Some of you may remember me making a few posts about wanting to make ammo box saddle bags. Some of you may actually give a damn.
Well I finally got around to taking pics of my work so far, very close to being done. I purchased what I believe are 50 cal. Ammo boxes from a local store that carries a small amount of military surplus. They measure 12 1/2 inches long, 7 1/2 inches wide, 8 1/4 high, think those are right, close anyway. I also happened to notice that the frame off of my Troy-Built mower's grass bagger was a perfect candidate for chopping and welding into a suitable frame. I then got the part # out of my manual and ordered another one from Farm and Fleet's small engines dept. The pictures will explain the chopping/welding. They are made out of 1/4 inch steel rod, very sturdy, but the original welds where a bit shabby so I reinforced them all with new welds. I'll take more pictures of how they mount to the bike and post those before I attempt to explain how that works, but you'll like it. I paid $20 for each ammo box, which I think was too much, but they were there and in great condition. I paid $20 for the other braket, again too much, I could have just bought strait lengths of steel rod and bent it all up, but then I dont have a bender unless you consider my vice and brute force a pipe bender, so I took the easy way out on that one. You can see all the bends I had to make so it would hug the frame, to clear the seats bottom edge, and that was enough. The random hardware/locks I purchased for it(didnt use it all) totalled around $50 Id say. So: $40 for the boxes, $20 for the braket, and $50 for hardware=$110 total cost. So the goal of cheap but sturdy is met. The whole thing: brakets, boxes and locks weighs about 20lbs but add another 10lbs or so for the luggage rack that is a big part of how this thing mounts up, so I think it remained fairly lightweight.
I sure struggled with keeping the boxes their original olive drab, then again when I got the grey primer on them. Either color would have looked pretty mean, but then I figured the bike they are going on is a nice example so I figured I'd paint them gloss black. I only did 2 coats, 3 would have been better but I didnt want it to get any glossier.
