St. Thomas Times-Journal, St. Thomas, ON

Ahh, spring cleaning. The Talbot Trail ATV Club helps clean up.

It's good to see other groups holding these cleanup events. I know locally we have cleanups at the dunes via the ASA a couple times a year.

The Talbot Trail ATV Club hit the trails in Southwold township on Saturday to do a little spring cleaning. "Remember Earth Day? we're bouncing off of that and expanding it," said Peter Rybski, president of the ATV club, who led a group of club members as they picked up garbage from nearby trails on their second annual clean-up project. The crew, made of club members, spread out across Lyle road, Blind Line and Mill Road he said. "We patrol this, we maintain this. It's one way of managing our resources." "This year, what we're finding, we're still getting a lot of renovators," he said, pointing to a trailer on the back of his yellow ATV packed with material like insulation. Other crew came across a lot of flooring and scrap metal as well, he added.

More groups need to get together and help take care of our natural resources.

Alert #08-535
ATVs Recalled By American Honda Motor Co. Due to Loss of Speed Control

The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Model Year 2007 Honda TRX 500 ATVs

Units: About 46,000

Manufacturer: American Honda Motor Co., Inc. of Torrance, Calif.

Hazard: Water can enter the throttle position sensor and freeze, causing permanent damage if the rider forces the throttle lever. This could cause the throttle to stick open, posing a risk of injury or death to riders.

Incidents/Injuries: Honda has received two reported incidents of the throttle sticking, no injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves Model Year 2007 Honda TRX 500 ATVs, also known as the Honda Foreman and Foreman Rubicon. The adult-size ATVs are designed for use by riders age 16 and older. The 2007 model year ATVs are available in red, black, blue, olive, and camouflage. The Honda name and wing logo are printed on the fuel tank and the model name is printed on the side panel just below the seat.

Sold by: Honda ATV dealers nationwide from June 2006 through December 2007 for between $6,500 and $7,600.

Manufactured in: USA

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using these recalled ATVs and contact any Honda ATV dealer to schedule a free repair. Registered owners of the recalled ATVs have been sent direct notice.

Consumer Contact: : For additional information, consumers can contact Honda (866) 784-1870 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.powersports.honda.com

Petoskey News-Review - News - Toddler injured on ATV recovering in Flint

...Sutton Majeske, of Port Huron, was riding alone on an ATV on private property in Wilson Township when he lost control and toppled over an embankment. Majeske was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

...it was determined that the boy had suffered a severely broken lower jaw and had sustained lacerations to his face. He was then airlifted in critical condition to the Hurley Medical Center in Flint.

Ok, a few things really stand out about this, especially in the comments. Never mind the JU-esque manner of one commenter named "Realistic Citizen, who correctly (al-beit tastelessly) makes the assertion that, as a 2 year old is somewhat used to eating "mush" as a baby, the transition should be easy. There were actually a few cogent, realistic comments along with the normal "OMG those parents shouldn't let their kids ride alone" comments that used a few colorful words to better make their point.

Another commenter, "what", what? Yeah, "what", asks if anyone has considered that the 2 year old put on the helmet himself and went for a ride?

I know my kids both love riding, and I try to make sure they don't have the opportunity to take off on their own. (Unless it's the electric quads)

Something about that "severely" broken jaw isn't right either. My 2 year old, err, now 3 year old, has a huge head. I still wouldn't think of putting a real helmet on him. He may have been wearing a bicycle helmet or something, or maybe it wasn't strapped on. My kids won't get on a (gas) quad alone without being able to wear a full face helmet.

© swanksalot


Stroud Township, police promise to crack down on illegal ATV riding - poconorecord.com - The Pocono Record

Police are asking people who see violations for help. If you can identify a driver, police will issue a citation based on what the witness says.

Just imagine... you're a law abiding ATV rider legally riding your ATV in an area where just minutes before another turd on an ATV was tearing up yards and causing trouble. The owner of the property is mad before you even get there, and they're about to ruin your day by taking out their anger over the previous ATV rider on YOU.

Doesn't matter that it wasn't you. Doesn't matter that the cops nor the reporting party NEVER saw YOU do anything wrong, they're just mad at you because you're the next guy they saw on an ATV.

Don't Blame Jake, ATV Safety Campaign

Canada's new Don't Blame Jake campaign means just what it says:

You can't blame kids under16 years of age for driving an adult size ATV if parents or guardians give them permission and hand over the keys.

The focus is that youth sized ATVs are smaller, lighter, have speed limiters and are easier for youths to operate. Something that I've been talking about for a long time now. Education is key. Check out their web site and watch the videos.

"Don't Blame Jake.ca"-COHV's Newest ATV Safety Campaign

For recommended guidelines and more information, contact the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council.

Responsible. Recreational. Family. Fun. www.cohv.ca.

© Matt Finley

I wear the pants in my family. I am the master of my domain. And I have my wife's permission to say that. Now that that's been cleared up, let me tell you what I got my wife this month; a 2005 Suzuki GSXR 600R.

Yep, traded in the '97 TL 1000 and my favorite bike ever, the '94 GSXR 750. The TL hadn't ran in years, so that was a no-brainer. But getting rid of the '94 really sucked. Well, it only sucked until I got on the 600. The '94 was special because it's the bike my wife and I were riding when we crashed, (before we got married). But that's a different story.

Anyway, with gas the way it is, and one of our two commuter cars being a $4.20 per gallon diesel truck, I almost couldn't justify not letting my wife get a bike. We're saving tons of money, and she's not Racer Ree when she rides, unlike me, who always has either a hand full of throttle or a hand full of brake when I ride. That and she's got really good life insurance.