Marsee Tank Bags
You've been to the dealership. You've filled out the paperwork. Now it's sitting in your garage: A brand new Suzumawanda GXBRZ-15000, the fastest, lightest, most technologically advanced super-sport-race-rep crotch-mounted two-wheeled transport ever manufactured. Owning this bike makes you a better person. It makes you faster. The opposite sex finds you more attractive and comments on your brilliance and overall suitability for reproduction. What more could you ask for?
Carrying space. Besides rifling your high-powered piston pony through the canyons you may want to tote, say, a sweater for the ride home at night, or some lotion for when your tender hands get a little flaky from the dry, cris
Cell phone E-mail pager Palm Pilot Xena Disc Lock (the big yellow thing that yelps when you forget to take it off) Wallet Bungee net Sunglasses (bad for splitting lanes at night) Cool leather cap with Harley-Davidson logo (Official Licensed Product, thank you) Little package of Zantac (test editor is now in his thirties and can no longer inhale jalapeño-laden burritos with brazen impunity)
Decide that you need to take along a little something extra, like your girlfriend's cat for a special fun-ride? No problem. Just undo the large zipper that runs around the perimeter of the bag, pull gently and you've got the full ten liters (actual capacity not determined). Now you've got plenty of room to add a layer of cardboard to protect your special things, throw in some nails, a pile of broken glass, some rare scorpions and finally, little honey-bunney-pwetty-kitty that likes to draw cute pictures with its claws on your $600 leather jacket. Nothing a 100-mile enduro ride can't fix.
Ahem. Truthfully, with the bag fully expanded, adding a warm garment is easy. The Rocket Pocket solves a host of storage problems and will be the most tank bag that many riders, weekend canyon carvers especially, will ever need.
You can almost pack too much in a bag this large, threatening to overweight the tankbag when fully extended, but after nine months of constant usage there's never been a problem, the magnets in both of the Marsee tank bags sucking down on a metal tank with the strength of a White House intern. Obviously, that's an exaggeration, but they are strong enough to bolster confidence, keeping your attention on the hairpin turn you're negotiating rather than the tankbag that's engorged with Grandma's heirloom quilt.
Riding piggyback on one end of the 30-Liter bag is a small, detachable pack designed to carry smaller items that you might not want to leave behind. The extra pack is clever and useful at times, affixing to your belt easily.
Otherwise it's almost pointless to illustrate the carrying capacity. If you need to carry enough to need a huge tankbag, then you know who you are. What sets the Marsee bags apart is the host of detailed features. The zippers are large, easy-to-use, durable items that operate easily. The black material for the bags is tough and looks great after months of constant commuting through Los Angeles smog. Reflective strips on the sides of the bags are standard issue.
Carrying handles are also standard items on both bags, and the 30-Liter comes with a handy shoulder strap in addition to the belt pack. With the large bag extended, the load can be tightened down by cinching up compression cords that run around the compartment on the exterior, and a side-mounted hook-and-loop strip is a useful place to keep gloves when you're at a rest stop. Of special note is the fact that neither tank bags have scratched the finish on any test bikes with which the staff has been charged. Very nice.
Negatives? Not many. These are great products that will serve, but they ain't cheap. The Rocket Pocket comes in at $80 and the 30-Liter Economy Magnetic at $140. Considering that they show such little wear after constant usage, however, we still recommend you take a hard look when shopping for a storage option. Keep in mind, also, that these bags are also available in a quick-release, non-magnetic design. Nice stuff, four-and-a-half stars.
Contact Marsee Products at (800) 293-2400 or check out their Web site at Marsee Tank or Seat Bag
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