A Pelican Tank Box ------------ I'm Wired

Lost Rider · 08-07-2007, 03:02 PM

I've been wanting a Pelican tank box to add to my bike, and I finally put together all the components.
I had some special requirements for the box, and here's what I came up with.

Since I already had a SW-Motech tank bag, with a tank-ring and quick release mount, I had that covered. I finally decided on a Pelican 1200, not too big, not too small. Lockable, removable, waterproof and indestructible.

I took the mount off of the SW-Motech bag, lined it up, drilled 4 holes and was good to go. That's the easy part.

Notice the wires coming out? Well that's where things started to get a little more complex. I wanted the box to have a multi-pin, waterproof connector wired into it so I could remove it very easily, either to bring it with me or to just lose it all together. I managed to find a suitable 9 pin connector at one of the audio companies I work with.

One twist and it's gone.

I wired in 2 power cables for my GPS, and for the dual accessory outlet, each individually fused and grounded. Then I wired in a stereo audio cable to get sound out of my iPhone, iPod, or XM from the Garmin. That leaves me 2 empty pins for future use.
I also shortened the iPhone/iPod charger's cable to keep it neat.

Since I had most of this stuff hard wired into my soft bag, I could move it out of the way to fuel, but could not remove it all together. Not any more!

Now, on to my last hurdle. Since I used a GPS mount that connected to the tank bag, I had to figure out how to mount the Streetpilot and XM antenna to the box. It had to be self contained with no wires coming out of it to a handlebar mount, etc...
I ended up modifying a SW-Motech/Garmin handlebar mount, drilling a hole through one of the halves of the bar mount. 1 screw and nut for the GPS ( It's very solid), and 2 small factory screws to hold the antenna. It takes less that 5 minutes to install or remove the GPS system to the box. Thats good enough for me, since I only use the GPS for out of town trips anyway for the most part.

Flood Warning! Good thing I don't have to worry about rain covers any longer :)

I'm hoping to shorten up the USB cable, but I'm going to talk to Garmin before I get to cutting.

A little e-tape on the inside keeps the rain out when the GPS is off

Here's where the Audio comes out.

Pelican Cases Rock!

Ricardo Kuhn · 08-07-2007, 03:10 PM

ChiTown Very nice job and also exelent report, very clear and easy to understand, easy to see were some of your professional skills reside.

zed88 · 08-07-2007, 03:36 PM

Thats excellent! I had never thought about a pelican as a tankbag, but now I think I'm going to make one almost exactly how you made yours. Thanks!

spicychili · 08-07-2007, 04:24 PM

Very nice. I just added a pelican case as a top box to my thumper.

I like pelican boxes. Interesting for a tank bag. Might have to look into that.

R_W · 08-08-2007, 05:45 AM

very nice. Sanitary and would be easy to adapt to multiple bikes--just a new pigtail and tank bag ring on every bike in your fleet.

You could get rubber washers and put the bolts back in the lid if the e-tape isn't waterproof enough.

jdbski · 08-08-2007, 06:20 AM

I have two questions;
1 can you just buy the connectors, one for the tank and one to attach to a pelican case?
2 what about handlebar clearance when turning the handlebars? does the case get in the way?

thanks jb

PaulS · 08-08-2007, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spicychili

Very nice. I just added a pelican case as a top box to my thumper.

I like pelican boxes. Interesting for a tank bag. Might have to look into that.

Nice setup, I was looking for something like that. What size/model of pelican box is that ?

Thanks

spicychili · 08-08-2007, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulS

Nice setup, I was looking for something like that. What size/model of pelican box is that ?

Thanks

Pelican 1400. Its pretty good size inside. I am pretty happy with it.

Doug

Lost Rider · 03-11-2013, 11:00 AM

Old thread! Glad to see it coming back.

Here's the v2.0 thread with more info, maybe that can be of help.

HPRC Electronics Tank Box Version 2.0 - Think Inside the Box

N-m · 05-05-2013, 06:48 PM

Found some great pics and ideas. Thanks for your help.

Dan Alexander · 05-05-2013, 08:08 PM

Personally I wouldn't ride with something that hard on the tank. Guys have lost the family jewels on much smaller thinks like gas caps before. This will hurt if you hit something head on and go over the bars

IMHO and YMMV and RYOR and all that

http://men.webmd.com/guide/testicle-injuries

N-m · 05-07-2013, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Alexander

Personally I wouldn't ride with something that hard on the tank. Guys have lost the family jewels on much smaller thinks like gas caps before. This will hurt if you hit something head on and go over the bars

IMHO and YMMV and RYOR and all that

http://men.webmd.com/guide/testicle-injuries

Duly noted. There are people who survive an endo of that magnitude? I just figured if I have a wreck that bad I would be dead.

N-m · 05-10-2013, 02:14 PM

I was thinking about this set up some more and wonder if you could lessen the damage to privates if you turned the tank ring around, or would it fit in that manner?

went2fast · 05-10-2013, 02:26 PM

Probably ought run clip on bars too if you are worried about snagging "stuff".

Dan Alexander · 05-10-2013, 02:37 PM

How do you think this guy felt

08-07-2007, 03:02 PM	#1
Lost Rider ^OP Broken Roadie Joined: Oct 2006 Location: Lake Sherwood, CA Oddometer: 2,807	A Pelican Tank Box ------------ I'm Wired I've been wanting a Pelican tank box to add to my bike, and I finally put together all the components. I had some special requirements for the box, and here's what I came up with. Since I already had a SW-Motech tank bag, with a tank-ring and quick release mount, I had that covered. I finally decided on a Pelican 1200, not too big, not too small. Lockable, removable, waterproof and indestructible. I took the mount off of the SW-Motech bag, lined it up, drilled 4 holes and was good to go. That's the easy part. Notice the wires coming out? Well that's where things started to get a little more complex. I wanted the box to have a multi-pin, waterproof connector wired into it so I could remove it very easily, either to bring it with me or to just lose it all together. I managed to find a suitable 9 pin connector at one of the audio companies I work with. One twist and it's gone. I wired in 2 power cables for my GPS, and for the dual accessory outlet, each individually fused and grounded. Then I wired in a stereo audio cable to get sound out of my iPhone, iPod, or XM from the Garmin. That leaves me 2 empty pins for future use. I also shortened the iPhone/iPod charger's cable to keep it neat. Since I had most of this stuff hard wired into my soft bag, I could move it out of the way to fuel, but could not remove it all together. Not any more! Now, on to my last hurdle. Since I used a GPS mount that connected to the tank bag, I had to figure out how to mount the Streetpilot and XM antenna to the box. It had to be self contained with no wires coming out of it to a handlebar mount, etc... I ended up modifying a SW-Motech/Garmin handlebar mount, drilling a hole through one of the halves of the bar mount. 1 screw and nut for the GPS ( It's very solid), and 2 small factory screws to hold the antenna. It takes less that 5 minutes to install or remove the GPS system to the box. Thats good enough for me, since I only use the GPS for out of town trips anyway for the most part. Flood Warning! Good thing I don't have to worry about rain covers any longer :) I'm hoping to shorten up the USB cable, but I'm going to talk to Garmin before I get to cutting. A little e-tape on the inside keeps the rain out when the GPS is off Here's where the Audio comes out. Pelican Cases Rock!

08-07-2007, 03:10 PM	#2
Ricardo Kuhn a.k.a. Mr Rico Suave Joined: Sep 2001 Location: Salt lake city, Utah Oddometer: 11,596	ChiTown Very nice job and also exelent report, very clear and easy to understand, easy to see were some of your professional skills reside. __________________ I'm really Sorry but I'm "Out" of Rickybars, Actually I have a bunch of bars and a Ton of end pieces but Not that many clamps to offer them as a product anymore.

08-07-2007, 04:24 PM	#4
spicychili Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jul 2006 Location: Parker, Colorado Oddometer: 366	Very nice. I just added a pelican case as a top box to my thumper. I like pelican boxes. Interesting for a tank bag. Might have to look into that. __________________ '06 R1200GS '07 G650 X-Challenge

08-08-2007, 05:45 AM	#5
R_W wannabe Joined: May 2005 Location: Kansas Oddometer: 4,126	very nice. Sanitary and would be easy to adapt to multiple bikes--just a new pigtail and tank bag ring on every bike in your fleet. You could get rubber washers and put the bolts back in the lid if the e-tape isn't waterproof enough. __________________ Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme...

08-08-2007, 06:20 AM	#6
jdbski old but getting younger Joined: Aug 2004 Location: The California desert Oddometer: 380	source for the connectors I have two questions; 1 can you just buy the connectors, one for the tank and one to attach to a pelican case? 2 what about handlebar clearance when turning the handlebars? does the case get in the way? thanks jb

08-07-2007, 03:36 PM	#3
zed88 n00bilicious Joined: May 2006 Location: Pingree grove il nw chicago Oddometer: 1,290	Thats excellent! I had never thought about a pelican as a tankbag, but now I think I'm going to make one almost exactly how you made yours. Thanks!

03-11-2013, 11:00 AM	#9
Lost Rider ^OP Broken Roadie Joined: Oct 2006 Location: Lake Sherwood, CA Oddometer: 2,807	Old thread! Glad to see it coming back. Here's the v2.0 thread with more info, maybe that can be of help. HPRC Electronics Tank Box Version 2.0 - Think Inside the Box __________________ A Roadie in Motion LostRider.com

05-05-2013, 06:48 PM	#10
N-m Captain 2 Sexy Joined: Jan 2011 Location: Too Far from My Welder and BMW in South TN. Oddometer: 151	Found some great pics and ideas. Thanks for your help.

05-05-2013, 08:08 PM	#11
Dan Alexander Ride Far - Ride Fast Joined: Nov 2003 Location: Ottawa and Montreal Oddometer: 4,794	Personally I wouldn't ride with something that hard on the tank. Guys have lost the family jewels on much smaller thinks like gas caps before. This will hurt if you hit something head on and go over the bars IMHO and YMMV and RYOR and all that http://men.webmd.com/guide/testicle-injuries __________________ Beemers Past and Present: 74 R90S, 77 R100RS, 85 K100RS, 2x 87 K100RS, 96 R1100GS, 99 R1100S, 2002 R1150GS, 2005 F650 Dakar Plus the occasional Triumph, BSA, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and KTM but who's counting

05-10-2013, 02:14 PM	#13
N-m Captain 2 Sexy Joined: Jan 2011 Location: Too Far from My Welder and BMW in South TN. Oddometer: 151	I was thinking about this set up some more and wonder if you could lessen the damage to privates if you turned the tank ring around, or would it fit in that manner?

05-10-2013, 02:26 PM	#14
went2fast Adventurer Joined: Dec 2006 Oddometer: 80	Probably ought run clip on bars too if you are worried about snagging "stuff".

05-10-2013, 02:37 PM	#15
Dan Alexander Ride Far - Ride Fast Joined: Nov 2003 Location: Ottawa and Montreal Oddometer: 4,794	How do you think this guy felt __________________ Beemers Past and Present: 74 R90S, 77 R100RS, 85 K100RS, 2x 87 K100RS, 96 R1100GS, 99 R1100S, 2002 R1150GS, 2005 F650 Dakar Plus the occasional Triumph, BSA, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and KTM but who's counting

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