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#279 Shout out to the readers

Do you have a story about a favourite tool and how you came to acquire it? If so, drop us a line to share.

With his feature story “The Four Laws of Acquisition,” found on page 42 of this issue, Rick Epp delves into the toolbox and fishes out four well-argued theories that account for all the clutter on the workbench, along the wall, in the house, behind the driver’s seat of your truck, in the basement, and occasionally even in your hands.
Tools. Who could be without them? Our opposable thumbs and ongoing purchases of Snap-On, Husky, Craftsman, Mastercraft, and Gray are what separate us from the animals.
Tools are more than simple levers for a job of work: they can be used as objects of barter or in rites of passage (i.e. “Son, today you are a man. Here’s my daddy’s set of hook spanners.”)
You can fret better over a problem if you’re holding tools—like worry beads.
The sophistication of the tools in your collection marks the passage of time. The more specialized and expensive they become, the older you’ve grown.
By the time you finally own every possible variation of wrench, socket, probe, driver, plier and ratchet—both in standard and in metric—the odds are you’re now too old to use them.
It will then strike you as one of life’s great ironies that you can do nothing to fix the squeaky walker before you because the tools you spent a lifetime acquiring are somewhere out of reach.
But long before then, you will have amassed a bank of tools that mean something more to you than a simple host of stamped-out steel. Some will only ever be that of course, but there others that tell you stories about a special time, or project or person.
That person might be a friend, relative or neighbour, but in one manner or another you will have added a tool to your work environment that means much more than itself.
Drop us a line and tell the story of that tool. We’ll share your memory with other readers right here on this page.

MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK. Sounds like a fortune cookie, but in fact I’m referring to the feedback from last issue when we reached out to you the reader for solutions. The problem belonged to John MacDonald of Nanaimo, BC who couldn’t seem to shake the helmet buffeting woes after the installation of a windscreen. Truthfully, the problem is far more widespread than Nanaimo—cruiser riders are the most seriously afflicted. Our friend Ed Pretty from Langley, BC checked in with his solution (See, ‘Letters,” and so has reader Dave Fullerton who writes:
“In reply to Dr. MacDonald (and also the editor) and his letter about helmet buffeting, take a look at a Laminar Lip (www.laminarlip.com). I installed one on my Intruder LC, using one of their universal types, and the reduction in turbulence around my helmet was very noticable. The ride is quieter, and I don’t need my visor down on my full face helmet all the time, which is nice when it’s warm outside.”
On behalf of Dr. MacDonald and myself, thanks for that Dave!

WHILE WE’RE ON THE TOPIC OF windscreen solutions, Big Bike Parts is now selling flip adjustable windshields for a variety of metric bikes including the Gold Wing and Kawasaki Voyager and Vaquero models. The item is actually a two-part windshield made from aircraft acrylic. The upper part is flipped from hiding behind the lower portion to extend the overall height—up to eight inches in the Gold Wing’s case. The lower portion is dark smoke while the flip upper is clear.
Each windshield comes with two sets of hardware: quick release thumb screws or Allen screws.
www.bigbikeparts.com

EXHAUST AND ELECTRONICS specialist LeoVince announced its move into Canada by presenting the brand directly to customers during the North American International Motorcycle Show in Toronto in early January.
Though LeoVince has long maintained a Canadian selling presence through a distributor, now Canadian consumers and dealers will have direct access to the Richmond, California company’s line of performance products.
“Following our recent warehouse and staff expansion, we are [now] looking forward to working with the extremely passionate dealers and riders of this market,” said Tim Calhoun, executive vice-president of LeoVince USA.
“Our reach will include all the provinces and territories of Canada with the exception of Quebec. There are some market nuances we need to address in order to sell there and we will look to that province in the future,” he said.
All of which means that somebody at LeoVince will draw the short straw and trundle off for French lessons before the company moves into Quebec.

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