Motorcycle Nation Podcast

Malcolm Smith has had a storied life in the world of motorcycling. Most of us probably remember him from the 1970’s movie “On Any Sunday”, in which Malcolm starred with Steve McQueen. This really was a documentary about off road motorcycling and it is credited with fueling the passion for a whole new generation. He had great success while racing in Baja 1000 and Six Day Enduro races, enough to have him inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

During my quick research on Mr. Smith, I found a funny story that he mentioned about his youth. He tells a story about his first real dirtbike, a Matchless, at the age of 15. He mentioned that he was such a small young man that he could not kick start the motorcycle. His remedy was to roll the bike down a hill and bump start it. He attributes his prowess with the clutch to the fact that he did not want to kill the engine in the woods because he could not restart the bike without finding a hill. It is ironic that a man who has made a huge impact was such a small young man.

Malcolm Smith has managed to add yet another huge impact to his list. As most of you know, the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) recently added off road motorcycles and ATV’s, at least those designed for use by 12 year olds or under, to the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act of 2008. This act originally covered mostly toys made in China. The intent was to protect children from high lead contents that have been found in imported toys in recent years. The act has effectively stopped the sale of small dirt bikes, ATV’s, accessories, parts, and gear. The potential impact to the dealers is huge and could lead to the end of off road riding for kids under that magic age. Malcolm organized a protest called KidsLove2Ride to gather support to fight the ban. Make sure to watch the video on this page. In addition, as Malcolm’s anger continued to rise he decided to do the unspeakable. In order to get the attention of Congress and to bring more publicity to the cause Malcolm organized the sale of three banned units from his store, Malcolm Smith Motorsports, two of which were KTM dirt bikes sold to multi AMA champ Jeff Ward and custom helmet and apparel designer Troy Lee respectively. These dirt bikes will be used by the children of the two men. The third unit was an ATV sold to Bud Feldkamp, owner of Glen Helen Raceway to be used by his grandchildren.

What is so big about this? By purchasing these motorcycles and ATV with the knowledge that they were banned, I would assume that these men could possibly face legal consequences. Malcolm Smith just stuck his neck out to the tune of $300,000 as each unit could cost him $100K. This shows us how strongly Malcolm Smith believes in the right of todays youth to enjoy motorcycling. For this, he definitely makes my Hall of Fame.
Rumor has it that there are members of Congress that have taken note and are working on a solution. Will you make a difference? Help the cause by going to the AMA website and filling out info that will reach your member of Congress. Do it today and let the kids ride!