Malcolm Smith and kids at his dealership,
protesting the 2008 Consumer Safety Act
banning sales of motorcycles and ATVs
to kids under 12 years of age.

Last week, we reported that Motorcycle Hall of Fame offroad racing champ Malcolm Smith was planning to protest the federal government's ban on selling motorcycles and ATVs to kids under 12, a ban enacted as part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Not that anyone doubted he would, but Smith stuck to his word, setting up a table in the middle of his Riverside, Calif., dealership and selling the banned bikes to three industry friends - Jeff Ward, Troy Lee and Bud Feldkamp - who turned out with dozens of others to support his protest against the CPSIA.

Smith went through with his protest March 19, and sold the banned machines to Ward, Lee and Feldkamp; so far, there's been no official reaction from officials at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has been under increasing pressure to amend the act to allow sales of motorcycles and ATVs to kids under 12. The machines were included in the act because they contain components with lead contents that exceed government mandates for children. Targeted toward keeping toys with high lead content away from children who might put the objects (such as small plastic toys) in their mouths, the act has angered motorcyclists across the country and put dealerships selling the machines under increased financial pressure, with youth-oriented dirt bikes and ATVs sitting on dealers' showrooms. Smith says he currently has 45 of the banned machines in storage.

It does appear the CPSC is taking the matter seriously. According to a follow-up report in Dealer News, the agency has apparently agreed, at least in principle, that youth motorcycles and ATVs pose little actual threat to children. We fully anticipate this issue will eventually be settled in favor of future sales to children under 12. For an excellent update on the sale and Smith's position, go here to read Dennis Johnson's report in Dealer News. -- Richard Backus 

Malcolm Smith and his son, Alexander

It’s not often we find motorcyclists – especially famous motorcyclists like Motorcycle Hall of Fame offroad racing champ and “On Any Sunday” star Malcolm Smith – publicly protesting against the feds. But that’s exactly what Smith is doing, and he’s putting his money where his mouth is, literally, declaring he’ll start selling youth motorcycles and ATVs to kids under 12 in defiance of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

The obvious question is, why? The act in question prohibits the sale of youth motorcycles and ATVs to kids under 12, deeming them unhealthy because of suspected high levels of lead content, which it’s charged can be found in brake parts, battery terminals and other components. Fair enough, you say. The problem is, the act is directed at limiting lead content in toys, especially the kind little kids might put in their mouths, not youth-oriented recreational machines likes motorcycles and ATVs. I seriously doubt we’ll ever encounter a 10-year-old trying to stuff a 50cc Honda in his or her mouth, and it’s doubtful any kid clued in enough to be riding at 10 will be trying to lick a battery post, either.

While this type of over-reaching legislation may not shock the non-riding population, its potential effect on the motorcycle industry is huge. Kawasaki, Honda and other companies have been forced to pull their youth-oriented machines from further sale, and incredibly, they can’t even sell parts for already sold machines that fall under the banned category, a situation noted by the Kingsport, Tenn., timesnews.net in a recent article on the subject.

The new act is obviously absurd, and clearly underscores the complexity of trying to craft catch-all legislation incorporating broad protection measures. And that’s exactly why dealers like Smith and others are protesting, with plans to sell the prohibited machines regardless. We can’t quote Smith on his reasons, but it’s pretty clear why he’s going down the path he’s chosen, launching a campaign he calls Kids Love 2 Ride and with plans to sell banned bikes to the under 12 crowd starting Thursday, March 19, at 4 p.m. Pacific time.

On Monday, March 16, Smith issued a press release reading as follows:

Protest Event Fact Sheet
Who: Malcolm Smith
What: Kids Love 2 Ride Protest
When: Thursday, March 19, 2009, 4:00pm PST
Where: Malcolm Smith Motorsports
7599 Indiana Avenue, Riverside, CA 92504
http://www.malcolmsmith.com
Why: In defiance of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 which prohibits the sale of youth motorcycles and ATVs deemed unhealthy for children under 12 due to suspected high-levels of lead content, motorcycle dealer Malcolm Smith will sell these banned vehicles as a sign of protest. As a sign of support, a group of small business people and high-profile motorcycle industry celebrities, including racers Jeff Ward and Jeremy McGrath, Glen Helen Raceway owner Bud Feldkamp, and motorsport design guru Troy Lee have all agreed to be on hand to purchase banned units for use by their own children and grandchildren.

Stayed tuned, because you know this is going to get interesting. And get involved, because you know this is wrong, threatening our rights as riders and owners, and our right to introduce our children to motorsports as we see fit, when we see fit. – Richard Backus

AMA President Rob Dingham speaks out against the act on YouTube

Lovely circa-1964 Ariel Pixie at last year's Clubman's show

There’s still plenty of time to plan a visit to the 22nd Annual Clubman’s All-British Motorcycle Weekend at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, Calif., March 28, 2009. Saturday’s show will feature more than 100 British bikes, with Ariel as the featured marque. The show and swap meet runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and $1 raffle tickets for a 1973 Norton 850 Commando Roadster will be for sale. There will also be a “Morning After” ride on Sunday organized by the Ariel Owners Club.

This 1973 Norton Commando could be yours -- tickets are only $1!

As anyone who’s made the show will tell you, this is a fully day of immersion in British motorcycles, with as many cool old bikes packed in the parking lot as inside the official show area. The day also includes a more general European motorcycle show, AMA professional indoor short track racing (these guys are nuts, racing indoors on slick floors with little between the riders and spectators besides hay bales and fencing – it’s great fun). This year’s special guest of honor is ex-BSA factor rider and 1964-1965 World MX Champion Jeff Smith, who rode his BSA B40 to six victories in 13 rounds in the 1964 season, and never once finished off the podium. Smith, who was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000, went on to help develop Can-Am motorcycles in the 1970s and was active in AHRMA and AMA, heading up AHRMA from the early 1990s until he retired in 1999.

1961 Velocette Viceroy at the 2008 show

Although I’ve yet to make the Clubman’s show, I get more pics and hear more great things about it every year, and there’s no question it’s become one of the must-do events for West Coast classic bike fans, regardless of what they ride. It also keeps expanding, now including the Asian Motorcycle and Scooter Show & Swap (featuring both modern and vintage machines), and the European Motorcycle Show & Swap, also featuring modern and vintage machines. And if you’re coming in from out of state, don’t forget Sunday’s “Morning After” ride, organized by the Ariel Owners Club and a great way to finish up an All British weekend.

And this time around, a few lucky souls will get to take in the show for free, because we're giving away two complete sets of tickets, good for all the events during the Clubman show, including short track racing. Just go here to sign up for your chance to win, and don't forget, win or not, the individual shows are a bargain at $5 a pop, and even the racing's cheap at $20. Sounds like a recipe for a great time if you ask me, and getting to the fairgrounds is easy, just follow this link for directions. – Richard Backus 

Metisse Motorcycles says it will build 300 copies of the new
Steve McQueen Metisse Desert Racer.

Almost 30 years since he died and 46 years since his epic jump in The Great Escape, Steve McQueen still holds us under his spell. But if you think about it a moment, just why is a bit of a mystery. For one thing, McQueen didn’t even make the jump; that duty fell to offroad racer and stuntman Bud Ekins, a close friend of McQueen’s. Insurers for the film wouldn’t let McQueen expose himself to that kind of danger, so Ekins made the famous jump that’s been tied to McQueen ever since. Yet motorcyclists never tire of talking about that jump, which was recently recreated with help from Gerry Lisi at Metisse Motorcycles, who just launched a limited run of 300 Steve McQueen Metisse Desert Racers.

The motivation for the recreation was the apparent controversy surrounding the original McQueen/Ekins jump. Ekins rarely said much about the jump, and when he did it was only that the stunt was done with a bone-stock Triumph Tiger. But therein lies the rub, with some parties claiming there’s no way a stock Tiger could have cleared the fence. Ekins, who died in 2007, claimed it took several tries to clear the fence, building up a berm to get enough lift for the shot they needed.

To test the jump’s difficulty, Britain’s The Sunday Times got Metisse Motorcycles owner Lisi to loan them one of the firm’s limited-edition Steve McQueen replicas, a Metisse-framed, Triumph-powered scrambler modeled on McQueen’s own Rickman-Metisse of the late 1960s, which McQueen called “the best handling bike I’ve ever owned.”

Riding duties fell to British Trials champion Steve Colley, and the jump was executed on the rolling turf of a golf club in Oxfordshire, with fencing built out of logs to mimic the crossing border McQueen (or Ekins, as the  case may be) jumps in the film. Colley claimed to have a little trouble getting enough speed and momentum for the jump, but finally, after multiple adjustments both to the bike and his launch point, Colley hit his launch ramp flat out and roared over the fence. Afterwards, Colley called the McQueen/Ekins jump “amazing. What they lack in equipment, they sure made up in balls,” Colley said.

Oh, and the McQueen replica Colley used? You can buy one yourself from Metisse Motorcycles – provided you have a spare $18,000 or so sitting around – or you can check out the May/June 2009 issue of Motorcycle Classics, mailing April 3, for Alan Cathcart’s full story on this incredible tribute to Steve McQueen, complete with stunning pics and a full ride report. Don’t miss it. – Richard Backus