Posts
4509
Joined
12/26/2007
Location
Syracuse, NY, USA
Edited Date/Time
1/27/2012 4:24pm
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
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
NO UNADILLA AM DAYS??? This is bad news for sure
Unadilla is my holy ground. I live for that weekend of bar banging and beer drinking with all my moto buds. Have not missed a dilla since 92 when AM's were finally allowed to grace there tires and bikes on the famed Unadilla soil for the first time in history of Unadilla. Man I'm bumming today
Since when did Congress go around snuffing industries with a stroke of the pen?
I hope the AMA is down there taking names...this is ridiculous.
Read for yourself:
[url]http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.Pdf[/url]
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
I bet this is not even on our elected officals radar screen with all of the the shit they are dealing with up their in DC. Yea, I sent the e-mail from the site that was linked in the other post, but I don't have any faith it will do anything.
http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/39fed/06ushse/html/msa01956.html
Nobody died from all these years of nibbling on CR 80 frame paint chips.
Good grief, Charlie Brown.
This act was done last August in response to Chinese lead paint on toys - it was never meant to cover minibikes or other toys that can't be put into a child's mouth, and there are plenty of exclusions that cover those kinds of cases.
I don't see any way under 'forseeable use and abuse" a child could injest lead or absorb lead into their bloodstream from parts on a motorcycle.
Should the mfgs take the stance of " we are exempt" instead of "lets see if we can get an exemption?"
And it's manufacturers and distributors, not private individuals.
Ebay will be busy with parts buyers until this is resolved or a better look is taken at the Act.
I also think while this thing is all a mess and needs fixing, there is a lot of misinformation and overreaction going on.
I also tend to think there's a fair amount of public manipulation in the works in order to whip up the masses and spur action.
Pit Row
The new laws are beyond ridiculous, and the limits prior to this were far below what would be lethal/dangerous. Plus how many 12yo's do you know that eat their clothes/toys etc. It would be different if they made it for 3 and under where there is some probability of them mouthing/ingesting clothing/toys.
From the CPSC site:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously (2-0) to issue a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including products intended for children 12 years old and younger. These requirements are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which added certification and testing requirements for all products subject to CPSC standards or bans
now while this doesn't help us because it doesn't offer a stay on compliance, just on testing. Please note that the CPSC is a commission of TWO---does anyone know who these two are? I would say that we lobbyist targeting them.
And can anyone tell me why the motorcycle industry is just now starting to work on complying with the law, if they needed 400 day lead time to get their parts in compliance why didn't they start in AUGUST, they have already used up over 175 days.
Question 14: I run a small shop that sells new and used clothes, jewelry, shoes and toys for children. Do I need to test the products I sell?
No, you are not required to test. However, retailers and resellers (including those who sell on auction Web sites) cannot knowingly sell children’s products that do not meet the requirements of the law. You can protect yourself by screening for violative products. But more importantly, as a business person, you do not want to be selling products that have the potential to cause harm to anyone, especially a child. Sellers should avoid products likely to have lead, phthalates, or do not meet mandatory toy standards (see Table C for a general guide to commonly sold goods).
It is now against the law to sell a recalled product. Remember to check the list of recalled products on the CPSC web site as a number of children’s products have been recalled.
Would they seriously not check out the exemption before hauling product out of the dealers?
Or are they playing it safe to avoid possible fines.
The ACT takes place in 2008, how does that affect goods manufactured and sold from 2000?
Is it considered a banned item, because testing wasn't done in 2000?
When are they going to start arresting me for allowing my child to "play" with his YZ85?
The exemptions read plainly enough for me to use it as a defense and I'd have no problems selling my old yz85, or parts on ebay. I'd probably also use the "spirit of the law" defense that so many use successfully.
But hey... I'm no lawyer either.
from the CPSC site
Sellers will not be immune from prosecution if CPSC’s Office of Compliance finds that someone had actual knowledge that one of these children’s products contained more than 600 ppm lead or continued to make, import, distribute or sell such a product after being put on notice. Agency staff will seek recalls of violative children’s products or other corrective actions, where appropriate.
This tells me minicycles are included:
The lead limits in the CPSIA only apply to products intended or designed primarily for children 12 and under. The lead limits apply only to those bikes which by nature of their size, design or other similar factors indicate that they are intended or designed primarily for children. Thus, a bike with a 24” wheel size or smaller would generally be considered a children’s bike and would need to comply.
Quote: and there is a specific exclusion for products that are inaccessible or are unlikely to be inserted into the child's mouth--
The exclusion doesn't say unlikely it says NOT ACCESSIBLE, that means not able to be reached at all by finger or mouth, not hard to reach/unlikely to be tasted.
From the cpsc:
Components that are not accessible, that is cannot be reached by a small child’s finger or tongue. Paint and other coatings or electroplating are not considered barriers that make a component inaccessible.
Selling your used stuff still probably won't get you into trouble, but selling new stuff would. Especially stuff that is in the suspect category and that the manufacturer is saying isn't compliant. So ebay probably isn't going to be full of people selling new parts to fix your bike and the dealer can't sell them, unless they are in compliance(which the manufacturer pulling them is a STRONG hint that they aren't).
Sure, it's doubtful people will knowingly take the risk with such a high penalty. However, I foresee this being rescinded or exemptions put in place before they hire enough people to police the net.
How many unknowing people would get caught up in this as resellers, etc. etc.? I also doubt the gov't is going to be hunting down individuals, but stranger things have happened.. like this terribly written law.
Where are all the lead poisoned people this affected? The hospitals should be overflowing with lead poisoning victims all these years.
One guy wanted to punch me when I told him I couldn't sell it to him because it was for his kid. He said "well, it's for me then." I was like "sorry, you already told me it was for him, and I have knowledge a kid will be riding it."
He couldn't believe it.
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