enough, you can join the Sunday morning ride guys for their usual blast over to Pt Reyes station, for breakfast. Hope to see lot of Motogirlies there ! Ron