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"Being women who can't get
enough bling...
we make them pretty & we make them better!"
RedHead Gadgets,
LLC
During the summer of 06, Laura and Vickie created prototypes, handed them to
their buds to test mile after mile. The clips traveled from Michigan, to the
heart of New York City, traveling internationally to Toronto, over the Mackinaw
Bridge, on the Lake Express Ferry, through rain, sun, cold temperatures of 30
degrees at 90mph (don’t tell our men in blue!), even baked in an oven on a
windshield at 175 degrees for hours! The vibration test was on the windshield of
Laura's beloved Moto Guzzi for 5,000 miles. Guzzi’s have an 80 year reputation of
being very torquie resulting in vibrations throughout the bike. Not once did a
clip “fly off” or “get stuck” to a windshield while riding. Any dirt or bug
residue left after a long ride can just be washed off of your clip or windshield
with water.
Both Laura and Vickie are very proud of their customizable windshield map clips,
but Laura is especially happy not to be wrestling with the blue tape at each stop
anymore. One has to admit, their clip is the ultimate answer to a cost effective
“Heads Up Display Unit!!!!
We have "generic" designs available, but since we belong to a riding club, we
love items with our club logo (colors) on them, so those are available for your
organization also. We both know how important it is to make that statement of
who you ride with, so we made sure we could get your own club statement on your
clip emblem if you want them in volume for your club members. This is definitely
one of those simple, "why didn't I think of that" items which is useful, highly
presentable, and it's of a quality that Laura and I are proud of. We both love
our biking community friends, and wouldn't expect any of them to accept anything
but the best ideas and the best products. That's how The Original Motorcycle Map
clip was designed, with riders needs in mind.
Vickie - President
Vickie started riding her own bike in 1994 when she decided to get off the
passenger seat and go on her own. She started on a Honda Shadow 650 and didn't
go to far on it. In 2002, she fell in love with a Yamaha VStar Classic 1100 and
that's when she really took off into the world of motorcycling, finally
understanding the thrill of the wind in her hair and that old biker saying of
"being one with your bike." Since then, she has put some 30,000 miles on that
VStar, riding all over the country, in all kinds of weather. While she does work
a respectable full-time 9-5 job during the week, she is no poser when it comes
to the biker community. She has been the Chapter Director for a women's riding
group, boasting over 70 women, for 5 years, which constantly includes new riders
looking for advice. Vickie is one to watch, learn, innovate, and is always
looking for way to "make things better" for herself and her ladies.
Looking for truly useful products that fit her lifestyle was a chore, but since
she loves "bling", she was willing to try different items of interest, most of
which are still in the bike storage locker in the garage. Being a Road Captain
with her riding group, she rarely rides alone, and usually has several ladies
behind her, trusting her to get them safely from point A to point B, usually via
scenic route, not straight out the freeway. Not an easy task for her. One day,
one of her Road Captains showed up for a ride with a simple black office clip
attached to her windshield holding her riding directions for that day. Vickie
immediately found one somewhere, don't tell her boss where she found it, and
rode with it there for 2 seasons. When she showed up with it at a local Poker
Run in early 2006, she clipped her directions to the windshield and was ready to
go, while the other riders were fussing with blue tape, stuffing their jackets,
going over the route with their passenger, programming their GPS, or trying to
memorize each turn. A few riders standing nearby noticed her clip and commented
on what a neat idea that was. She called Laura after the ride, laughing about
how no one had thought of that over the years. Being women who can't get enough
bling, we decided we could "make them pretty. make it better", and at that
moment, The Original Motorcycle Windshield Map Clip was born. RedHead Gadgets,
LLC, came very shortly after that, and we were off and running.
In a few short months, we had our patent pending, and a nicely assembled product
that we are proud to put on our bikes. Vickie's VStar wears nothing cheezy
looking, and if it doesn't look good on there, it comes off. The bare office
clip scratched the windshield, this one won't. If it's on her bike, it will be
black and/or chrome, so that's where they started, with a black/chrome product,
but it had to be adaptable to other people who feel the same way about their
bikes, so the emblem had to be customizable, which it is. Our clip is a highly
functional product, we wouldn't put less-than-acceptable items on our bikes, and
neither should anyone else. The VStar has never seen a strip of blue tape on her
tank.
Laura Vice-President
Laura, is the blond (ok, faux blond) of the blond/redhead duo clippie chicks.
Riding is her passion. Laura has ridden on and off, dirt and street, since
childhood, but went over the edge obsessed after buying her 2003 1100 Moto Guzzi
California Stone Chrome Metal in the spring of 03. Since that spring she’s put
over 33,000 miles in the saddle riding to Sturgis, riding the switchbacks of W.
Virginia, riding through rainstorms, high winds, and even getting caught in the
snow three times (which is three times too many)!
All of these great riding experiences were shared experiences while riding with
the great ladies (and their men) of Free Spirit Chapter. As a three year veteran
Road Captain and current Lead RC, she’s had the pleasure of planning, leading,
and tailing many, many rides over thousands of miles. Laura’s first experience
with map reading while riding came on her first local Poker Run Charity ride.
She showed up in squeaky new leather, no patches or pins, didn’t know a soul,
didn’t know the area, in the midst of some very seasoned bikers, YIKES! She
managed to get in the middle of a group exiting the parking lot, feeling very
secure that she could “hide” there for the duration. Made it through the first
light, but got stuck at the second light – in lead with all those seasoned
bikers staring at her, probably trying not to laugh too loud! For the next 7-8
miles she pulled the crumbled up map in and out of her pocket at every
opportunity praying it didn’t blow away in the wind and praying not to lead them
astray. All went well, but she quickly graduated to the “blue tape”, relying
heavily on reading real fast, looking down at her tank, while praying not to run
into someone in front of her while her eyes were off the road. Finally, an
answer to all that praying, the Original Motorcycle Windshield Map Clip!
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