A Harley Topper and Government stupidity

Yesterday, I was dropping something off for my wife in Columbia, and as I was headed into town, I noted that The Cycle Den (on Lancaster Ave, just up from Mussers), had a kids 50cc dirt bike out front. After I dropped off my wife's stuff, I stopped in to look at what they had for sale, and perhaps ask if they were aware of the so called "Consumer Product Safety Improvement act" (CPSIA) of 2008.

The act effectively bans the sale of any motorsports equipment marketed for use by kids 12 and under. Motorcycle Daily had an article about it on Tuesday and it has a lot of folks steamed since the last thing we need during difficult economic times is to shut down one of the few corners of the market that was prospering.

There are even some rumors that this may effect the sale of on-road vehicles with engine displacements of less than 400cc. From what I can tell at this point, those are only rumors based upon the missinterpretation of the law by a congressman in Missouri. Just the same, I wouldn't put it past our congress to add further legislation that would limit the purchase of small displacement vehicles at some point in the future.

In any event, I stopped in at the Cycle Den to browse, and mentioned the CPSIA to the woman who emerged from the shop. She said she hadn't heard of it, and the owner came out and was rather abrupt with me for suggesting it was so. I simply explained that I was just a concerned citizen, trying to help out a fellow American and he seemed to cool off a bit.

As I was browsing, I found a Harley Topper sitting in the back of their "lot." It was in so-so condition, but it could be a fun project for someone to fix up. If I had the money, I would be sorely tempted to make an offer. As it is, my wife is finally back to work and is just now starting to bring in some income again, so such projects will have to wait. And yes, it does have a sidecar

They also had a nice looking white Honda Elite 80, which also was very tempting. Next to that sat four "tank" scooters which weren't quite so tempting. Tank is a Chinese importer with a less than stellar reputation for "quality."

A lot of the bikes they have seem to be older and many are in poor condition, but would make great project bikes. If you like older motorbikes, it might be worth a look if you're in the area.