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Chirpy
0
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2004
- Messages
- 6,454
- Reaction score
- 2
- Location
- Hippo town
- First Name
- Daryl
- Last Name
- Tschoepe
Okay,
It's obvious I've seen waaaay to many KLRs, DRs and GSs on this site. Truth to tell though, I got tired of not being able to carry anything that wouldn't fit in a jacket pocket on the DRZ-SM. Not that I need enough to go around the world, but it'd be nice to be able to buy donuts on Sunday morning and get 'em home.
So, here it is....(I think you can click on the picture for a bigger view*)
Cruddy picture, but after a trip to Sportsman's Warehouse, TruValue for Fusion paint and #8 machine screws and wingnuts, it's done!
A nice little shot showing it on the rack. The phrase "father be lucky than good" is appropriate several times, here when I mounted it up without really looking at anything except making sure I didn't impinge on seat room.
A shot from the back. I really wanted to keep things thin, so I didn't have to worry. Originally I wanted to use a .50 cal ammo can, but after a little reflection I realized that it would go through my spine without deforming if something bad happened. When I saw the cheap plastic clone at Sportsman's Warehouse it looked a lot friendlier. Still sturdy, but lid off there's a little give. Still probably hurt, but not as bad as a metal NATO can! The hinge is a little different than the one Kurt used, mine appears to have support all the way across instead of just two fingers, but his were cheaper by almost half. Dang it!
Stock, they are a nice olive drab. Some Krylon Fusion plastic-specific paint and they are it's kinda pebbly black. That's weird stuff, more like that faux stone finish paint than regular Krylon. It does not come off your fingernails
Hmmm, why isn't the handle well painted. It will be, but the bolts weren't supposed to be there. I was wrapping a thin sheet of plywood in foam to cover the well and then I was going to bolt the stock toolkit to that so as not to lose it.
Then plans changed...
SWEET!!
After some eyeballing and measuring, I realized that the stock Suzuki kit would fit on the underside of the lid! Remember lucky versus good? Even the stock bolts work perfectly...just a little silicon to seal the hole where it goes through the lid. I'm still impressed. This keeps the tools out of site, and even makes them lockable! Also keeps the floor of the box uncluttered.
So, to attach I placed the wingnuts inside the box. I know, it's not a flat floor, but it make it removable and also slightly more secure. The machine screws (in matching bling bling brass) fit perfectly into the recessed ProMoto rack holes, you can't even see them they are so flush. On top of the rack is a plastic washer and a nut, then the box goes on that. The bottom of the box is kind of a waffle pattern. Luck with me again, I cleared most of the waffle stuff, just a little clipping for the rest. So, that means wingnuts off, and I can remove the box, but as the machine screws have to go in the rack before the rack is on the bike, you can't just life the box by itself.
You also have to remove the box to take the rack off, as the rack uses the central bolts where the stock tool kit lived. Which is now dead center under the box. Nothing is theft proof, but this is a big enough pain in the behind that it should deter the casual thief.
Oh, remember the "lucky better than good"? The wingnuts are so close to the front of the box that they scrape when you turn them...you really have to force them through, but they turn. They just can't work loose on their own. I couldn't have planned that if I tried!
The dividers are also removable.
Overall, I'm pretty happy. I still need a little finish paint now that the handle well remains exposed. I've got some stickers on order that may or may not stay once I see them. Then a couple of coats of clear coat, and it's finished.
As to Kurt posting his before mine...
* For the HTML impaired (like me) the format for a clickable image that takes you to a bigger one it as follows
It's obvious I've seen waaaay to many KLRs, DRs and GSs on this site. Truth to tell though, I got tired of not being able to carry anything that wouldn't fit in a jacket pocket on the DRZ-SM. Not that I need enough to go around the world, but it'd be nice to be able to buy donuts on Sunday morning and get 'em home.
So, here it is....(I think you can click on the picture for a bigger view*)
Cruddy picture, but after a trip to Sportsman's Warehouse, TruValue for Fusion paint and #8 machine screws and wingnuts, it's done!
A nice little shot showing it on the rack. The phrase "father be lucky than good" is appropriate several times, here when I mounted it up without really looking at anything except making sure I didn't impinge on seat room.
A shot from the back. I really wanted to keep things thin, so I didn't have to worry. Originally I wanted to use a .50 cal ammo can, but after a little reflection I realized that it would go through my spine without deforming if something bad happened. When I saw the cheap plastic clone at Sportsman's Warehouse it looked a lot friendlier. Still sturdy, but lid off there's a little give. Still probably hurt, but not as bad as a metal NATO can! The hinge is a little different than the one Kurt used, mine appears to have support all the way across instead of just two fingers, but his were cheaper by almost half. Dang it!
Stock, they are a nice olive drab. Some Krylon Fusion plastic-specific paint and they are it's kinda pebbly black. That's weird stuff, more like that faux stone finish paint than regular Krylon. It does not come off your fingernails
Hmmm, why isn't the handle well painted. It will be, but the bolts weren't supposed to be there. I was wrapping a thin sheet of plywood in foam to cover the well and then I was going to bolt the stock toolkit to that so as not to lose it.
Then plans changed...
SWEET!!
After some eyeballing and measuring, I realized that the stock Suzuki kit would fit on the underside of the lid! Remember lucky versus good? Even the stock bolts work perfectly...just a little silicon to seal the hole where it goes through the lid. I'm still impressed. This keeps the tools out of site, and even makes them lockable! Also keeps the floor of the box uncluttered.
So, to attach I placed the wingnuts inside the box. I know, it's not a flat floor, but it make it removable and also slightly more secure. The machine screws (in matching bling bling brass) fit perfectly into the recessed ProMoto rack holes, you can't even see them they are so flush. On top of the rack is a plastic washer and a nut, then the box goes on that. The bottom of the box is kind of a waffle pattern. Luck with me again, I cleared most of the waffle stuff, just a little clipping for the rest. So, that means wingnuts off, and I can remove the box, but as the machine screws have to go in the rack before the rack is on the bike, you can't just life the box by itself.
You also have to remove the box to take the rack off, as the rack uses the central bolts where the stock tool kit lived. Which is now dead center under the box. Nothing is theft proof, but this is a big enough pain in the behind that it should deter the casual thief.
Oh, remember the "lucky better than good"? The wingnuts are so close to the front of the box that they scrape when you turn them...you really have to force them through, but they turn. They just can't work loose on their own. I couldn't have planned that if I tried!
The dividers are also removable.
Overall, I'm pretty happy. I still need a little finish paint now that the handle well remains exposed. I've got some stickers on order that may or may not stay once I see them. Then a couple of coats of clear coat, and it's finished.
As to Kurt posting his before mine...
* For the HTML impaired (like me) the format for a clickable image that takes you to a bigger one it as follows
HTML:
[URL="http://myserver/big_image.jpg"][IMG]http://myserver/little_image.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
