Posts
144
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
El Segundo, CA, USA
Edited Date/Time
1/22/2012 1:02pm
I KNOW THERE'S A FEW OTHER POST GOING AROUND ON THIS, BUT THIS WAS JUST SENT TO ME FROM MX SPORTS....READ BELOW
URGENT: Call to Action from MX Sports
Dear Industry Leaders, Racers, Fans and Enthusiasts,
Yesterday, a law went into effect prohibiting the sale of minicycles to children under the age of 13 as a result of the lead content in the machines (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Title I, Section 101). This law, which arguably applies to both motorcycles and ATVs, treats any children's product that contains more lead than the limit established by law as a banned hazardous substance.
We have already begun to experience the devastating consequences of this new legislation upon our sport, as OEMs have already pulled these machines from their showroom floors. Youth racing is the foundation of our sport. That is when most of you fell in love with motorcycles in the first place, only to grow up to bring your own kids back to the racetracks. Only now, they can't ride.
On behalf of MX Sports (Loretta Lynn's), Racer Productions (GNCC), and ATVPG (ATV Amateur Nationals), we are extremely concerned with the short- and long-range effects of this new legislation, as the first rounds in all of our various series are less than two weeks away, and all include classes for youth racers under the age of 13. But it's not just our events - WORCS, NMA, Mini Os, SETRA, etc., are all adversely impacted.
It is our opinion that the new law is inapplicable to off-highway motorsports, as neither motorcycles nor ATVs have the potential for ingestion, and lead from motorcycles is not likely to be absorbed into the bloodstream or present a health hazard. Let's face it - when was the last time someone swallowed a motorcycle? Any other interpretation would be silly. Be that as it may, the law will continue to adversely affect our industry unless and until an exemption is granted.
Presently, there is a petition for an immediate temporary exemption pending before the Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC") filed by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) on behalf of the OEMs, distributors, and industry associations. This petition, if granted, would enable our industry to move forward this racing season while the applicability of the law to the off-highway industry is determined.
What can you do?
A form letter for submission to the CPSC in support of the petition for exemption is attached as prepared by the MIC. The letter will also be available this weekend at the Indy tradeshow. Simply print out one copy for each person in your family and submit it ASAP. In the meantime, AMA is preparing a letter for submission by its membership to the CPSC. Be on the lookout for that one as well.
Also, an electronic form letter has been prepared by State Representative Tom Self of Missouri. Please go his website at www.tomself.com. Just fill in your name and address and hit "Submit" to register your support. Please submit this letter on behalf of every member of your family - regardless of age.
What else can you do?
Contact your congressmen and senators; let them know that this legislation will have the unintended consequences of crippling an entire industry. Surely, it could not have been the spirit or intent of the new law to apply to motorcycles or bicycles (which apparently have lead in the brake cables).
Time is of the essence. The very future of our sport and of our industry depends on this. We must support the pending petition before the commencement of the national racing season.
Please give this matter your immediate attention, and forward this letter to EVERY PERSON available ASAP.
Thank you,
c.
Carrie Coombs Russell
DOWNLOAD CPSC FORM LETTER HERE---See below
February 16, 2009
Acting Chairman Nancy Nord
Commissioner Thomas Moore
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
4330 East-West Highway
Bethesda, MD 20814
Re: MIC and SVIA Petitions for Temporary Final Rule to Exclude a Class of Materials under Section 101(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
Dear Chairman Nord and Commissioner Moore:
My company is in the business of selling youth ATVs, youth off-highway motorcycles (OHMs), parts or accessories for and/or services relating to those vehicles. I am writing to urge you to grant the above-referenced petitions filed by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA) and several manufacturers and distributors.
While most parts of youth powersports products are compliant with the CPSIA lead limits, some parts unavoidably contain small quantities of lead in excess of the CPSIA limits, such as the valve stems on the tires, the aluminum in some brake components and the terminals on the batteries, to name some examples. Lead in these components is necessary, either because small amounts of lead are needed for safety (such as machining the deep grooves on tire valves, which is needed to assure tire air retention) or functionality (such as the lead in battery terminals, which is needed to conduct electricity). Because these small quantities of lead are unavoidable, powersports businesses had to cease selling youth products on February 10, 2009 and will need relief from the CPSIA requirements in order to resume selling these products.
In enacting the CPSIA, Congress gave you the tools to grant merited, common-sense exclusions from the lead standards. Children do not eat, lick or mouth ATV or OHM parts. Relief from the CPSIA’s lead content requirements for youth ATVs and OHMs should be granted because the lead-containing components, parts and accessories pose no risk of causing measurable increase in blood lead levels in children ages 12 and younger.
I also am very concerned about an unintended consequence of the CPSIA. Applying the new lead content regulations to youth ATVs has resulted in many youth models being unavailable to families, and may result in more youth riding adult size ATVs. CPSC, the ATV industry, consumer groups, safety advocates and parents all agree that the key to improving ATV safety for riders under the age of 16 is to keep them off of ATVs designed for adults.
I urge you to grant the petitions for temporary exclusions filed by MIC, SVIA and the manufacturers/distributors.
Respectfully Submitted,
_______________________________
Name:__________________________
Company: _______________________
Address: ________________________
________________________________
On a serious note, This law is so FUBAR. I'm glad I could do my part.
Don't know if it will ever affect Oz but if it is affecting Moto-X anywhere in the world then submit away
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
When the leadership of our sport allows the government to make decisions that negatively impact everyone, without some sort of interaction prior to those decisions we all lose.
You can count on the safety and sound issues being addressed next. You can bet the latest tragedy with Jeremy Lusk will drive more discussion related to safety issues, even though it wasn't a direct result of moto cross racing. If the Motorsports industry isn't proactive in getting to the government leadership to educate them, and show them what the venues are doing to deal with the concerns, you can bet MX as we know will be legislated away.
Another question, do Cobra's have lead? What is the effect on that company? Or does this law only impact imports? Are they basically out of business?
The letter above from MXSports is designed for dealers and industry to send to the CPSC.
The electronic form letter that is sent from www.tomself.com is meant for every citizen to submit. It goes automatically to senators, congressmen, and the cpsc.
Think about it. Who do you know affected from lead poisioning of OHVs?
S
Since when does a kid that age walk into the dealer and plunk down 4 grand?
Dude, if you lick that valve stem, the tingle is so cool.
RULE.
(a) GENERAL LEAD BAN.—
(1) TREATMENT AS A BANNED HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE.—
Except as expressly provided in subsection (b) beginning on
the dates provided in paragraph (2), any children’s product
(as defined in section 3(a)(16) of the Consumer Product Safety
Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)(16))) that contains more lead than the
limit established by paragraph (2) shall be treated as a banned
hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances
Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.).
‘‘(16) CHILDREN’S PRODUCT.—The term ‘children’s product’
means a consumer product designed or intended primarily for
children 12 years of age or younger. In determining whether
a consumer product is primarily intended for a child 12 years
of age or younger, the following factors shall be considered:
‘‘(A) A statement by a manufacturer about the intended
use of such product, including a label on such product
if such statement is reasonable.
‘‘( B ) Whether the product is represented in its packaging,
display, promotion, or advertising as appropriate
for use by children 12 years of age or younger.
‘‘(C) Whether the product is commonly recognized by
consumers as being intended for use by a child 12 years
of age or younger.
‘‘(D) The Age Determination Guidelines issued by the
Commission staff in September 2002, and any successor
to such guidelines
Pit Row
This was posted on our district site, the letter is from Greg Robinson, Owner of Unadilla...
"Good Afternoon...forget the good, as our country has descended into lunacy.
I have spent most of the day on two conference calls relative to the subject line above, and I must say I am rather concerned about the fate of our sport and industry. Not to mention our local communities for the further loss of jobs and $$ that our industry brings in each year. It is certainly that dire..believe me.
As of yesterday, all the OEMs had to pull for sale all new youth minicycles and atvs for those under the age of 13...this under order of the CPSC due to lead content of plastics and certain metals. As of yesterday, a dealer or private individual can no longer provide parts or service, to these affected machines, in which there is a possibility that those same parts may contain lead...no oil changes, plastic, levers, engine cases, etc, etc..goggles, helmets, clothing, knee braces..you name it. You may think that is just for new machines, but it is for everything new and used.
The CPSC also ruled that machines under 85cc are considered toxic to the health of young children.
Effective yesterday, Honda has pulled replacement parts from their service system for these machines pending lead certification...this takes 400 days. KTM, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Yamaha are doing the same thing. If you have a 1,2,3 year old machine, you won't be able to buy most parts for it very soon.
Yamaha is sending out restrictions to its dealers saying that an 85cc bike can only be sold, and should only be operated by someone over the age of 13.
Now to the fun part for us as a race promoter.
*Because the manufacturers are now issuing these guidelines, we as promoters cannot allow a youth under the age of 13 to participate for two reasons.
*We are allowing someone to participate in a sanctioned activity on a vehicle that has been determined by the manufacturer and the CPSC to be unsafe for that age level.
*We are allowing someone to participate in a sanctioned activity on a vehicle that the CPSC has determined is a toxic substance.
If you think I am joking, consider the following
*MX Sports is considering removing youth classes from the Loretta Lynn's program, GNCC, and ATV Nationals...we run all three of these series and I can tell you that these classes make up over 1/3 of our entries and more than half of our attendance.
*The AMA will be forced to ban youths under 13 from any AMA amateur or pro competition due to legal ramifications. The same will apply to local districts and sanctioning bodies, as insurance will not be available to cover this exposure.
*The lifeblood of our sport are these kids..if they cannot participate, they will find something else to do, and we will not get them back. They will not race, watch, or buy products. That means Mom, Dad and older brothers/sisters won't be there either.
*Unadilla would most likely not participate in any form of amateur racing..with only half or less of the entries left, it wouldn't be financially possible.
DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION YET!
There are two efforts going on right now to get a temporary stay granted by the CPSC for "Off Road Vehicles." The MIC (Motorcycle Industry Council) and Missouri State House Rep Mike Sense(#4 in line in the MO st govt) are both developing grass roots letter campaigns through websites to develop a ground swell of support for this stay. Keep in mind this is only temporary, and unless a Federal injunction or legislation is developed, this isn't going away.
There are several opinions floating around on this subject saying that our thinking is flawed and that only the sale of new units is affected...if that is the case, why are helmet, goggle, sneakers, sunglasses, OEM parts and accessories, and dealer service being pulled for these units???
I will leave you with this..if indeed this is overblown, and we are right that we shouldn't be affected by this, it still doesn't mean that we can't/won't be sued by someone using this logic, and worse yet, convince a jury that the above is true. If it gets that far, you will have spent nearly a million $$ in your own defense, just to prove you were right all along.
IS IT WORTH THAT TO YOU?
I will get you info on the two websites, and I encourage you to beg everyone you know that rides, owns, promotes, or attends an off road sporting event to get everyone they know in the same manner to fill out one of these letters...Every Mom Dad and Kid should individually enter their name. Then they should contact their local representatives too.
Thanks for listening, and please do not think you can't make a difference..contact your local representatives as well..explain the economic impact this will have..educate yourself on this subject as quickly as you can."
Greg Robinson
VP Marketing
Unadillla Motorsports
(c) 315-725-9537 greg@unadillamx.com
Go immediatly to: http://www.tomself.com and send a letter to Congress to put a stop to this insanity.
--------------------
Attend the Outlaw Winter Nationals 08-09
http://www.geocities.com/oreillydirttrack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KqVk3Q1Gek
918-902-5786
They do not pay attention
They do not do any actual research
and are of no help towards a solution
sheezzzz.
Posted April 3, 2009
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- Acting Chairman Nancy Nord of the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has decided to hold off for a year enforcing the new lead law that has forced dealers to yank youth-model off-road motorcycles and ATVs off their showroom floors.
For the rest of the story click this link:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=775
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