Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Making aluminium panniers

Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/)

- Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/equipping-bike-whats-best-gear/)

- - Making aluminium panniers (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/equipping-bike-whats-best-gear/making-aluminium-panniers-4354)

securing the alu boxes

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osama Radzi (Post 163133)

Alex, I actually wanted to ask... after looking at your pics how do you lock the box? & arent you going to do anything with your saddle? The shape are very similar to my Dommie, after a 100Kms they will start to bite:thumbdown:

:scooter:
Ride Safe/Save/Sober

Hi there,
a padlock prevents the boxes to slide backward and come off the frame. And theft too (black tape around the body and a spring eliminate most of the rattling noise), see picture:

4 padlocks will lock the lids (where the yellow carabiner is in the pic), I had them made with the same key just to avoid looking for the right key every time.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...ses/rack20.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...aluboxes00.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...aluboxes01.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...aluboxes02.jpg

Very Good how to on your site.

They look Great Alex. The how to on your site is a peach also. Props for that. Im now wishing i hasnt just spent £600 on box's and a rack :(

Do you mind if i put a link on my site to your "how to" ???

Regards. Darren

Quote:

Originally Posted by darren_m (Post 163275)

Feel free and please let us see your website as well.

Regards.

Thanx man! Very nice pics!

Cant wait to start rolling!:scooter:
With a minute..... I felt as if im the one who's going to doing the RTW:thumbup1:
What about the saddle....? Sheepskin maybe?

Anyway,

Good Luck, my friend!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osama Radzi (Post 163526)

The saddle? I will probably shave a cm of foam from the top because the bike is a bit tall for my liking. Need to get a proper stampler first...
Sheepskin? definitely not!

Take care.

Modded Jerry Can Panniers on my Postie

Hey all.
Thought you might like to see the panniers I made for my postie bike, Im travelling 2-up with my girlfriend, Perth(Aus) to Morocco. In Indonesia at the moment.
We have been on the road for about 4months now and these boxes have proved to be VERY practical.
Before I made them I weighed all the prefabbed options and thought I could make some lighter.
The ali ones at my local dealer were 6kgs each. Plastic Givi like ones were 4kgs each.
After all the mods Ive done to these boxes they come in under 4.5kgs each AND they can be welded by any roadside mechanic, no need for TIG/MIG.

Im planning to do a blog and a how-to but these things are difficult to do on the road as you all know.

The locking mechanism is sturdy and secure but also easily released once the latches are unlocked and open. I didnt want more than one lock on each side. I can unload the bike in literally 1minute.
Its difficult to see the system in these pics, sorry. Will update when I can find time.

They took a long time to make but Im happy with them and my girlfriends legs are just that little bit safer due to all the round corners on jerry cans.

See you out there.
Nathan and Akiko.
Attachment 1447

Attachment 1448

Attachment 1449

Nice looking Postie!

:welcome: to the HuBB Aussie,
let me know if you happen to be in KL, I'll buy u guys a local tea!:palm:

I must say they are very NICE:thumbup1:

Youre a genius:clap::clap::clap:

How long & how much$$$?

If everybody is like you the pannier company would run out of business:rofl:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osama Radzi (Post 200588)

I must say they are very NICE:thumbup1:

Youre a genius:clap::clap::clap:

How long & how much$$$?

If everybody is like you the pannier company would run out of business:rofl:

How much.. Not that much actually.. The Ali, was cheap Like under $20 AUD, I did all the folding myself and the initial welding was done by a mate. So that cost me 2 beers. I had them mounted on my XTZ for a couple of year but the box's were not scalloped to that bike. Then i moved them to the AT.. Much of the rest of the panniers (handles mounting, racks, slides ect) and racks are made from recycled materials (read for 6 months I could not pass a industrial skip with out looking inside). So most of that was free. I did have to pay for the nylon vibration reducer but this was only an industrial cutting board, and that was only £5, the scalloping to fit the AT Although i did all the cutting, fitting, and finishing I had to pay a guy for the welding and that cost me £30, (the job was done strong but not pretty). But the most expensive thing by far was the latches.. They are Hepco's and all are keyed alike and that cost me £58.. But I like the idea of not having standard wire drawhasp (as this give a leverage or cut point) and I love having one key that does them all.. Then there was all the consumables (angle grinder disks, paint, nuts/bolts.) But all in all I would say they cost me well under £200 fitted and gone!

Time.. well that was a long time.. as I only worked on them sporadically (as i had a set of alpos) and there was more pressing jobs to do.. total hours would still be high as a lot of it was trial and error. especially the rack (as this also required raising the end can.. I think i went though 4-5 different versions until I was completely happy with the set up.. Totally worth it now.. Only thing i think i did wrong (other then a cr*p paint job, which i dont care about), it that they are really big (on the inside) and that means more stuff... :thumbdown: so this mean I now have to be careful packing as I dont have such a physical limitation!

I also wishi took pictures along the way.. but Like i said it was a lot of trial and error so i never knew what to take photos of..

BIG THANKS :thumbup1: to Alex Pezzi for comprehensive instructions on making the panniers! Just made my pair, rack in progress. Some notes: 10 mm rivets are WAY too long, if those 7 mm did good job, and your boxes are still in one piece, then no need for longer ones.

I'm wondering, people have suggested cutting the tops off jerrycans, and it occured to me, you can get plastic ones as well as metal, so why not use a couple?

http://www.roadking.co.uk/images/Pro...n-green20l.gif

They'd be easy to cut and I would have thought you could stretch the top over the bottom with a hot-air gun. OK not as tough as alli, but certainly cheap and cheerful.

Yeah, I took note of this idea of jerries, but got hooked on the alli. As for now, would certainly go and try cutting those plastic ones: minimum labor, minimum weight, minimum price, and if broken, can be found and replaced anywherere in the world, think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexlebrit (Post 243473)

I'm wondering, people have suggested cutting the tops off jerrycans, and it occured to me, you can get plastic ones as well as metal, so why not use a couple?

Sounds like a good idea. :thumbup1: Here's ones I made earlier - about 10 yrs ago, and still in (just about) daily use.
The plastic is still flexible and hasn't cracked. I've wrapped them in duct tape to keep the contents from prying eyes and to give me something to mend it with if it did get punctured.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0025.jpg

little KLR 250 loaded and going wild

The pic with the boxes on bike. In W. Sahara couple of weeks ago.

Off topic: hard to believe, made more than 23 k on the rear tyre, and it still had some shit left, the front one will go 30 k minimum. Crazy.