Quad-bike roll-bar: Mojo to comply, Honda and Yamaha threaten to walk

MOJO Motorcycles has refused to roll over and join Japanese quadbike manufacturers Honda and Yamaha in threatening to withdraw from the Australian market.

MOJO Motorcycles has refused to roll over and join Japanese quadbike manufacturers Honda and Yamaha in threatening to withdraw from the Australian market if operator protection devices become mandatory.

“Our position is if legislation comes in we will comply and our engineers are across what’s being proposed,” Mojo Motors director Michael Poynton.

“We would remain committed to the Australian ATV market and will work with our manufacturers to ensure that all vehicles are compliant.”

But Honda and Yamaha have threatened to pull their quadbikes from Australia if the next federal government adopts recent Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommendations that make OPDs or rollover structures mandatory.

EDITORIAL: ATV DUO REFUSE TO ROLL OVER

“We will exit the ATV business if these proposals go through unchanged,” Yamaha marketing manager Sean Goldhawk said.

Honda managing director Robert Toscano said the firm “won’t fit devices to our ATVs (quad bikes) that real world studies have shown do not improve safety”.

In contrast to the Japanese giants, US manufacturer Polaris says it is already adapting to the new landscape, where the quadbike is being replaced with side-by-side and other ROPS-fitted vehicles.

However Polaris Australia managing director Peter Alexander said the company “disagreed with a number of the ACCC’s draft recommendations … (but) the end of the ATV was only a matter of time”.

“We are seeing hollow threats from Honda and Yamaha, as they already know ATVs will go the way of the dodo.”

Japanese quadbike maker Suzuki is awaiting approval from its Japanese parent company, before announcing if it will withdraw rather than fitting OPDs or ROPS.

Mojo Motorcycle’s decision to stay in the Australian market raises questions about whether Honda and Yamaha can afford to carry out their threat to withdraw and lose millions of dollars in revenue.

But Mr Poynton said the greatest concern was for dealers, especially in regional areas, who would be hit hardest by any major withdrawal of quadbike brands.

“There’s been some concerns raised by our dealers, because ATVs are a big part of their business,” he said.

Mr Goldhawk said Yamaha’s engineers would not modify bikes, based on what he called “flimsy science”.

“There’s no safety standard for these OPDs. They (engineers) are not going to make changes without rigorous testing,” he said.

The ACCC’s quad bike recommendations followed almost 18 months of deliberations, industry consultation and 119 submissions.

But Assistant Treasurer Stuart Robert ducked adopting the consumer watchdog’s recommendations in the lead-up to the federal election, by announcing a round of public consultation that would not be completed until after the May 18 poll.

Apart from mandatory OPDs the ACCC also called for the:

ROLLOVER warning hang tags to be placed on all quad bikes, stating at what angle the quad could tilt onto two wheels.

MINIMUM lateral stability requirements for general-use model quad bikes.

ADOPTION of US and European design standards.