One June 13, 2009, one week before my 46th birthday, my fiancé drove me to my house to pick up my Harley Davidson Electra Glide so that I could ride it to our new home. Well, I decided to take a major detour so to say…… You know how it is 
I heard that the Angeles Crest Highway to Wrightwood, which has been closed for basically the past 4-5 years was recently repaired and finally reopened.
This is one of my favorite runs of all time, and it is local. I thought that with the budget crisis in California, and the severity of how the road was washed out during storms many moons ago, that there was a possibility of never being able to do this run again in my lifetime. I have heard people spouting off about roads with twisties; well let them ride the Angeles Crest and tell me what they think!
I shot the below first person perspective video with my cell phone camera, a Samsung Memoir, in one hand, and holding on to the throttle with the other. I do not ever recommend anyone ever trying this or doing this at home. Although I am a motorcycle accident attorney and a biker lawyer, I have been riding motorcycles for over 30 years and let’s just say that I think I am a decent rider.
The beginning of the video shows some video of the staging area, a traditional stop before Newcomb’s Ranch, Newcomb’s Ranch, my secret spot at 8,000 feet above sea level, and then some kick ass first person riding footage. The end of the movie is kind of a surprise.
Tell me what you think!
By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney, and Biker Lawyer, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2009
A couple weeks ago my old lady, and a friend and I rode our motorcycles to Solvang California. I thought I would write an article about the ride to Solvang.
We then jumped on the 118 freeway and rode to Simi Valley Harley Davidson, because I wanted to pick up a quart of oil to keep in my saddle bags just in case. You can see a picture of my friend and I in the upper left corner, at Simi Valley Harley-Davidson. Please note that my friend did not want his picture publicized to the world by way of the biker law blog, I have therefore smudged his face to conceal his identity.
When we eventually got to Solvang, we stopped at the first gas station to top off our tanks. We ended up seeing a whole bunch of bikers at the gas station. I assume that they were in some riding club because they were all riding together.
We went into the casino and walked around a bit. As usual, my old lady wanted to borrow money so that she could gamble. It seems she never has money of her own when we travel. I gave her $40 to play on the slots. Literally, within five minutes she had won $600. I knew full well that she would gamble the entire $600 away in short order. I told her, “Let’s take the money and go.” At that point she continued to press the maximum bet button. For the first time ever, I walked up to the machine and pressed the cash out button, so that my old lady would be able to leave the casino with some money. The machine printed a ticket, and my old lady walked out of the Chumash casino with approximately $600. She was even able to pay me back the $40 that I loaned her. She was ecstatic to say the least. She knew in her heart that she would blow the money if she stayed at the casino, and was probably grateful to me for cashing her out, but she insisted that she would’ve won at least $10,000 had she remained at the machine. I have seen this lady at Las Vegas, ya right.
Anyone who has installed the Detachable Tour Pak Rack Kit on their Harley Davidson Motorcycle will soon find a couple of things that could be better.
** 4/28/2010 Update – I switched to a Garmin 755t from the Nuvi 350 about 6 months ago. The 755t has a wide screen, and wireless FM transmitter which allows me to tune the music in without having to use a cable into my auxiliary. There are many more features on this GPS, it also has built in lifetime free traffic. I got the unit for a hundred and some change on ebay, and am using the ram mount on the handlebar as usual.
My initial impression at least from what I learned in my search was that the leading GPS brands were Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom. I could not find anything really good about the new manufacturers in the GPS market game. Guys from electronic stores who were in the know such as Fry’s Electronics told me point blank on the phone and in person to stick with Garmin because they were in industry leader, and they have less returns of Garmin units. I was also told that Magellan and TomTom were good, but that Garmin would be my best bet.
When you order the Harley Davidson King Tour Pak, you also need to order other parts with it so that it can be locked, installed, etc. All that comes with the Tour Pak is the actual Tour Pak in the box, some holes pre-drilled in the bottom, a hole for a key set, a rubber mat for the bottom, and a leather pouch. That is about it. Secondly, when I opened the box there were no reflectors, or anything on the outside, except the Harley Davidson inscription painted on the top. Of course it was vivid black!
A friend and client of mine, 
Groups and people that I have lead on this ride are shocked to learn that there is an Alpine Forest just a few miles from downtown Los Angeles, with ski resorts and the works. Everyone always tells me that they did not know!
** Update 5/22/07 See Below!
I went to Sears to buy a really cool Craftsman socket screwdriver set that has 9 sizes of Torx bits, and a whole bunch of other bits, so I could remove the outer front fairing on my Electra Glide.
*** June 8, 2009 update below the main article. Check it out!
You may ask why I decided to put an air horn on my Harley; simple; stock motorcycle horns are basically worthless, especially at highway speeds. A loud air horn gives motorcyclist a LEGAL way of getting a cagers attention even with their windows rolled up, and even when they are on the phone. This is a way of getting noticed without having deafening and illegal loud open pipes on your bike.
**** June 7, 2008 Update: I have now ridden 1000′s of miles in this saddle, and I highly recommend it. Although it does move you up and forward a bit, the trade-off for sheer comfort is well worth it. My passenger and I have never had a sore or numb butt with this seat. I give it a 9 out of 10!
As most motorcycle owners do, I am about to start some limited customization on my Harley Davidson Electra Glide. I have owned many motorcycles in the past and have done extensive customization on each.
As a lawyer who is a real biker, I wish to welcome you to this blog which was created by me on August 31, 2006.
