Written by Jim Hatch.

REOPENED - June 2020

June 20, 2020 - Connecticut reopened all but the most population dense businesses and venues (bars, nightclubs, concerts, festivals). Stores, restaurants, shops are all open. Most are limited to half-capacity and face mask use is required except for children, subject to a $250 fine and a misdemeanor charge. But as a result, our new cases, new hospitalizations and deaths are all are record lows since this all began. In an ironic turnabout, Connecticut & New York are considering requiring visitors from Florida to self-quarantine on their arrival in the state. We have weathered the storm so far and hope everyone in the motorcycling community has made it to ride again this summer.

What does that mean for Maple? Well, we can finally get sheet steel and aluminum without paying double to have it shipped. They're putting together an order for us to pick up this weekend. With the new bigger plasma CNC table, we can cut a complete tank from a single sheet in one program run. 

It also means we're only a couple weeks away from when Bill returns from unemployment (the extra Federal unemployment kicker is keeping him home for a little bit more). In the meantime we'll be cutting the sheets of plate needed for our backlog. We currently have a 4 month backlog of orders with deposits before we can start to make the stocked versions we started the year intending to make available for shipment when ordered. 

If you haven't gotten a notice with your summer scheduled slot, then starting in October you'll be able to buy from stock. Shipment will be within 48 hours from receipt for black powder coated tanks as long as we show it in stock when you order. The schedule for this fall will be:

October - BMW GS thru model year 2018

November - BMW RT thru model year 2013

December - BMW RT model years after 2013

The first quarter of next year, Covid permitting, has Triumph Trophy, FJR and Super Tenere on deck.

In the meantime, if you need a tank or custom work quicker, drop Ernie Azevedo a note (ernie at eazcycle.com). He was slated to reopen the first of this month so he's got a couple of weeks head start on us for getting work underway. 

In case you're interested in what we did while in self-isolation, the pictures below are laser cut acrylic earsavers we worked on in conjunction with volunteers all over the world and facilitated by our laser's manufacturer. For people wearing masks all day, the elastics can irritate their ears until they are raw and abraded. The earsaver just slips in between the ends and pulls the elastic away. They conform to the shape of the head and they can be sterilized with normal disinfectants. We cut, boxed and donated 10,730 of them to front line workers primarily in healthcare and local first responders. We connected with facilities as far away as Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in California and as close as Hartford Hospital's transplant unit down the road. From medical staff, USPS clerks, bakery workers and most recently a casino in the Midwest who just began their own reopening.

BTW, if you'd like some for your office, shop or family, drop me a note at mapleearsavers at gmail.com - Note, this is only for earsaver requests and may be closed when we run out of earsavers (we currently have approximately 15,000 in process). There is no charge for the earsavers or shipping. We're glad we made it through things this far. Our family and friends are okay so we're happy to pay that forward. Send your name, address and how many you'd like. They are not for resale so please don't tempt karma. If you need more than 250, please tell us the organization that will be receiving them so we can keep track.

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Written by Jim Hatch.

Breaking News! UPDATE March 2020

Coronavirus Edition

It seems like every company is sending out an announcement about how they're responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Heck, I got one from my online bank - no physical location to go to see a teller or an ATM but they wanted to assure me that they were taking all precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. Not sure but maybe they're cleaning the electrons of their part of the Internet a bit more than usual.

At any rate, here's mine.  

This is a CNC Plasma table Torch Height Control VIM (Voltage Input Module) box. It takes the signals from the plasma cutter and routes it to the CNC's control box so the torch height can be controlled by the computer. It's for the new CNC table we thought would be here in January. The box (just the plastic box, not the guts) were made in China. The table's manufacturer thought they'd be getting it before the Chinese New Year shut down manufacturing over there. Unfortunately the box got as far as a shipping warehouse waiting on the shipment transport company to pick it up (and a couple of thousand like it). 

Then the covid-19 virus broke loose. And the box was trapped as the coronavirus  ravaged the country. Our box had to wait until the outbreak was contained enough for workers to return to their daily activities. So our box made it via San Diego to CT just a week ago and the assembly of the table began. Before that, I spent a week on the road in a half-dozen airports across the country and got what is termed a "presumptive case of coronavirus". That means I got sick, my symptoms matched those caused by covid-19, the flu test was negative and they had no other explanation so they presume that's what I had. But because there were no tests available in CT, I was sent home to get better. And I have. For those of you who are worried about getting it, as long as you're not a high-risk patient, you'll probably weather it fine. It wasn't as bad as the last time I had the flu. It'd be better though if you don't get it.  

Unfortunately you can't tell if you're going to be badly affected by the virus. And if you get it, you may be contagious before you get the fever or other symptoms. Worse, you may never show any real symptoms but still be contagious. That means you may infect others when you don't even know you're sick. That's the real danger with this virus - someone who may not be as fortunate as you are (if you get a mild case) may get it bad and potentially, it may be fatal. I don't know what the answer is. It seems counterproductive to avoid all people, not to mention pretty hard when you think of all the things you need to do. 

So we're assembling the table and will try to get it dialed in this week. In the meantime we're waiting for word from our steel supplier as to when they'll be letting folks into the warehouse to buy materials. 

We're making small parts with the stock we cut before packing the small CNC table away to make room for the new big table. So if you've ordered replacement parts, mounts, small shelves or radar detector holders, they're shipping as promised on schedule. If you're waiting to order a tank or rack, we'll post here when we're back in operation. 

While we wait for things to get back to normal, wash your hands regularly, sneeze or cough into your elbow, avoid crowds and high-risk (elderly, immuno-compromised or otherwise ill) individuals.

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