My commuter bike has Tommaselli Racer "motorcycle" levers which I think are great, but the rubber boot has started to deteriorate (after 20 years), so I am wondering if these are around anywhere? Of course I could make some leather covers to replace the rubber... if I can't find anything suitable.

Also I have SunTour Power thumb-shifters, which I also think are fantastic... yet they seem to have been a mere blip on the market... what happened to this fine product. Beats to heck some of the junk I see passing for index shift levers today.

Yes the Power shift levers were friction, but they were fast and adjustable and a sturdy well built piece of gear.