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Self made aluminum panniers & top case Self made aluminum panniers & top case
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Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? Anything to do with the bikes equipment, saddlebags, etc. Questions on repairs and maintenance of the bike itself belong in the Brand Specific Tech Forums.
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  #1  
Old 31 Dec 2008
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Self made aluminum panniers & top case
Today morning I start bending and cutting the 14 ga (2.1mm) aluminum sheet. Tomorrow I will weld the boxes and finish them.











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  #2  
Old 1 Jan 2009
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Yesterday size test & preview on the Vee:



Today welding and finish the panniers just left the top case and the rack for the weekend.
welding details:





Inside view:

Finish case:



[FONThe welder machine Miller Syncrowave 350 LX

Note I make a little mistake I welded the bottom pan in the top of the box #2 and that ruined my design the tow 90 angles should have been in the rear inner side.
The blueprints:



Happy New year!!!!
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  #3  
Old 1 Jan 2009
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This is an interesting job.

Keep posting the pics as you go along. I am looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Happy New Year.

Steve
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  #4  
Old 1 Jan 2009
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An easy mistake to make :-(

You might as well make another two so you'll have a set to sell.
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  #5  
Old 1 Jan 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steveindenmark View Post
This is an interesting job.

Keep posting the pics as you go along. I am looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Happy New Year.

Steve
I will, just need to finish the top case and decide in which color I will adonize the boxes or maybe just the box covers.

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Originally Posted by Big Yellow Tractor View Post
An easy mistake to make :-(

You might as well make another two so you'll have a set to sell.
Yes I will make some other sets for sale under request and for fixing this little mistake I probably juts weld the other sides the same way and cut the top panel 15-20mm inside to get a a inner lip.
somthin like this:





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  #6  
Old 7 Jan 2009
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Thumbs up
How are the cans coming? I am VERY interested in the top case, I will be making one myself soon! Get busy! I would love to access to those tools.
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  #7  
Old 10 Jan 2009
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have we got an emote for 'i hate you because you have way too many cool machines to play on'?
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  #8  
Old 10 Jan 2009
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Garden Sheds
Man that's some shed you've got mate! All I've got is a bike cover and a socket set! I was proud of my new torque wrench till now. I'll keep quiet about it now though! Linzi.
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  #9  
Old 26 Jan 2009
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Thanks for all comments, feedbacks and advises.
I finished the panniers and the top cases last week and decide to did a fast 1K road test on MX. Hwy 200 coast road . The panniers are sarongs, quite and waterproof.
I also did a extreme close sand inspection and the pannier (right side) didn't bent or broke :thumbsu:

here some photos:





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  #10  
Old 27 Jan 2009
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Wow, that is a lot of storage. How much is total volume in liters?

How about replacing big top box with a roll bag for lower center of gravity? I guess handling of the bike will be much better. I'm sure you'll make next ones smaller.
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  #11  
Old 27 Jan 2009
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These are really nice boxes.

I would like to look at the attachments that you are using. do you have pictures? are they slung or bolted on or both?

I would like to get something like this made in a developing country, rather than dragging them along with me on the plane. In the absence of 2.1mm ali and facilities to weld it, what thickness of steel would give the same strength? I guess at least 1-1.5mm. I would reduce the depth to keep the weight down, of course, they would need to be painted inside and out too if using steel. Another option would be to use thinner gauge ali and rivets and possibly ribs for strength.
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  #12  
Old 27 Jan 2009
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Originally Posted by Rebaseonu View Post
Wow, that is a lot of storage. How much is total volume in liters?

How about replacing big top box with a roll bag for lower center of gravity? I guess handling of the bike will be much better. I'm sure you'll make next ones smaller.
The panniers are 45L each and the top case is a little biger I guess 45-50L

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Originally Posted by steamerstimpson View Post
These are really nice boxes.

I would like to look at the attachments that you are using. do you have pictures? are they slung or bolted on or both?

I would like to get something like this made in a developing country, rather than dragging them along with me on the plane. In the absence of 2.1mm ali and facilities to weld it, what thickness of steel would give the same strength? I guess at least 1-1.5mm. I would reduce the depth to keep the weight down, of course, they would need to be painted inside and out too if using steel. Another option would be to use thinner gauge ali and rivets and possibly ribs for strength.
I made the mount system to be 2 parts 1 bolted on the panniers and one to the bike the panniers is like an omega and slice into a 2 rails on the bike part so you can remove the side cases fast and easy. I will post some photos latter.

About the steel boxes I'm not sure because of the weight and rust issues but if you need a cheap and a 1 time boxes I'm sure it is the way to go on a trancontinental trips.
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  #13  
Old 3 Jan 2012
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nice job on the boxes... now that's a large top box!
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