Graham Tools Fiber Optic Adaptor - Tool Time

Ever need to peer into some part of your bike's inner workings—primary drive, valve gear, intake tract, a little cavity down behind the fairing—but couldn't get enough light in there to see much of anything? Here's an inexpensive little device that can help remedy such predicaments. The Fiber Optic Adapter from Graham Tools (www.grahamtool.com) is a rubber cap that slips over the top of a mini flashlight and delivers illumination through a very thin and flexible fiber-optic wand. The Adapter is available in two versions: with a 5 1/4-inch wand (part # FPO-07-AA-7; $10.95) or the same cap but with a 20-inch wand (part # FPO-07-AA-20; $13.95).

Installation is a classic no-brainer: You just push the cap over the head of the flashlight and you’re ready to go. When finished, or if you need to use the flashlight in a conventional fashion, just pop the cap off.

If you’re expecting a blinding beam of light to emanate from the end of the wand, you’ll be disappointed; in a completely dark room, the Fiber Optic wand barely emits any perceptible light. But in a small, confined space, it directs sufficient light into the area to make inspection and possibly even repairs easily possible. Just a week or so after I acquired one, I used it to help me fish a dropped valve shim out of a little recess in the cylinder head of my Husqvarna.

The Fiber Optic Adapter is designed to fit the Mini Maglite (also sold by Graham: part # 106.000.303; $12.95) but will snap onto several other similar small flashlights.