A deadline is fast approaching on February 10 that could potentially be deadly for the youth motorcycle and ATV market. In less than two weeks, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, enacted August 14 of last year, will go into effect and ban all products designed for children ages 12 or under which contain lead over specified limits. The Specialty Vehicle Institute of America and Motorcycle Industry Council are attempting to get an exemption for ATV and motorcycle parts…
…What exactly happens on Feb 10 for motorcycle dealers?
“On February 10 large inventories of motorcycle and ATV products that present no health risk to children could be rendered retroactively illegal and future products prohibited from sale. These products may need to be destroyed resulting in severe hardship for dealers and manufacturers in the motorcycle industry. Along with the current state of the economy, this may be a hit that dealers and manufacturers will not be able to recover from…Â More Info…
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed to buy $300 million of debt from Harley-Davidson Inc., the biggest U.S. motorcycle maker, adding to holdings of corporate debt as yields rise.
Berkshire will get 15 percent interest on the senior unsecured notes, Milwaukee-based Harley said today in a statement. Davis Selected Advisers LP, the largest holder of the company’s stock, also committed to buy $300 million of debt. Harley, which is raising cash to lend to customers, rose the most in more than two decades in New York trading… More Info…Â
Chris Miracle and Mike Hines have known each other since they were in their early teens–riding BMX (bicycle motocross) bikes together, teaching each other bike tricks and digging ramps out in the middle of the desert because they had no other place to go.
Now the friends are in their late 20s, but both still make time to ride. When they do, the friends say they continue to see what they experienced growing up in Tucson–kids riding on the streets and on stairs and other concrete structures because there’s no place else for them to go.
The consequences remain the same, too–taking to a nice set of concrete stairs and metal rails outside a local bank building or at the UA campus is illegal… More info…
Much of the character of BMX comes from boutique brands laboring out of love. They may not make a lot of money, but the owners are motivated by a true passion for the niche sport, often cultivated from their early days spent racing at the local BMX track.
But some in the BMX industry are concerned that the sport may lose that lifeblood as the smaller brands are squeezed out of the market due to expensive testing required by the new consumer product safety law.
“We may have to close our doors,†said Bill Ryan, who’s owned Supercross BMX in Apple Valley, California, for two decades… More Info…