A serious Issue for all motorcyclists in New England

[Woodcraft]

There is a critical group of laws that is under review THIS WEEK and must be addressed by all owners of any recreational vehicle. If these laws are not changed (which can happen if we get to our government in the next few days) then there could be serious reprecussions for people who own bikes, quads or any ORV.

Here is a quick summary of what I know about (there is much more):

ORV's are now "including, but not limited to, all-terrain
vehicles, off-highway motorcycles, dirt bikes, recreation utility vehicles
and all registered motor vehicles while not being operated on a public way
as defined in said chapter 90". This could some day be extended to race bikes and track day bikes as well.

1) Anyone operating an ORV, even on private property, will have to register their vehicle. This means motocross tracks, backyards, practice facilities, you name it. Not only can you not play in your own back yard without a registration sticker, anyone who visits you from out-of-state will have to do the same thing.

This will devastate all racetracks and practice facilities, and make it completely impractical for riders from neighboring states to come here to ride.

2) No one under 18 can operate any type of ORV without going to a state-run safety course. This takes the training and responsibility away from the parents and placed it in the hands of some state-assigned moron. Plus, riders from out of state who want to compete in Massachusetts will have to go to a safety course in order to race here?! This will KILL the races.

3) No one under the age of 10 can operate any type of ORV. So, all the 50cc - 65cc bike sales will be completely gone! Kids will be denied the right to ride an XR50, or a mini 4 wheeler. The government should not be watching our children, that is the decision of a PARENT!

4) All ORV's made after 1998 must have a spark arrestor and produce no more than 98 db at 20 inches. Many of these bikes are made for closed competition and are not set up for this regulation. This is not an enforceable law. The way it is written, you cannot operate OR SELL a vehicle that does not pass this test. Really??!?

If these laws are left unchanged, racetracks and practice tracks will be placed under undue hardship. Within a decade, we will have lost a whole generation of youth riders and our sport will decline. Finally, ORV owners will not be free to use thier own equipment on their own property without being encumbered by the state.

These laws need to be changed, we only have a couple days to act before it's too late. PLEASE, take 10 minutes and write a letter, make a call or send a fax to your legislator.

Please do the following:

You guys need to find your MA state rep here as well as your ma state
senator by putting in your house number and street along with zip and it
will spit out all your elected officials.

http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php

http://www.malegislature.gov/people/findmylegislator

In addition, please contact each of the following:

Rick Sullivan - Secretary of EOEEA
lisa.capone@state.ma.us 617-626-1119

Phil Griffith s- Undersecretary of EOEEA
philip.griffiths@state.ma.us 617-626-1126

Ed Lambert - Director DCR
ed.lambert@state.ma.us (617) 626-4990

Aaron Gross - Director DELE
aaron.gross@state.ma.us (617) 626-1651

Here is the link to the online source for all of this info but I am glad to pass it on.

http://www.ijustwannarideinma.com/Home_Page.php

[OreoGaborio]

Rick Sullivan - Secretary of EOEEA
lisa.capone@state.ma.us 617-626-1119

Just makin sure... is that correct?

[Woodcraft]

The contact info was copied from Pete Giamalvo at Sideways Promotions....if you want to check it out and confirm that would be good.

[Doc]

Is this just for people that live in Mass or should the Vermont Brigade be organizing?

[Woodcraft]

This is for everyone. If you live out of state, it would be good to write a communication explaining how it would be difficult to compete, ride with a friend, etc in Massachusetts.

Most MX series have races all throughout New England.....this would make it tough to compete in Massachusetts tracks (where you have to buy a sticker and find time to have your 17 year old take a bike safety course!).

This is serious stuff that needs to be addressed. If it is not, it could start a ripple effect and spread this insanity to other states that see registrations and mandated education as nothing more than an income stream.

Please tell everyone you know...other riders, other forums about this issue. Today, if you can.

[Stoneman]

This is more A-typical knee-jerk posturing by Mass politicians. I can say with certainty that these laws if passed in Mass will have NO effect on NH OHRV laws in any way. In fact, Gov. Flynch is the first governor in a long, long time that's actually PUSHED for more ATV trails, less regs and more access...

I feel incredibly sorry for Mass residents that enjoy any sort of off-roading and I'd certainly encourage any & all of you to bombard your rep's...

[keeena]

Is there a Bill # or #'s to reference? I couldn't find one when searching the MA Legislature site.

Also: this DCR page seems to indicate that these laws were passed August 2010?
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/recreate/orv.htm

[Woodcraft]

There is a ton of info about this on www.nedirtbikes.com

There is a meeting tonight about it

http://www.nedirtbikes.com/content/S..._243733/tm.htm

And one tomorrow

http://www.nedirtbikes.com/content/S..._243732/tm.htm

This also has a lot of info

http://www.nedirtbikes.com/content/O..._242693/tm.htm

[breakdirt916]

I'm too lazy to go through all the information and write up a letter

can someone post a generic email I can copy/paste to rick/lisa, phil, ed, aaron, and whatever local rep is spit out w' my street address?

[Stoneman]

This is more A-typical knee-jerk posturing by Mass politicians. I can say with certainty that these laws if passed in Mass will have NO effect on NH OHRV laws in any way. In fact, Gov. Flynch is the first governor in a long, long time that's actually PUSHED for more ATV trails, less regs and more access...

I feel incredibly sorry for Mass residents that enjoy any sort of off-roading and I'd certainly encourage any & all of you to bombard your rep's...

I don't want this post to get misconstrued and/or take away the importance of contacting your rep's and making your opinion on this legislation loud & clear...

[Variablevalve]

I'm too lazy to go through all the information and write up a letter

can someone post a generic email I can copy/paste to rick/lisa, phil, ed, aaron, and whatever local rep is spit out w' my street address?

Haha same here. I don't ride ORVs, but I do appreciate them. Also, I'm at work and just cant look too much. A nice copy-n-paste would be much appreciated!

[Rossco]

Kingcast needs to make a video about this, STAT!

[Woodcraft]

Sample letters were posted by Duncan Moto in the Pit Area section. Please take a few minutes and contact your people.

[Pittenger5]

Is it even legal for them to say that you cant ride a bike on your own private property?

[Kat_man]

Tyranny

[Chippertheripper]

I'd like to emphasize the part about "street registered vehicles being operated off highway".

This IS happening, and it IS being enforced currently. They just changed info on the dcr's site, and SOME of the epo's are hip to this.

[Talus]

Kingcast needs to make a video about this, STAT!

[Chippertheripper]

Kingcast needs to make a video about this, STAT!

Forget about this cat already.

[dodge1478]

Pete from sideways promotions is a great guy.
I raced atv flattrack at jolly rogers, which was put on by pete, and Marco.
These laws are just plain dumb!
a lot of the time they get passed simply for the fact that they throw them in with other laws that people want passed. thus getting these laws passed too.
It has been done many times with riding area closings in Mass./N.H./Maine
If you ask me its a pretty sh*tty way to get laws passed that you know damn well would not pass any other way.