Is there an emoticon for head scratching? How and why does someone get an S&S coupled bike ($2,000 and up -- sometimes WAY up) and then cheap out on a case?

You can get the soft side case for a couple hundred less. Or, you can see if there's an outfit in town that makes custom cardboard boxes, and have them make one for you. The box probably isn't amenable to re-use for multiple trips, which presumably is the reason someone buys the couped bike. Note that there's no guarantee that either of these, or the hard case, will let you ship the bike without damage. The best you can do is to pack it with the appropriate frame covering, with the appropriate case spacers, pack it carefully, and cross your fingers. Then you put it in the hands of TSA and the ariline luggage gorillas. FWIW, my experience is the most likely damage is to the cables or couplers (if TSA leaves the couplers dangling out of the case), or something gets scratched by the spokes when they mash the case closed.