We old farts have a responsibility to protect and advocate for the sports we have been fortunate to enjoy, so that future generations can experience the outdoors like we have.
In 2008 ago the CPSIA (Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act) declared that children toys with certain, very low, levels of lead should be banned from sale and that products should be tested regularly to ensure compliance. This was mainly in response to toys from China and Mexico that small kids might put in their mouths and ingest lead from.
Unfortunately, the law was too broadly written and the CPSC (Consumer Products Safety Commission) bureaucrats claim they had no choice but to ban products like small motorcycles that are specifically sized for kids under 12. The small sized bikes fit kids better and are thus safer. But like all motorcycles they have lead in the battery terminals and small amounts of lead in wheel rims and other metal parts. Now, obviously, motorcycling kids are not going to be licking their handlebars or taste-testing their batteries. The upshot is that many motorcycles were not sold in 2009 and 2010 to the safety detriment of many kids who needed new or used bikes to continue their riding and racing. The economic impact on dealers was very large because some derive about 1/3 of their sales from small bikes.
Last year the CPSC agreed to stay the enforcement of CPSIA until the end of 2011, pending new legislation. Of course, that legislation hasn't happened yet. Unless changed, 2012 will see a ban on childrens' motorcycles, ATVs, bicycles, etc.
The good news is that Rep. Denny Rehberg of Montana has inserted language in a 2012 Services bill to block the CPSIA as concerns motorcycles. But this is a temporay measure. "While I'm working on a permanent fix to get rid of this dangerous regulation, my appropriations language will buy more time," he said. Rehberg was referring to H.R. 412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act, which he introduced to exempt kids' OHVs from the lead-content restrictions of the CPSIA."
The bad news is that what really needs to happen is to pass Rehbergs's Kids Just Want to Ride Act, HR 412. AMA held a large rally on May 26 called the AMA Family Capital Hill Climb and many youngsters spoke about their riding and implored Congress to act. http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/KidsJustWantToRide.aspx
Please call your representatives and tell them to vote for HR412 and to pass the appropriations amendment. See here:
http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/NewsView/11-06-17/Federal_funding_language_would_block_lead_law_enforcement.aspx
and:
http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/rights/issueslegislation
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