New Legislation May Ruin Motorcycle Sports

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was passed in the wake of several recalls of toys made in China in 2007 and 2008 that had been found to contain toxic levels of lead and other chemicals dangerous to children. The legislation, which was signed into law in August 2008, required very quick responses on the part of manufacturers, with the first deadline coming up a month later in September. Several other key deadlines come up early this year.

The CPSIA imposes new requirements for testing and documentation by manufacturers, specifically targeted toward products designed for children 12 years old or younger. The law also dictates new rules that govern all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the lead used in their manufacture. As a result of these strict regulations, many youth ATVs and motorcycles have been banned. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, the law that was supposed to benefit consumers could lead to merchants losing over $1 billion in revenue this year for the motorcycle industry.

The loss estimated by the MIC is based on the estimated value of the ATV and off-highway motorcycle market for 2008. It does not include automobiles and economic factors not included in the ban. MIC estimates that the retail value of the motorcycles for highway use will be more than $1.5 billion, but the CPSIA’s ban applies to only products designed for young people less than 12 years old. As a result, powersports companies have stopped selling all products with lead content that exceeds the limits specified by the CPSIA.

Paul Vitrano, general counsel for the MIC and the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), said that the potential losses in sight this year for the powesports industry are huge, especially at a time when the country can’t afford massive economic losses for merchants. Because the banned vehicles are parked in warehouses rather than showroom floors, the sales of related items - protective gear, parts, accessories, and services, are almost halted entirely. Thousands of small businesses all across the country have been affected by the ban, and many have had to close their doors as a result.

Motorcycle dealers from every part of the country have sent out more than 100,000 complaint letters to Congress begging for exclusions for powersports vehicles, accessories, and parts. The SVIA and MIC have led the charge for the intense campaign of letter writing, supported by Missouri’s Rep. Tom Self, the BlueRibbon Coalition, the American Motorcyclist Association, and Americans for Responsible Recreational Access.

The people calling for exclusions for powersports equipment believe that the act’s details about lead content were aimed at toys that children might put in their mouths - and therefore the law was never intended to apply to ATVs and motorcycles. Most of the parts that are included in powersports products for young people are compliant with the law. But some of the parts, which obviously would not be mouthed by youth - valve stems on tires, brake components with aluminum, battery terminals, etc.-can’t help but contain small amounts of lead in excess of the limits laid out by the CPSIA. Yet the law is the law, and because those components are in violation of the CPSIA, dealers have been forced to pull them from sales stock.

Consumers are angry about the fact that the CPSIA is severely impacting the powersports industry, because motocross sporting is a popular sport and activity enjoyed by millions of young people across America and now this law may bring it to a screeching halt. As usual, with most knee-jerk reactions enacted by the government, the execution of the "protection" has resulted in a more onerous result than the perceived problem in the first place.