I might be stepping out on a "big limb" but I believe this stems more from frivolous lawsuits made by retarded "users" against manufactures.... look how many people sued and won against Yamaha.... what did it do to them?? how far behind the curve are they now? Possibly "they" meaning manufactures, helped pave the way, less head injuries, means less lawsuits... More common sense would be, don't drive drunk, don't drive like an idiot, know your machine and it's capabilities, because a large portion of our fellow OHV riders, have NO FREAKING CLUE!!!! they hop in, punch the gas, and decide they need to turn, NOW.... Did I just spell ROLLOVER... We've all seen it happen. Maybe some people should own up to the fact that they caused the accident, but why would you do that when you might be able to find blame in daddy fat sacks and sue him...I believe the manufactures might be trying to help cover their A$$... Why else would they distinguish 1000cc, because they don't plan on making any with larger motors would be good reasoning....Highly doubt the "union" is behind this, helmets are made overseas, they wouldn't profit...BTW, I don't agree with the law, just stating an observation from the outside... I personally ride 98% of the time without my helmet, But i dont have a problem with owning up to my injuries when I cause them