Saddlebag Ice Chest!!!!!

[76shuvlinoff]

30 gal heavy kitchen size trash bag as a liner,

Dude, that's my waterproof luggage.... 2 bags, one for clean one for dirty.

[ScottFree]

I really don't know how anything could stay cold being that close to the exhaust. I was having really bad cluster migraines a few years ago. I threw some monster sport drinks in the right bag not thinking. I rode to work the 20 miles and when I went to get the drinks they had exploded all over the inside from the heat. The only way I can carry a drink is if I put it in the trunk. Still gets very warm but nowhere near the exhaust.

Don't assume heat caused the cans to fail unless they show actual signs of an explosion (like metal bent outward). If you just found a mess o' beverage in the bag, they may have actually failed due to vibration. Aluminum cans are really really thin, and I've had them wear through and start leaking due to one can rubbing against another inside a saddlebag or cooler. If I'm going to transport beverages in aluminum cans any distance, I make a point of wrapping a sock around every other one to prevent this.

On older (pre-2009) baggers, the left saddlebag will run noticeably cooler than the right one. This is because the older exhaust system is really more a 2-into-1 on the right side than a 2-into-2--most of the exhaust goes out that right muffler (that's why left mufflers tend to rust out sooner than right ones--they don't get hot enough to boil out condensation on short trips). So if you must put something cold in a saddlebag, put it in the left one. But the tour pak is a better place to carry cold drinks. For one thing, you can fit a bigger cooler into it!

[War Horse]

Good point Scott, on the left being cooler but whats up with the left bag being bigger 

[truck]

He was referring to the tour pack being bigger.

[ScottFree]

I was referring to the tour pak... but, on my antique (1990) bagger, the left saddlebag IS bigger, since the right saddlebag loses space to the battery and oil bag...

Beer transportation tip: if you're into micro-brews that aren't bottled/canned at the pub, a 1/2 gallon growler wrapped in a layer of 1/2 inch "Jane Fonda Brand" aerobic exercise mat foam will fit very nicely into the left saddlebag--it's just a wee bit bigger than the distance from the shock tower to the other side of the bag, the foam compresses just a bit, and the beer sits nice and upright for the journey home...

[War Horse]

Just got this cooler a few days ago http://shopping.rexmar.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=aocycle  and got to put it through the test today. I got to say I'm impressed, 94* sun shining, so very hot here, and I loaded the bag with 2 freezer paks, a cup of ice cubes, the cool neck wrap and 2 beers. I left this in the bag all day and upon getting home opened it up and popped a beer..... it was colder than the fridge and the ice froze to the neck wrap, and most notable was that there was no sweating on the outside of the bag. It was colder in the bag after being out all day than what I put into it. 

I've got nothing to do with the company, but this one comes highly recommended   

[kik]

I wonder how that would have done today by me. It reached 108*F The digital thermometer reached 167.8*F in the left saddle bag. and I'm still trying to figure out how it can be hotter in the Chicago area than it is in Florida.

[War Horse]

I'm gonna try this again today but I'll be opening the cooler through out the day, swap out neck coolers and such.

Yesterday was just a dry run to see if the bag stayed dry and cold, from what I seen and for the price this thing is top of the line.

I'll chime in later in the day and see how it performs.

[kevdon]

the bags you are referring to are actually made by Bags Elite inc. in Mesquite Texas. myself and friends have used these bags for years. they will keep drinks cold all day no matter the temp, and never leak. the people are awsome to work with if you have a warranty issue. I sent one back years ago for a zipper issue, "don't try to put 18 beers in a 15 beer cooler" and forgot to send a check, they repaired it anyway and sent it back to me with a reminder of no money sent, or a bill. I highly recommend this cooler. They have been used from wisconsin to cancun with no issues or lost drinks. Also make a great carry-on for airline use.

[War Horse]

I'm back..... 98* and bike in the blazing sun all day today, I was in and out of the cooler all day long, changing out the cool vest and neck wraps. Same as yesterday, 2 ice packs, 1 cup of ice and and a few beers. Got to the house and got the same results. Beer was colder than in the fridge and had plenty of ice left. Plus I have a black bike.

No doubt about it, even at 100+ degrees this thing will stay cold all day, and I could have put allot more ice in there...... or beer, but I wasnt drinking it. I just took it along for 'seat of the pants' testing after. 

[harleypr]

Use Dry Ice instead of ice. It lasts longer, cools better and it evaporates to a gas rather than soaking everything in water. Always amazed that it doesn't get used more. Use it once and you won't go back. Remember the last time you put a sandwich in a cooler with ice and it was all soggy when you ate it?

[War Horse]

Been using those freezer paks, got them at Dollar General store for a buck a piece, also use those molded ones that you put 3 cans inbetween. So far stays cold all day here in Fla. and no water except what dripps of the neck wraps.

Good idea on the dry ice tho.