• by Karl Greenberg , February 11, 2009

On Wednesday, the mud hit the flaps for thousands of motorcycle and recreation vehicle retailers across the country: All of them had to cease selling small off-road motorcycles and ATVs designed for kids, because, according to a provision of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, the machines are dangerous.

Not because a child might have an accident on the diminutive machines, but because if a child develops an appetite for the device's brakes or battery terminals and decides to eat the ATV or motorbike, lead poisoning may result.

The new legislation is intended to prevent the sale of items containing lead that could be ingested by a child. Motorcycle and ATV retailers in the U.S. who sell products designed for children under the age of 12 that do not meet the limits for lead and phthalate are staring at a $100,000 to $15 million fine.

The regulation takes an estimated $100 million worth of inventory off the sales floors of some 13,000 dealers immediately. It also impinges on manufacturers, makers of aftermarket equipment and everything from racetracks to distributors.

Ty van Hooydonk, director of product communications for Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC)'s Discover Today's Motorcycling program, notes that the ban encompasses some 19 models from just Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki. He says the assumption that kids enjoy licking and chewing on brakes, suspension parts, tires and battery terminals is flawed.

"I really love bikes and ATVs, and have since I was a kid. In all those decades, I never once had the thought or desire to nibble on one, or lick one like an ice cream cone. I've also been around a whole lot of dirt bike kids over all these years. I've still never seen one of them who thought their bike might be tasty," he says.

Industry reps say the lead used in motorcycles and ATVs is embedded in alloys but is not easily transferred to humans through typical use, the way lead in paint or infant toys would be.

The lead-content provisions of the act were originally aimed at children's toys, but while the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has stayed some provisions of the act, it has not done so for the motorcycle and ATV industry. "We were left out," says van Hooydonk.

In response, the MIC, the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA) and member manufacturers two weeks ago filed petitions for temporary exclusion for certain ATV and motorcycle components, parts and accessories.

Paul Vitrano, general counsel at MIC, said the essential problem is the breadth of the law, which went into effect on Tuesday. He says the law applies to lead content in all products for children 12 and under. "The basis [of the MIC and SVIA petition] is that these parts that contain lead are unlikely to be handled by any other way than by hand," he says.

He says the MIC has not yet received a response--"but we are very comfortable with regard to the facts and very optimistic that the petitions will be granted because we have made a showing under the law that the risk to children is nil."

But Vitrano concedes that timing is of the essence, since spring is a huge sales season for motorcycles and ATVs. "But timing around when relief would be granted is unclear," he says--adding that for the past few weeks, MIC has been urging dealers, suppliers and enthusiasts to contact their members of Congress to express support for the industry's petition and contact them directly.

Rick Rizzon of Rizzon Cycle, Middlesex, N.J.--a Suzuki dealer--says the ban is a catastrophe. "It's 25% of my business gone. It's the weirdest thing; you walk in the store and there's no mini-bikes, no ATVs. Being in this business for 27 years, there's been nothing like this. We can't even sell used ones--we can't sell helmets, goggles--nothing for kids."

He says dealers knew this was in the wind, but didn't take it seriously. Then came a memo from Suzuki (and the other manufacturers) to dealers: "They said we are at our own risk if we sell products for kids. We had to put mini-bikes and quads [four wheelers] in storage; it's depressing."

Suzuki is covering interest on the machines* until Feb. 28 for all affected units. Rizzon says the ban kills future sales. "If kids don't start to ride by the time they are 10 or 12, they probably won't. We all started when we were kids; it builds brand loyalty, and you look forward to your next bigger bike or ATV. We support a lot of racing programs, but what's going to happen to those in a couple of years if this continues? When I tell customers, they think I'm kidding."

Says van Hooydonk: "Applying these regulations to ATVs and motorcycles is doing nothing to improve safety; instead, by making these unavailable to for kids to enjoy the sport in a responsible way is creating a dangerous situation. We don't want to see kids on adult motorcycles and ATVs, but when you take [the smaller ATVs and bikes] out of the equation, you run that risk."

*Editgor's note: The article was amended post publication.