Youth Motorcycles Banned in the United States of America

The following was sent to us by OSET

Dear OSET Customer,

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?

We emphasize that this law has no effect on what you have already purchased, only on products you buy going forward. OSET, and all the above companies, have satisfied all lead in paint and other applicable laws, and put a high emphasis on safety. Of course we want to keep kids safe from lead, but the law should focus on products that kids can eat, and that have accessible lead!

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.

OSET are being as proactive as possible, on blogs (see http://blogs.dirtrider.com/6470022/news/youth-atv-and-dirt-bikes-banned-by-cpsia/index.html and http://www.racerxonline.com/article/urgent-consumer-safety-commission-waiver.aspx). There are many other active blogs and industry groups that can be found by searching for CPSIA. OSET attended press conferences for local TV in Denver yesterday, and will be interviewed for 'Dealer News' later. We will attempt to get this on CNN as well.

All is not lost. The CPSC and Government MUST see sense, but we want them to see it quickly. Please go to http://www.tomself.com and sign the letter to Congress, and please pass this instruction to whoever you can. There are suggested amendments on the desks of the CPSC right now. To quote the Tom Self site: 'There is a waiver now setting before the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington DC, but has not been acted upon as of yet. We need every available rider, Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Aunt, Uncle and any relative, friend neighbor, business or personal contact or any person who is a legal us citizen to get involved. They need to access this website, read the sample letter, type in their name and address then click the "send a letter on my behalf" icon below it. This will generate correspondence to all the committee members in Washington that are on the committee that oversee the commission that could act upon this. The commission members as well as my office will also receive copies of the letters set so we can be the most effective voice we that we can. The sport as well as the industry is in turmoil and time is short. The future of small powersports is at risk! PLEASE ACT NOW!!'

Ian Smith
President, OSET Corp