Chrkut is cheap. AKA 20 dollar luggage

[Chrkut]

So, as a college kid, I was out for more storage for my bike, at the price of as cheap as possible. This project has spanned awhile, with not much to show for it, but is finally almost done.

A year or so ago, while thinking about cycle luggage, I was wandering around the local market. Most the stuff there was over-priced, crap, or both. I came home with 2 ammo tins, 5 bucks each. PA National Guard, it looks like. Not sure of the size off hand, can measure sometime.

So we got them home, and put them against the bike. wanted them behind the rear shocks, and in front of the turn signals. We took the cheap route, got some borrowed from work angle pieces, and moved the turn signals back. It was ridden like this until this month. Here is a picture of it witht he turn signals moved backwards.

The turn signals are now almost in line with the taillight.

For awhile we pondered on how to attach the bins to the bike in a while that kept them away from the wheel. This month, I decided to do a U bolt on the L grab bar, which can only be taken off from the inside for security, and a bracket on the angle bar to keep it from moving. This is with them mounted (excuse the state of the garage).

The top box holds my brake lock. The right bin was painted, and the lid fell off while moving it around, so I left it off for the mounting. The bins are now off getting a new coat of paint. This is how the read bracket is mounted to the angle bar.

The wiring was moved out of the way for the hole drilling process (which broke a bit of ours), and will be moved back to under the angle pieces for mounting.

Mounting and taking them off both take less than a few minutes, but requires some wrenches/sockets.

Ill get a side picture after the tins are painted. I know how yall like pictures.

 

[Steve]

That's a pretty decent start, but you should really have a three-point mount so they don't angle down like that.

With a little bit of weight in them, and the inevitable bump in the road, they are going to rotate down, right into your tire.

.

 

[Chrkut]

They angle down due to the angle bar. It is hard to tell in the last picture, but the steel angle bits are a bit rotated, which causes the brackets which are mounted flat against it to be roatated at the same angle, which can only be seen when you stick something on it, like the bins. I'll take a look to see how far the bins can rotate inwards under pressure. The brackets are mounted around halfway down the bins, but if rotation inwards towards the wheel is possible, I'll have to think of a way to add the third point, and buy a new drill bit or two.

 

[dorkburger]

I agree with Steve on the safety aspect. You also may want to consider heavier mounting angles that attach to the box, and perhaps fender washers or a piece of flat stock inside of the box. Seems like the attaching points could fatigue/crack at the mounting points if loaded heavily.
Other then that, the ammo cans are way cool.