Malcolm right in the middle!
By TMX Archives on 26th Mar 09
I HOPE that by now most of you have read about the crazy law in the USA that has made it illegal for shops to sell a motorcycle (among many other products) made primarily for the use of Under 12s because some parts may contain lead, regardless of how minute a quantity. The basic law is sound, meant to stop manufacturers producing toys containing lead that inquisitive kids could stick in their mouths - and even I'll admit that that probably isn't all that good for you.
But as ever when the health and safety zealots get their teeth into something (in this case the baddies are the Consumer Product Safety Commission) common sense goes out the window and nothing on earth is immune, hence the instant and total ban on motorcycle sales because some clutch or brake component may contain lead to the tune of four parts per hundred million or something. And of course kids are always sucking their clutches and of course they always need saving from their parents. The American Motorcycle Industry has actually had some scientific tests done on motorcycle parts and even if you licked your bike (as you do) you would ingest less lead than if you drank a glass of water. However, the law is ridiculously totally rigid and makes no You'd laugh your brains out if it wasn't so serious.
Moving on, motorcycle legend Malcolm Smith decided not to sit passively, while the rest of the industry bleats at the Government while their businesses go down in flames. So, Malcolm arranged a high-profile gathering at his California shop last week in order to openly sell a couple of kids' bikes to a couple of big off-road names who weren't afraid to stand up and be counted. They were none other than American legends Jeff Ward and Troy Lee. After purchasing a KTM65 Troy Lee commented, "I just want to go riding with my son!”
The result of this brave action which was designed to smoke the CPSA into the open? Sadly, at this moment in time absolutely nothing! No storm-troopers moved in to arrest Smith (as would almost certainly happen in England these days if you tried breaking the law in a similar manner) and no official warning was received. However, Smith is no fool and he knows full well that there's plenty of time for the State to react - and he faces fines of up to £100,000 dollars per offence - which means for each bike sold so. Said Smith, "I can't afford that, I just hope that if and when it happens folks chip in and send five dollar bills or something. I just see this as a hill to climb and I'm going to get up it one way or the other.”
Here's my vote for Malcolm Smith, a man not afraid to stand up to bullying government. I'd like to think that there would be someone in the industry in Britain that would stand up and be counted should we face a similar situation. But given how we capitulated to the recent virtual total ban on green laning, with the industry all but silent, I won't be holding my breath.
T+MX will keep you in touch with developments Stateside, you never know when it might come in useful.
IT was on the road again for me last weekend, up to Kinlochleven for the second round of the ACU British Solo Trials Championship. And as I headed north, my old mate Brock was heading a similar distance south with his lad Will for the second round of the A and B Youth series in deepest Devon. We could have waved as we joined adjacent carriageways of the M6 at junction 36. And it occurred to me that had the two series been run at the same time and at the same venue - as has been mooted and discussed in the past - between us we could have considerably reduced our carbon footprint!
In truth I actually stole the last point off Brock after we surprisingly arrived home Sunday night at more or less the same time. "I've used three tanks of diesel and have a carbon footprint the size of Kendal,” was the quote.
And, while I don't buy into the carbon footprint, man-made global warming scam for a second I am all for any measure that either saves money (I'm an honorary Yorkshireman) or resources, preferably both.
The ACU can't duck that one either as the powers that be sent steward Anthony Rew all the way to Kinlochleven when there was an A and B champs round on his Devon doorstep! Now I have every respect for Anthony and no disrespect is aimed at him whatsoever but I can tell you that I wasn't the only one to notice this last weekend. It is all about money and resources and even our beloved government is getting a hammering regarding its expenses in these hard-pressed times...proving that there really is a silver lining to every cloud.