DR350 Thread

[tntmo]

I have seen plenty of street legal dual sport bikes in California that people for some reason or another decided to make into off-road only dirtbikes (green sticker). It can be difficult to get them converted back to street legal, but not impossible.

[RuggedExposure]

Not sure how many of you have been following my build thread
The NM DR350 dirt bike

but I decided to build my own panniers to hold some ammo cans. I know this has been plenty of times before, but for those of you who don't want to spend more than $30, this is the way to go.

I wanted something along the lines of this:


And this is what I ended up with:



The cans I used are a little larger than your standard .50 cal cans



I was going to add some extra braces for the ammo can brackets, but I started thinking about it. When the bike gets laid over, I'd rather have the cans collapse or the bracket deform before the subframe get damaged.
The other good thing about my design is that I can easily switch out to smaller/larger cans if need be.
The whole assembly is getting painted as I post this.

[FlyingWman]

That setup looks awesome. Very inspiring. How much weight does it add?

[RuggedExposure]

Originally Posted by FlyingWman

That setup looks awesome. Very inspiring. How much weight does it add?

Good question. I'll weigh it when I get done painting.

[RuggedExposure]

Ok here is the weigh in:

Rack, cans, and paint come out to 7.6 lbs.

Not bad considering that the rack is solid steel, not tubing.

[FlyingWman]

Originally Posted by RuggedExposure

Rack, cans, and paint come out to 7.6 lbs.
Not bad considering that the rack is solid steel, not tubing.

Not bad at all . Making one like this for myself has a high priority now. I turned a ATV side bag into a tank bag but I'm getting tired of having to ride with a backpack too.

[devo2002]

It looks like a good setup, but do you really want something that unforgiving and pointy when you low side? I just twist fractured my right leg while my toe was stuck a rut going down last week. It may have prevented the bike going down close enough to the ground to prevent my heel from swinging around until crunch crunch, but more likely looks like it would have dug into my back only complicating the situation. Nearly everything on the bike would just crush you and is generally blunt, but those cans would puncture you

[RuggedExposure]

Originally Posted by devo2002

It looks like a good setup, but do you really want something that unforgiving and pointy when you low side? I just twist fractured my right leg while my toe was stuck a rut going down last week. It may have prevented the bike going down close enough to the ground to prevent my heel from swinging around until crunch crunch, but more likely looks like it would have dug into my back only complicating the situation. Nearly everything on the bike would just crush you and is generally blunt, but those cans would puncture you

Considering that this setup cost me less than $30 (metal, cans, welding supplies), and a similar pannier setup would be about $400, and I'm more than likely going to lay this over a few times, I'm going to take the risk. Yes it does make the bike more prone for biting me when I biff it, but so would a regular set of hard panniers.

You're right that the ammo cans have pointier edges than some pannier setups, but I doubt they could cause any arterial bleeding. Maybe a decent puncture wound that a pressure dressing would patch up.

[devo2002]

Hey I certainly understand and wish you the best of luck.

Wolfman Enduro bags weigh less than a pound and are just over $100, less if used. Sitting here with my leg in a boot for the past week I guess I'm hesitant to add something potentially hazardous because of lack of funds, one bad spill and it could be 100 fold.

[RuggedExposure]

Originally Posted by devo2002

Hey I certainly understand and wish you the best of luck.

Wolfman Enduro bags weigh less than a pound and are just over $100, less if used. Sitting here with my leg in a boot for the past week I guess I'm hesitant to add something potentially hazardous because of lack of funds, one bad spill and it could be 100 fold.

Starting next year this bike will be my primary commuter (100mi/day, 30mi ranch roads) and I will be commuting day and night. Cattle is going to be my main concern, hence the big honkin headlight, and its open range most of the way.

[RuggedExposure]

Ah ha! I've just found the solution to how to mount a holster to the tank!

Has anyone else used this setup yet?

http://www.tankvest.com/


This looks perfect for keeping a .45 in quick reach.

[VooDooDaddy]

Hey RuggedExposure,

Nice work on the rack and .50 cal panniers. I wish I had the skills to build something like that. Food-for-thought/suggestion: maybe putting some gussets in the 90 degree corners where the rack is welded together for the side mounts moving down off the main horizontal rack. This would cut down on the vibration/cracking/breaking possibilities down the (washboard) road.

Still, nice job. Can you duplicate/build one for me?

Trent

[VooDooDaddy]

Originally Posted by RuggedExposure

Ah ha! I've just found the solution to how to mount a holster to the tank!

Has anyone else used this setup yet?

http://www.tankvest.com/


This looks perfect for keeping a .45 in quick reach.

Even though that tankvest is listed only for the KLR and KTM's, I would hazard a guess that the KLR model would fit/could fit the larger ACERBIS/CLARK/IMS tanks? I'm very tempted to find out.

[Greg Bender]

Originally Posted by VooDooDaddy

Even though that tankvest is listed only for the KLR and KTM's, I would hazard a guess that the KLR model would fit/could fit the larger ACERBIS/CLARK/IMS tanks? I'm very tempted to find out.

Looks to me like it would make you ride with your knees spread too wide apart. I know that is why I got rid of my tank panniers on my DR350 after my first ride with them.

Regards,

Gregory Bender

[VooDooDaddy]

Originally Posted by Greg Bender

Looks to me like it would make you ride with your knees spread too wide apart. I know that is why I got rid of my tank panniers on my DR350 after my first ride with them.

Regards,

Gregory Bender

Ooh. Obviously that didn't occur to me? While I would like to know how those would work on a long overlander trip, I'm not likely to be the guinea pig and spend the money on it, only to come to the same conclusion as you Greg. Thanks.