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My Seahorse Side Case install


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Idk why Seahorse sounds less manly than Pelican...but it kinda does lol. Guess it's better than ladybug or something  :P Anyway..I couldn't justify spending the money on factory, FJR or Shad cases. I liked the look of the Pelicans and size of the 1520 case, but couldn't drop the coin on them either. After some research I discovered Seahorse cases and found only positive reviews. I ended up purchasing the 1520 equivalent case--the SE720 with locking tops($155 shipped from Carrycasesplus.com). They appear to be slightly lest robust, using thinner plastic, but you save a little weight over the Pelicans and they seem plenty strong for this purpose. I wanted to retain the factory upper mounts for a clean look when the bags were off so I had some thinking to do. So this is version #1....
 
Had all the metal laying around from other projects. Started with two of these..
20150627_125222_zpshbihqjuv.jpg
 
After some measuring and time with a ziz wheel and grinder i got this..
20150627_135125_zpsbbz8sfhc.jpg
 
Welded on some tubing to fit down in the factory mounts and bent up a L bracket to be tightened up to the factory lower lock. Then bolted them to the cases..
20150629_191226_zpstd0dkpty.jpg
 
Decided for version #1 I'd try a lower brace off the factory tag mount. This isn't load bearing, just keeps the bags from swaying. Bolted for now, but I'll probably make it a quick clip if i keep it. You can see how the bottom L bracket gets tighten up from the bottom on the opposite case. 
20150629_191434_zps5eh06azm.jpg
 
The bracket from the side without the case...kinda just looks like a reflector bracket. This is easy to remove tho, just two 10mm bolts.
20150629_191508_zpsrm2dxbns.jpg
 
Bottom of both the bracket and mounts. I cut a piece of rubber hose and wedged it up where the L bracket tights in.
20150629_190727_zps0geclfpx.jpg
 
You can kinda see how the mounts catch the factory locations..
20150629_190710_zpsvb7ru2r4.jpg
 
Top of mounts..
20150629_141237_zps1jbdnfd6.jpg
 
And some random shots with the bags mounted up..
20150629_141303_zpsyaa484lt.jpg
20150629_141144_zpshjpp9rzg.jpg
20150629_140735_zpsdtoadgqv.jpg
20150629_123255_zpscoji6k1k.jpg
20150629_123313_zpsjkocl64d.jpg
20150629_123218_zpsqtuiqb3e.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
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Idk why Seahorse sounds less manly than Pelican...but it kinda does lol. Guess it's better than ladybug or something  :P Anyway..I couldn't justify spending the money on factory, FJR or Shad cases. I liked the look of the Pelicans and size of the 1520 case, but couldn't drop the coin on them either. After some research I discovered Seahorse cases and found only positive reviews. I ended up purchasing the 1520 equivalent case--the SE720 with locking tops. They appear to be slightly lest robust, using thinner plastic, but you save a little weight over the Pelicans and they seem plenty strong for this purpose. I wanted to retain the factory upper mounts for a clean look when the bags were off so I had some thinking to do. So this is version #1.... 
Started with two of these..
20150627_125222_zpshbihqjuv.jpg
 
After some measuring and time with a ziz wheel and grinder i got this..
20150627_135125_zpsbbz8sfhc.jpg
 
Welded on some tubing to fit down in the factory mounts and bent up a L bracket to be tightened up to the factory lower lock. Then bolted them to the cases..
20150629_191226_zpstd0dkpty.jpg
 
Decided for version #1 I'd try a lower brace off the factory tag mount. This isn't load bearing, just keeps the bags from swaying. Bolted for now, but I'll probably make it a quick clip if i keep it. You can see how the bottom L bracket gets tighten up from the bottom on the opposite case. 
20150629_191434_zps5eh06azm.jpg
 
The bracket from the side without the case...kinda just looks like a reflector bracket. This is easy to remove tho, just two 10mm bolts.
20150629_191508_zpsrm2dxbns.jpg
 
Bottom of both the bracket and mounts. I cut a piece of rubber hose and wedged it up where the L bracket tights in.
20150629_190727_zps0geclfpx.jpg
 
You can kinda see how the mounts catch the factory locations..
20150629_190710_zpsvb7ru2r4.jpg
 
Top of mounts..
20150629_141237_zps1jbdnfd6.jpg
 
And some random shots with the bags mounted up..
20150629_141303_zpsyaa484lt.jpg
20150629_141144_zpshjpp9rzg.jpg
20150629_140735_zpsdtoadgqv.jpg
20150629_123255_zpscoji6k1k.jpg
20150629_123313_zpsjkocl64d.jpg
20150629_123218_zpsqtuiqb3e.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wow, great work! Thanks for sharing !!
 
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Guest lawrenceofsuburbia
Very nifty, milkman, and nicely thought-out! I do like seeing a bit of creative DIY on our bikes. And FWIW, I have a very similar-looking case as a potential top-box ready to install if I need one (the OE hard bags should suffice, but you never know). This hard case cost me about $59 from memory, although without locks, and was originally fitted to my last BMW R1200 GS.   Its rugged looks suited the style [em](huh?)[/em] of that bike, and should do the same with my Tracer should I install it.
Nice job!
L of S
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Love the fabrication. Makes me want to make my own hard bags.
 
 
Do it! If you have access to the tools and time it'll save you some $$$. I've got $155 in the cases and already had the metal, but i bet youd be under $200 total even buying the metal. I personally like the look of them over the factory units.
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Very nice, and very cost effective.  Cannot wait until I get my own garage.  They look a bit like the givi style cases.  To me it looks like you are carrying around a couple drones, or some rugged military style pc's.  You could convince people your bike is used for covert missions, and since people don't know what the bike is yet, just tell them thats classified.
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Wow. Great work! They look sharp! Do you use an inner liner? They look permanently mounted (unless you undo bolts). Cheers
Thanks. Don't have any liners yet, but i'll probably have some sewn up here soon. Yeah, they require you to loosen two bolts per side at the moment. I'll get that down to one bolt per side soon and just carry a 12mm ratchet wrench in the tool pouch. I'm sure i'll change out some things as I go along once I see what works best, which is why I haven't sandblasted and painted them yet.
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Guest lawrenceofsuburbia
Wow. Great work! They look sharp! Do you use an inner liner? They look permanently mounted (unless you undo bolts). Cheers
Thanks. Don't have any liners yet, but i'll probably have some sewn up here soon. Yeah, they require you to loosen two bolts per side at the moment. I'll get that down to one bolt per side soon and just carry a 12mm ratchet wrench in the tool pouch. I'm sure i'll change out some things as I go along once I see what works best, which is why I haven't sandblasted and painted them yet.
Something I've done in the past, milko, is to use good-sized wing nuts (aka butterfly nuts).   They do need to have a hefty spring washer underneath to capture them, but it does make it easy to remove and reinstall such cases without resorting to tools.   Just a thought... L of S
 
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Love the cases and the fab work? Enough to make me sign up for this forum and say so. Knowing myself, I don't think I'm up to simple fab work even, so it begs the question is there any other side case options that are similar to this? I like the rectangular look of the pelican/seahorse cases.
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Love the cases and the fab work? Enough to make me sign up for this forum and say so. Knowing myself, I don't think I'm up to simple fab work even, so it begs the question is there any other side case options that are similar to this? I like the rectangular look of the pelican/seahorse cases.
Have you looked at the Givi Trekkers?  They are going to cost a lot more than what is shown here but they are a similar style and you can purchase all the mounting hardware to hook them up to the FJ.  It's the closest thing I can think of that's pre-fabbed and ready to put on the bike that is similar to the bags shown above.  Take a look at them in the linked thread.   
 
 
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Thanks. Don't have any liners yet, but i'll probably have some sewn up here soon. Yeah, they require you to loosen two bolts per side at the moment. I'll get that down to one bolt per side soon and just carry a 12mm ratchet wrench in the tool pouch. I'm sure i'll change out some things as I go along once I see what works best, which is why I haven't sandblasted and painted them yet.
Something I've done in the past, milko, is to use good-sized wing nuts (aka butterfly nuts).   They do need to have a hefty spring washer underneath to capture them, but it does make it easy to remove and reinstall such cases without resorting to tools.   Just a thought... L of S

Good idea. I was considering using something like this, but i figured a 12mm bolt would make it harder to steal lol..Ultimately I want some sort of locking mechanism.
large_photo.jpg
 
 
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Love the cases and the fab work? Enough to make me sign up for this forum and say so. Knowing myself, I don't think I'm up to simple fab work even, so it begs the question is there any other side case options that are similar to this? I like the rectangular look of the pelican/seahorse cases.
I actually stayed up most of the night thinking about the best way to produce something like this. Once I get everything 100%, what would you consider an acceptable price for a set of prefabbed mounts and hardware, minus the bags...?
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