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.
