[Review] Utilitarian Option - Pelican Case

[Papa Lou]

I can hear the feedback already that the 1520 size Pelican case doesn't hold a full face helmet. But that's not what I use it for anyway.

Admittedly, it's a continuation of my preferred Wee Strom outfitting and ride system. I've been through two of them, and loved them both. The sole reason I've gone to the NT is the shaft drive. Well, that, and to put my money where my mouth was when I wrote Honda begging them to bring the Deauville to the states back in '08.

I used the Honda mounting plate & hardware after inverting the plate. With drilling of Pelican case and selection of bolts done carefully, I've added a stainless grilling tray (normally used for cooking veggies on your BBQ, but inverted for my use) to the top of the Pelican case and never had a drop of water leak inside the case. This grill tray has slits in a pattern providing hundreds of options for tying "stuff" (like my half cover, ground cloth, bivi, wet stuff...) using 1" nylon straps that fit perfectly in the slits.

Inside the topcase is where I keep my heated gear (don't leave home without it!), my laptop when on business trips, my maps, and my travel diary, along with spare batteries for the Go Pro, etc.

Oh, BTW, I did add a plastic cutting board from a discount store to the bottom for greater rigidity in carrying the cantilevered loading. Again, not as elegent as Elizilla's rigging, but functional and durable.

It has served well for over 35Kmiles in tropical storm's of varied names and has repelled softball-size hail that shattered tractor-trailer windshields while we (riders and truckers) hid from the tornado that blasted us in near Oakley, KS last year. Not sure the Honda version would have faired as well.

And it doesn't shift around.

 

[taldric]

Pictures please. I am very interested how this looks. Can you take the case off or is it permanent?

 

[Papa Lou]

Hello Timothy, from a U of W guy who also spent time in Coronado.

It's as permanent as four bolts make it. I minimize the cycles on/off simply to maintain the watertight integrity longer. I use that Liquid Electrical Tape stuff to reseal the bolt holes each time I pull it off for any reason. I alway have stuff in it or on it, like the rain cover that rides everywhere with me, anyway.

As mentioned, it's not elegant but utilitarian from the get-go. I just added a photo that gets you the big picture. I'll meet ya' in the mountains somewhere if you need an inspection type look at it. I'm always up for a run across the pass from Tri-Cities.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I've got a buddy with a WeeStrom who has gone to Pelican cases for side panniers. He's got a Givi trunk. He'd tried a couple of the options before going to the Pelican -- they've worked great for him.

 

[charlie b]

I bought a larger version that I planned on using for a trunk, but, it was just too big.

Yours looks like a good size.

 

[MAC]

LOU, it looks like you have other stuff on the front of that NT. ??? Pic's please.

 

[Papa Lou]

Nah. What you see on the front in the Madawaska shot is my water hanging from the left handlebar. I'm not much of a farkle guy. I spend my valued time, and only slightly lower valued money, on riding.

I've lowered the pegs, added a Manta XL tank bag and the Pelican case. That's it.

I'll toss in a couple of quick photographs of the top case from a quick trip into the garage. Not great shots, but you'll get the ideas.

In the pictures are a closer shot of the veggie rack and the 1" slots it came with. I added the stainless cable as tie down and hook connection point for the bungie type net I use for quick attachments between the store & campground or motel. Everything that rides distance is attached with 1" nylon strap.

I also toss in a quick/blurred shot of the cutting board reinforcement and bolts inside the Pelican. It holds my laptop and heated gear on cross country runs and business runs as mentioned and the laptop is the heaviest item it carries. Tool kit and stuff are in the side cases, Velcro holding them and minimizing rattling.

The Colorado shot from last summer gives a clearer picture of the whole. Like I said, nothing special. I'm kinda' minimalist and function guided.

 

[Papa Lou]

I've got a buddy with a WeeStrom who has gone to Pelican cases for side panniers. He's got a Givi trunk. He'd tried a couple of the options before going to the Pelican -- they've worked great for him.

They worked great for me, too. Here's the '09 Strom. Great bike. But when I rode the Strom through a selected route and the NT through the same route minutes later, I elected to sell the Strom. After a few more months of neglecting the Harley in favor of the NT, the Electra-Glide went to a wrench who like to work on those things.

I'm simplifying my life these days. The NT is as perfect for me as I thought it would be the first time I saw it in France back in '08.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I agree with that, Lou. I didn't see one until '08, but I'd been watching the Deauville 650 and thinking it looked like something that would be good for me. When the 700 came out, I got a serious case of bike lust. My '10 has been everything I'd hoped.

 

[elizilla]

Another advantage of the pelican case, is that it's rectangular. Pretty much anything that has a rigid shape, that you might put in a case, is rectangular. The NT side cases and my various Givi cases all have these complex curves and angles, which lead to a lot of wasted space when you have to go grocery shopping or carry a laptop.

 

[Phil Tarman]

The good thing about the curves and angles is that they give you little nooks you can stuff things into. But the NT panniers are not as easy to use as the rectangular ones on my old Connie. I will say that a full-face helmet fits better in the left big-lidded pannier than it did in the Concours panniers. I think end up getting about as much stuff in the NT panniers as I did in the Concours panniers, but the bag liners are more important because of the odd shape.

 

[Bear]

I have a Pelican Case for my laptop--a carryover from living on the boat. Now with WiFi one does not --in most cases have to take the laptop ashore to do E-mail. Carrying a laptop in a dinghy can be a daunting experience especially if some moron roars by you in a powerboat and soaks you big time--or worse capsizes you. We had that happen once. The Pelican case is totally waterproof and floats. It is also foam padded. I plan to use the case when I travel this summer. It does fit in the Top Case.