20mm saddlebags

[Terry Taylor]

I am seeking any info about the use of 50 cal ammo boxes for saddlebags. I think i have seen some pictures in the past. Although a little bit heavy they would appear to make great saddlebags. I wonder if two boxes could be cut & welded to double the width? Economically priced and probably waterproof I would think these would work pretty good.You can find them practically anywhere & they are usually already Olive green in color to match my '03.Thanks in advance for any input or pictures you could send if you have done this already yourself.... --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Ross Lindberg]

I have made the 50 cal saddle bags. You are right, they are a little heavy, but they work very well. I mounted them on Happy Trails heaviest racks purchased from our men Fred, and used the Happy Trails quick mounting kit to attach then to the racks. There is a sheet metal gusset that is spot-welded to the sides of the cans which made mounting a pain, so I stopped by a body shop and they cut them off for me for no charge. They thought it sounded like a cool project, so they wanted to see how it turned out. I have a small sandblaster, so I blasted them to get the rust off and to provide for excellent paint adhesion. I also purchased some PJ-1 paint in spray cans from my Kawasaki dealer to match the bike. A word of caution with this paint! It is extremely thin paint and applying it is like spraying water. Use several coats (like 6 or 7) and be extremely careful because if you even look at it funny it will run. I'm planning on working on my bike today, so I'll take some pictures and post them if anyone is interested. Just tell me what size I should resize the photos to. Overall I like the boxes. They are waterproof and tough as nails. I made some padlock hasps and got a set of keyed-alike padlocks made up so everyting is secure when parked. Let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to answer them. Ross Lindberg Fertile, MN

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Terry Taylor wrote: > > I am seeking any info about the use of 50 cal ammo boxes for saddlebags. I think i have seen some pictures in the past. Although a little bit heavy they would appear to make great saddlebags. I wonder if two boxes could be cut & welded to double the width? Economically priced and probably waterproof I would think these would work pretty good.You can find them practically anywhere & they are usually already Olive green in color to match my '03.Thanks in advance for any input or pictures you could send if you have done this already yourself.... > > --------------------------------- > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >

[JOHN_HARKINS@HMCO.COM]

Might check this out on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WQr5Hf_UFk [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Kevin Powers]

You might also look into Mermite cans. Google it or look on ebay. They are cheap and sturdy. Search on advrider.com for install write ups. Kevin

On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 9:49 AM, Terry Taylor wrote: > I am seeking any info about the use of 50 cal ammo boxes for saddlebags. > I think i have seen some pictures in the past. Although a little bit heavy > they would appear to make great saddlebags. I wonder if two boxes could be > cut & welded to double the width? Economically priced and probably > waterproof I would think these would work pretty good.You can find them > practically anywhere & they are usually already Olive green in color to > match my '03.Thanks in advance for any input or pictures you could send if > you have done this already yourself.... > > --------------------------------- > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it > now. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > -- Kevin Powers White Bear Lake, MN [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Moose]

I am currently using Mermite cannisters to make my panniers. They are lighter, just as sturdy and cheap. There is an AWESOME write-up on the whole process on ADVrider. Check it out. Moose ----- Original Message ---- From: Terry Taylor To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 10:49:44 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] 50 cal ammo box saddlebags I am seeking any info about the use of 50 cal ammo boxes for saddlebags. I think i have seen some pictures in the past. Although a little bit heavy they would appear to make great saddlebags. I wonder if two boxes could be cut & welded to double the width? Economically priced and probably waterproof I would think these would work pretty good.You can find them practically anywhere & they are usually already Olive green in color to match my '03.Thanks in advance for any input or pictures you could send if you have done this already yourself.... ------------ --------- --------- --- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[benhua4]

Hi Terry, I wonder if you don't mean a 20mm ammo can instead of 50 cal? The 50 cal cans are only about 11x 6 x 7 where the 20mm are about 18 x 7 x 14. The 20mm cans are the ones I have seen used as side cases. They are heavy. If any one is looking for the 20 mm cans you can find them and other cans/boxes/containers here: http://www.galleria-e.com/cgi- bin/Colemans.storefront/en/product/135901 By the way I used this container : http://www.galleria-e.com/cgi-in/Colemans.storefront/en/product/135901 to make a tail trunk for my 08 KLR. This container will hold a lot of stuff very efficiently since it doesn't have the stream lined compound curves of a Givi like case. It is all aluminum with SS fittings, a weather proof rubber gusset between top and bottom and is very light weight. The lid also easily removes so you can really haul a load (higher and deeper) if need be. Yes, I know about Kawasaki's load limit on the tail rack. Fully loaded or empty the case creates no adverse ridding characteristics like turbulence, even at speeds up to 85mph indicated and a 25mph crosswind. As always YMMV. For photos of the case on my bike go to: http://www.pbase.com/benhua/image/96176263 http://www.pbase.com/benhua/image/96176264 http://www.pbase.com/benhua/image/96176265 http://www.pbase.com/benhua/image/96176266 I made an aluminum center piece and various fittings to mount my case but you can attach the case directly to the plastic center piece on the Kawi rack if you want. BTW I made the "lock hasp/bracket for the case in the photos. While the case has very nice stainless latches it doesn't come with a convenient way to lock it. If there is any interest I can dismount the case and take photos of how I mounted it on my bike. Happy trails, Bob L in Traverse City, MI

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Terry Taylor wrote: > > I am seeking any info about the use of 50 cal ammo boxes for saddlebags. I think i have seen some pictures in the past. Although a little bit heavy they would appear to make great saddlebags. I wonder if two boxes could be cut & welded to double the width? Economically priced and probably waterproof I would think these would work pretty good.You can find them practically anywhere & they are usually already Olive green in color to match my '03.Thanks in advance for any input or pictures you could send if you have done this already yourself.... > > --------------------------------- > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >

[D Critchley]

The 20mm cans weigh about 20 lb. each, and the dimensions are similar to the Al panniers. There were a bunch of really well done pics in the photo files at Yahoo which showed exactly how to do it. I don't know if they still exist. Have a look, you could be pleasantly surprised. I made a set for my '99, but sold the bike before I got any use out of them. dc