More Morning Moto News - Ducati Concept Trike, BMW in AMA & CPSIA, again

This design - the one you will see when you take the link - is from a French designer who decided he wanted something a bit more stable from the Ducati Desmosedici. He grafted a two-wheel front end onto the machine, believe it or not, and has turned it into a sort of street-quad, except that it is more like the Spyder RS. It may never be built, but at least the kid is thinking...

http://tinyurl.com/yfsjfxf

Liberty Waves Racing will be the first team to take the new BMW S1000RR racing in the AMA Pro paddock. The team is sponsored by Dairyland Cycle Insurance and they have some solid resources behind them. Eric Pinson, team boss, simply cannot wait to get the BMW on the track in the American Superbike series.

http://tinyurl.com/yew927s

Two rather well-known motorcycle personalities - Ben Spies and Kevin Schwantz, along with Robbie Maddison - have come together to help the fight against the CPSIA and what it has done to youth motorcycles and ATVs. If you are not familiar with this, you really need to take this link and brush up. If you are, then you know that having more celebrity behind the move to allow our children to ride bikes and ATVs their size is something we can make good use of!

http://tinyurl.com/yknn53z

More Morning Moto News - Aprilia Recall, Honda Racing & CPSIA + MIC

The recall for the 2010 Aprilia RSV-4 has been updated. The North American side of this issue now has the RSV-4 engines on hand and the replacement should be complete in the next two to three weeks. That's good news for all the owners; at least they will get them done in time for summer!

http://tinyurl.com/yz7ocz5

Honda has now put out a press release detailing their factory racing efforts for the entire spectrum of motorcycle racing. They talk about MotoGP, WSBK, BSB, Moto2, etc. So, take the link and grab the racing update from Big Red.

http://tinyurl.com/yg7xb7b

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) in the US managed to deliver some 4000 signatures from experts, who work in the motorcycle industry and some who specialize in safety, to the US Congress yesterday. The petition calls for there to be an exclusion from the CPSIA bill for youth-oriented motorcycles and ATVs. It's really a simple idea and Congress should act on it soon. We do need your help, though, so please read the linked article and contact your legislators today!

http://tinyurl.com/ybar88k

MORE Morning Moto News - MIC and Kids & ASBK - Scott Charlton

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) has created a video letter which you can forward to your Congressional representatives. The subject is the CPSIA and how it has taken away the right of our younger brothers and sisters, as well as sons and daughters, to ride an appropriate-sized motorcycle or ATV. The only way to change the effects of the CPSIA is to get Congress to make a change - and they need to do it fast! So, get on over to the site and send your letter.

http://tinyurl.com/y8nsl8x

Racers Edge Performance Suzuki has made their testing debut with rider Scott Charlton at the Phillip Island circuit a few days ago. Charlton is doing very well so far, keeping his times very close to the larger and better financed teams in the Australian Superbike Championship. Plus, he has been able to get used to this new-to-him machine very quickly. I wonder if Charlton will be able to hang at the front...we don't have too long to wait to find out!

http://tinyurl.com/yfmbktn

And, More Morning Moto News - Paolo Flammini & CPSIA Changes

At the Infront Motor Sports annual pre-season World Superbike press meeting, CEO Paolo Flammini pointed out some key points of this year's series. He even tried to predict the outcome of the series slight based on the exit of Ben Spies. Flammini even covered the new schedule and the change to the British round of the series - from Donington to Silverstone. It was a good event and it excited us for the year to come in racing.


http://tinyurl.com/yb76ymh

The news keeps getting bigger and it is apparently not attracting enough attention, so they keep pushing it up higher and higher - and we should be very glad for this! This is the movement to make a change to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) to exempt youth motorcycle and ATVs from that new law. The CPSC, as we all know, has delayed action, but Congress needs to get something done quick before we end up with no options for our children who want to ride. If you have not done it yet, contact your Congressional representative now and ask them to help.

http://tinyurl.com/yeapnl3

Thursday Evening Is Here and So Is More Moto News

A North Carolina law firm, Hardison & Cochran, has joined with a nationwide motorcycle safety promotion and education program known as the Road Guardians, a project of Accident Scene Management Inc. (ASMI). The Road Guardians promote motorcycle safety through many avenues including the road and online. The partnership will increase the reach of the Road Guardians program, which we all hope will continue to do very well at what they do.

http://tinyurl.com/ydrbv5u

This next one was going to be a link directly to the AMA website, but the blog post linked below actually sums things up much better - and it has direct links for the AMA. This is the 2010 AMA Motocross Rider Classifications for the 2010 AMA Amateur Motocross Season. Plus, there are some rule explanations regarding the classification.

http://tinyurl.com/ye63qnd

http://tinyurl.com/yayeenf - Direct AMA link

We also have another way to take action towards reforming the CPSIA to keep the CPSC from eliminating youth motorcycles and ATVs. Go there, read it, and take action!

http://tinyurl.com/ybvc5h9

AMA Motorcyclists of the Year + Racing Athlete of the Year

Two big stories in one post (and a small one at bottom). First of all, the American Motorcyclist Association named kids who ride motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) as Motorcyclists of the Year. This was due to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) working out the details on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which ultimately banned youth motorcycles and ATVs. CPSC has pushed enforcement on those vehicles out two years, but the state can decide to prosecute if they wish. It's still complex, but they have made progress and a bill should soon make it to President Obama's desk very soon!

http://tinyurl.com/yh8y28t

And, in the news from the AMA Racing Championship Banquet, my favorite Speedway star, Greg Hancock took the AMA Racing Athlete of the Year award! He is such a hard core racer, he really deserved it. There were several other awards presented, though, so please take the link - I simply cannot write everything here.

http://tinyurl.com/ygz27nv

In other news - not what I call a good story, so I just threw it here anyway. Dal Smilie, former chairman of the AMA's board of directors, has had his criminal trial postponed until 12 January 2010. Since he has paid back most (if not all) of the money to the AMA, this just seems ridiculous...but, that is only my opinion.

http://tinyurl.com/yg4db7e

Important Legislation Action: AMA Urging Congress to Safeguard Youth Access To Off-Highway Vehicles

This is, of course, is about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and its restrictions on lead. Please contact your legislators and ask them to support language in the fiscal year 2010 Financial Services appropriations bill or the Omnibus Appropriations bill which will exempt off-road motorcycles from the CPSIA lead requirements. The fact is that no kid will be chewing on the battery terminals or the Schrader valve on their wheels. And, if they do not get vehicles their size, they will likely use something which is much too large for their age. So, think about safety and help get this language written into law!

http://tinyurl.com/y8n6rya

Try this link for Action: http://americanmotorcyclist.com/legisltn/rapidresponse.asp

OK - SVIA and MIC Release Statement about CPSC Chairman and CPSIA

Will that work for your acronym quota today? Anyway, what this is: The Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA) and Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) have commented after the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Inez Tenenbaum's testimony before a House committee investigating the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and its effects on the youth motorcycle industry. Got that?

http://tinyurl.com/quqjpp