Ammo Can Saddle Bags

[strn365]

i've owned the bike for 8 years now and a backpack is just so much better because even riding through rain at 75mph my back is always dry and if it does happen 2 get wet well everything is replaceable

[strn365]

anyways guys glad you like your can bags atleast now on the road when i see a gz with ammo cans i can say hey that guys on the forum pretty cool huh anyways we are about to head to texas in the gz for the weekend should be a nice 3 hour journey. See you guys monday :rawk:

[GodZuki]

I don't have them on my GZ. My husband wants to put them on his KLR. I think it looks better on his bike than on my GZ. I ordered saddlebags that are factory fit for it. And the mounting brackets to go with. But, he likes the idea of a lockable, waterproof container on his dual sport bike. I guess they are perfect for a bike like that.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by strn365

i like to stick with style.

How about showing a little "style" and using something a little closer to standard format for your written style.
It's kind of hard to READ with no caps and little punctuation. :cuss:

[patrick_777]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

It's kind of hard to READ with no caps and little punctuation. :cuss:

It fits with the stylish attitude of pissing all over everyone else's stuff.

[Badbob]

Originally Posted by strn365

but i find them quite tacky.

I generally don't reply to flame bait but in this case I just can't control myself.

This is the first negative comment I ever heard heard about ammo can panniers. There are photos taken by other riders posted to other forums of my ammo cans that have very favorable comments some even go so far as to think they are cool. Face to face I have never had anything but good comments. Usually along the lines of "What a great idea." I once had a mailman chase me down to tell me how great he thought they were and tell me stories about dragging them through the jungles of Asia when he was in the Marine Corp. It kind of worried me to have a mail truck following me around blowing the horn.

I don't want a Harley. If I got one for free I would only take it and sell it to get something I wanted. I don't want to emulate a Harley rider. I don't want to be around Harley's. (Mostly because of the noise.) I don't hang out. I don't dress up and ride to bike night at hooters an stand around in my costume trying to look cool to a bunch of other people who are there to trying to look cooler than me. (You can do that every night of the week here.) Not that I care if people do that but I do get tired of being lumped in with them. I have a motorcycle to ride not to play dress-up. As such everything on my motorcycle must first be functional then inexpensive, last and least cool and/or fashionable. Yep, there some poser in all of us so if it looks good that's OK but not very important.

The ammo cans suit my needs perfectly. They are rugged, cheap, watertight, and and more secure than any thing I can buy specifically made for a motorcycle without spending close to $1,000 plus the cost of a new motorcycle because none of these systems are made to fit a GZ250. The cost to me to install these was less than $10 because I got the SAW boxes at no cost. They are water tight and can be air tight if you seal the holes well enough with RTV and/or gaskets. No rain has ever got into my ammo cans even in driving rain storms, not a drop. A thief is going to have to bring cutting tools to get into ammo can panniers. If they are mounted properly you can't get them off without breaking into the cans or cutting the bolts. Some of the plastic bags sold for motorcycles are removable with your bare hands. Some will break and spill your stuff all over if you should drop the bike on them. Any handy blunt instrument (hammer,rock, brick) will get into one of these with a single properly placed blow. Plastic bags are designed to look cool not be functional. The rectangular shape of an ammo can makes it very easy to load and retrieve your stuff and a SAW box is almost the ideal size. I have tool bags that fit perfectly in them with just enough head room left over for a pair of gloves or a full size handgun. If your into looking cool then ammo cans probably are not for you. If you want something functional, cheap, water tight, and secure ammo can panniers may be the only solution that works for you and your GZ250.

My bike works for a living. It is a two wheeled utility vehicle that gets me to work every day, takes me on camping trips, sightseeing trips and just happens to be fun to ride at the same time. It was never intended to be a fashion statement. Ammo cans are a perfect fit for me and its just possible that they are a perfect fit for others. So we share what information we have for these few that want march to a different drum.

If I had the money to spare and a rack was available I would go for some of these:



Pelican Cases have the added advantage of being practically indestructible and side opening means I can get to the contents without unloading the bike.

Yep, these are tacky too.

[GodZuki]

I'm responding to this topic using GodZuki's account. I am her husband. Yes, I want ammo cans on my KLR. I would love a set of Mermites, but they are hard to find in my area and I really don't want to pay an arm and a leg for shipping. I think they are absolutely the best option for secure, waterproof storage on a KLR. I know this is the GZ forum and this thread started out as a GZ topic, but, ammo cans can be put on any bike. There are big enough ones that would fit on a Harley, but what Harley owner would put them on? I would if owned one.

There are numerous options for locking the cans. They are all but bulletproof. A little paint or bedliner material and you are good to go. Gives a nice flat surface for mounting reflectors, auxilliary lights, whatever you need to mount. You can put some eyebolts in the lid to tie down anything that won't fit inside the can; like a spare jacket, raingear, small duffel bag, or any number of items. I am personally looking for a surplus night vision case to mount to my rear rack for a trunk. They are usually plastic, but, same goes for them. Lockable, watertight, etc. And besides, surplus is cheap.

Sorry to jack the thread and make it about my bike. Don't tell GodZuki, she is working. She won't let me put them on her GZ, even though I bought it for her. About the tacky comment, I don't think ammo cans are tacky. I think they add character and make your bike stand out from everyone else's. If all bikes looked alike, then what fun would that be? Make it your own. Do something a little different.

Back to ammo cans on a GZ. Thanks for letting me get my $.02 in.

[Badbob]

Don't worry about hijacking I got my first ideas from reading about mounting cans on KLRs.

Character? Oh yeah they do add that. They make you stand out in a crowd too. I have the only bike around my area I have seen that has ammo cans on it. It's real easy for people who know me to spot my bike.

I've got LED lights and tie downs already to go. The only thing that is holding me back is that I haven't yet got the mounting down like I want it. I keep breking the rear bolts. I have installed grade eight bolts that the guy at Fastenal <sp> told me would not break. I'm waiting for my confidence to build up before I start adding more stuff.

They also fit my definition of custom. "If your not cutting, welding, or drilling it's not customizing its accessorizing."

[music man]

Badbob I personally think that your ammo cans ARE COOL, the only people that Wouldn't think that a very cheap, very secure , very waterproof way to carry your stuff on your bike are Poseurs. So keep on truckin with your ammo cans, I am trying to locate me some around that size as we speak, Tired of the backpack and the almost non-existent storage under the seat.


Later :rawk:

[jonathan180iq]

Originally Posted by Badbob

I generally don't reply to flame bait but in this case I just can't control myself.

In reply to this repsonse, I'm gonna back up Bob. Ammo cans are a extremely functional and that's really what's important.