Dec. 4, 2006 – ATV Report

Polaris ATVs in Canada have defective rear reflectors
Polaris Industries Inc. has been ordered to place ads in newspapers across Canada to try to track down 88,000 ATVs with unsafe rear reflectors.
The recall, announced after investigators discovered the reflectors were installed at the wrong angle and wouldn’t alert other drivers to the vehicle’s presence at night, involves 269 models and every ATV sold in Canada since 2001. Another 8,000 Polaris snowmobiles also are being recalled for the same problem.
Dealers will install new reflectors on the ATVs as well as on the snowmobiles, which are not included in the recall notice, because most are nearly new.
Warn Industries Inc. Recalls Eight-Post ATV Winch Kits
Clackamas, Ore.-based Warn Industries Inc., in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is recalling approximately 218,000 Warn ATV and Utility Vehicle winch kits.
The winch kits can continue to pull current when in the “off” position, which can cause overheating and poses a fire hazard.
No injuries have been reported, but there has been one report of a contactor failure resulting in excessive heat and melting damage to the contactor.
The recall involves eight-post contactors used on certain 2,500- to 3,500 pound Warn QATV and Utility Vehicle Winch Kits. The black contactors were sold as part of winch kits and have a “WARN” logo on the top and bottom of the contactor. Warn part number 62135 is printed on the bottom.
The winch kits were sold from May 2001 through September 2005.
FMF, BlueRibbon Coalition Team Up for Quieter Quads
FMF Racing, a leading aftermarket performance exhaust manufacture, has begun working with the BlueRibbon Coalition to help educate off-highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts about the need to use quiet mufflers on public and private lands.
Don Emler, FMF Racing’s founder and president, said, “I am proud that FMF pioneered the effort to offer performance, while at the same time reducing excessively loud OHV exhaust noise.”
FMF has been working with the coalition for four years and has donated $5,000 in grant money to support the BRC’s sound testing program for OHVs.
Don Amador, the western representative for the BlueRibbon Coalition, said,
“I believe FMF continues to show its commitment to the OHV community via its leadership through this program. It has made a positive difference already and will continue to help keep riding areas open for generations to come.”
MIC, SVIA Defend ATV Use in National Parks
Two industry groups are working through legal channels to keep ATV access in two national parks.
The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) and the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA) have taken action to preserve ATV use in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska, the largest national park in the United States.
A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, Alaska by the National Parks Conservation Association, the Alaska Center for the Environment and the Wilderness Society earlier this year against the National Park Service seeks to ban recreational use of ATVs in the park.
On Nov. 10, MIC and SVIA filed a motion to intervene on the side of the National Park Service to defend existing ATV use. MIC and SVIA joined the Alaska Outdoor Council and the BlueRibbon Coalition as co-intervenors.
The MIC and SVIA also are involved in another national park access issue in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“The MIC and the SVIA believe it is important that public lands are managed in a way that both protects our natural resources and preserves them for future generations, while taking into consideration the growing popularity of OHV recreation and the opportunity for OHV enthusiasts to enjoy the outdoors in an environmentally responsible manner,” Kathy Van Kleeck, senior vice president of government relations for the MIC, said in a news release.
There is a history of OHV use in many areas under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, including in Wrangell-St. Elias. psb