You may have heard about a new law that came into effect on February 10th. The law is a broad, sweeping law called the ‘Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act’ (CPSIA). The law was enacted as a knee jerk reaction by Congress to the importation of lead tainted toys from Mattel etc. The new laws give very strict guidelines that have had unintended consequences for many industries. Many metal alloys often contain lead. Engine casings on mini motorcycles, valve stems, spoke nipples etc all now fail the new standards. The fact that lead in metal alloys is ‘insoluble’ has escaped the Government and the CPSC. The lead content in alloys poses no health risks whatsoever. The law was entirely political, and will do little or nothing to protect our children. How many of us have seen kids sucking on motorcycles?

At this point in time, all motorcycle manufacturers have stopped selling youth motorcycles for kids age 12 or under. Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, KTM, Polini, Cobra, Polaris and OSET are all in the same boat. Any bicycle with 24″ wheels or less is now illegal to sell, although the bicycle industry appears to be ignoring the law. To be clear, none of the above companies are now selling youth motorcycles! You can NOT go to a Honda dealer and buy a CRF50, CRF70 or CRF80, or their youth ATV’s.

This is clearly a HUGE issue that needs to be fixed. With the economy in recession, what sense does it make to stop dealers selling inventory, and to effectively close thousands of American businesses, costing tens of thousands of jobs?

There is something we can do. Congressman Tom Self is a moto-Dad, and has taken up our cause. Tom has a standard letter that needs to be signed by every motorcyclist in the Country. If you go to http://www.tomself.com you will see the letter on the home page, and can sign & send in less than a minute. Here is a few links to the News…

http://www.tomself.com

http://chimotonews.blogspot.com/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29227011/

Share on Facebook Sphere: Related Content