Ashley Map Hold'r

ASHLEY MAP HOLD'R

CW EVALUATION

Tanktop route receptac1e

WHEN CARRYING CAPACITY IS WHAT you need, tankbags are wonderful things. But when all you want is a place to put a road map, a tankbag is a bit of overkill.

Somebody at the Ashley Company (P.O. Box 33191, North Royalton, OH 44133; 216/582-3776) has figured this out, and the Map Hold’r ($14.95, available only by mail from the manufacturer) is the result.

The product comes in several parts. The first is a heavy-duty plastic map pouch, 5.5 x 9 inches in size, with a zip-lock closure at its mouth. The second is a clear sheet of hard plastic the same size, and the third is a collection of suction cups. The suction cups plug into holes on the plastic plate, and that assembly gets stuck to the top of a bike’s fuel tank. The plastic pouch then velcros to the top of the plastic plate, with the map securely inside.

And it all works. We have but two comments. We wish the whole thing was maybe an inch longer and an inch wider so that the pocket would more easily accommodate oddly folded maps. And we’ve found that on most bikes, wherever the Hold’r is stuck, at least one of its suction cups comes in contact with the gas cap, to which it won’t stick for very long.

But we can work around that; the Hold’r at least sticks on, even without all its suction cups sucking, even at high speeds. A good coat of wax on the bike’s tank aids sticking, and helps protect the paint. We like this product, enough so that when we’re looking for routes, not a way to haul a truckful of stuff, the Map Hold’r is what we’ll use.