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Mounting rifle scabbard- ideas?

34K views 48 replies 18 participants last post by  Oobeedoobenubi 
#1 ·
Hello,

Have not posted on this forum before, but have been around motorcycles my whole life.

Has anyone on here ever mounted a hard rifle scabbard to side luggage racks on a KLR650? I like to target shoot fairly often and thought it would save me about $40 in gas each time I don't have to drive my truck to my favorite spot.

I recently purchased a set of Caribou racks that I hope to devise a scabbard mount for using their quick-detach latching system. I have seen ATV rifle scabbards made by Kolpin, but know of no others that might be suitable. I am also not sure if the Kolpin product can be mounted to a flat surface plate, as I do not know of anywhere locally I can look at one. Unfortunately, it cannot mount to the forks on a KLR like I have seen on on some air cooled bikes because of the fairing and radiator.

Any ideas or pictures from you guys that have done any custom mounting to luggage racks?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
OR_KLR _Rider
 
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#2 ·
First of all, Welcome to the Forum!! I am sure you will find a wealth of friendly wisdom among our brethren, as have I. I have seen some threads for mounting scabbards, most guys agree that the Kolpin used on atv's is a viable option. As to the details of the mounts, the 'search' feature will be your best bet. I too am working on a mounting system for my ride, but I don't have pannier racks, yet. As for hauling around my 1911, I have a tankvest with the molle system and a Blackhawk Serpa holster with the molle mount. Nice and secure on the side of the tank!
 

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#5 ·
Good luck with your project, but I've found no sensible way to do it. You never realize how large a hard rifle case is until you start holding it up against a KLR looking for a way to attach it.

Personally, I gave up on anything other than sometimes bungeeing a hard plastic rifle case to the cargo rack. I do use a nylon Molle shotgun scabbard attached to my right side rack (with zip ties) to occasionally carry a "tactical" shotgun or Ruger Mini-30 or 10/22, but they're all short guns, have iron sights and are utilitarian pieces that can take the abuse. I wouldn't want to carry a nice gun that way and certainly not a scoped rifle or one with which I was overly concerned about the finish.

If you come up with anything, I'd be interested in seeing what it is.
 
#8 ·
I've been wondering how to deal with a long-gun on the bike, and honestly, about the only thing I can come up with is a sling and wearing it across my back...

...of course, we can get away with that here in Utah - open carry is legal.
 
#14 ·
i mounted a fising pole holder which is just a large pvc tube to the left side from the foot peg up to the over sized case on my bike( at a 130 degree angle) then to hold it i ran a bolt from the bungee strap by the peg and one from inside the case through the tube, layed it over on it on a trip held up just fine
 
#15 ·
If you look on tank vest facebook site you will see a molle scabbard fits on the side with a MP5 and M4 rifle in the pics. Although I don't know that a full-length M4 would fit, it may be a shorty model.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/TankVestcom/227004867354697

Best guess from the pics the scabbard is this one for molle attachment:

http://www.ar15outfitters.com/NcStar-Tactical-MOLLE-Rifle-Scabbard--Black_p_2396.html

Maybe not relevant to this thread, and overall pretty expensive, just thought it had high "kool-aid" factor.
 
#17 ·
In my opinion, a pistol in a holster on your hip, or a drop holster, or even a shoulder rig, would be more "secure" than having one attached to the bike. And for me, with Utah being an "open carry" legal state - and concealed carry with a permit - my plan is to carry my 9mm in its holster when I take off out into the desert, because frankly, you really don't know who you'll come across when you're 75 miles out a dirt road that gets very little traffic, and I've come across some strange folks out there before when I was in my truck...

:stickpoke:
 
#18 ·
Nothing against carrying a handgun while riding (I do it all the time) but it would seem to me carrying a handgun openly in a holster attached to the bike somewhere doesn't make much sense when you can just carry it on your body in the same manner you would if you were on foot and not on the bike.

I can see perhaps having a handy holster attached somewhere within easy reach in a vehicle, but not on a motorcycle.
 
#19 ·
Open carry...

Hi guys, I agree that after riding for some time now, that ideally it would be preferable to carry on your person, rather than strapped to the bike. It is(was) more of an exercise in carry options. One thing I have found at least here in NE, whether I carry open or concealed, the need arises to be able to properly store/secure when off the bike. For example: Say I go to the range, and then on my way to or fro, I decide to run an errand or two. Here if a business has it posted "No Firearms", permit or no, you can't take it with you and still be legal. How do you handle this situation? Not pointing fingers or anything, Just looking for viable options.

P.S. I kinda like the looks I get when a cager realizes that there's a GUN on the side of that bike! They tend be more aware of me. They also tend to back off when they realize they are on camera... Enjoy the ride!
 
#20 ·
I was thinking the tank/bike carry option would be contingent on where you were going and what you were planning on doing: i.e. what do you do when you get off the bike, transfer it to another holster on your body? It would seem that would be the only option because I've never seen any kind of KLR luggage I would put a firearm in and then leave it unattended. In a vehicle, it's fairly easy to unholster a handgun and put it somewhere in the car without anybody seeing you do so: much harder on a motorcycle in a parking lot.

I don't think there's any solution to the situation you described. If I'm carrying, "No Firearms" stops are off-limits. If I know one of them is among my destinations, I really have no choice but to travel without one.

I do have a small holster mounted on my mountain bike I use to carry a Ruger LCP when I'm out riding in the boonies, but it's small enough if I leave the bicycle to venture off the bike to go check something out, I can just slip it in the pocket of my shorts.

I like your rig and it would seem the retention holster would be critical to keep somebody from seeing it, running up when you're stopped and trying to grab it out of the holster.

With that tactical setup, it's no wonder people are more "aware" of you. Most folks have never seen anything like that on a motorcycle and probably assume you're some kind of plain-clothes Federal Agent from the ATF, DHS, ICE, etc.

If you're going to mount a holster somewhere on the bike, I would say yours is the best setup I've ever seen.
 
#22 ·
I've seen diagonal mountings, vertical mountings, etc. but think maybe this would be the way to go. Bad idea if you happen to go down on your right side, I guess, but not something I'd really worry about. A rig like this would enable you to choose whatever hard or soft gun case you wanted to use. It's an interesting option, anyway.

 
#24 ·
Re:

I just saw a guy with a rifle case mounted on a bike on the Google+ Dual sport community...

A picture is worth a thousand words. That is a pretty long scabbard- exactly like the Kolpin I was looking at. I would bet it is difficult to balance it without getting in the way of riding.

Also- Looks like the barrel end is a little too close to the left foot peg for my taste. Could mount it on the top rear rack, but it would stick up too high. No easy answers...
 
#26 ·
Yessssss!!!

I was hoping someone had done this. I don't have my crash bars yet but I want a scabbard for my AR... Gonna do something similar to this.
 
#28 ·
And I was just about to post this question. :)

Any more ideas on how to carry a rifle on a Gen 1 KLR? The rifle will be more than likely a Marlin 1895GS in the wheezer cartridge 45-70 Government. :) Or a 20" barreled bolt rifle I had built from a savage action in .358 Winchester. Both are Fantastic Cast Boolit shooters. :)
 
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