The post The Future Is Now: Top Technological Advances in Motorcycles for 2025 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Stock seat on 2017 Indian Roadmaster at the time of purchase.

My wife and I purchased a new Indian Roadmaster in approximately June 2017. You can see the stock seat on the motorcycle in this picture. (click on any of the pictures to see large size)

We rode for one year on the stock seat with no problems, plus the stock seat which is Indian Tan in color, was custom in of itself, and an integral part of the motorcycle look.

I have owned many motorcycles in the past, and on every one of them I purchased an aftermarket seat. I always chose Mustang for my seats. Mustang is a one size fits all solution as is Corbin, although they do take special requests for custom seats.

On my last motorcycle, which was a 2008 Electra Glide Ultra Custom, I purchased a premium seat for it from Harley-Davidson, and sold the stock seat. The premium seat was just fine for the years I had the motorcycle.

My wife and I were at the Sturgis motorcycle rally in August 2018, and put over thousand miles on the Indian roadmaster at that time. Let me tell you something, the seat on the Indian Roadmaster became a brick. Whatever support and padding the seat had in it was gone within a year. and It became so bad, that both of our asses were hurting after each ride at Sturgis. It literally became torture to ride on the stock seat for extended periods of time.

The outside of the Russell Cycle Products factory on the day we rode our motorcycle in.

I undertook looking for a new seat for the Indian Roadmaster.

I initially purchased a Mustang saddle for the Indian Roadmaster off the J P Cycles website, but the seat that I received was a different color brown than the Indian Tan color that is the color scheme on my motorcycle. Why would Mustang make a seat that does not match Indians color scheme? I immediately returned it.

My problem was not only that my tour pack back pad was Indian Tan, plus I have what is called Captain Inch heat shields for my motorcycle which are made out of leather, and they match the Indian Tan. I was not willing to replace all of that just for a new seat that was the wrong color. Plus, Indian Tan was the color I wanted not a dark brown it would take away the whole ambience of the bike.

No other motorcycle that I know of has the Indian Tan color on seats, that is exactly one of the reasons I love the Indian. The look sets it apart.

I talked to Mustang about their off color brown seat and they told me that usually their customers replace their stock black seats and the tour pack pad on the Indian all together to change from black to brown as a customization, and that their color was not intended to replace the Indian Tan color. What is bizarre is that they have Indian Tan for another model Indian, just not the Roadmaster. Anyway…….

A picture of the craftsman at Russell Cycle Products who made our custom seat at the factory.

They told me they could make a custom seat the same color as the Indian Tan, but they quoted me some exorbitant amount of money to do so. At the time of the writing of this article, which is a year and half later, they may have a matching seat now I’m not sure. Another thing to mention about a custom Mustang is that it was not a custom like the Russell Day Long, see below.

I looked at other options, and at the time there weren’t that many for the Indian. I looked at another manufacturer who sells one size fits all seats, but there were mixed reviews, and to keep my stock heating element that is built into the Indian seat, it would cost me just as much money to have a custom motorcycle seat made.

One thing I forgot to mention is that on the Indian Roadmaster, it does have a heated seat. Therefore, every aftermarket seat for this motorcycle is approximately $1000 plus or minus. They are expensive,unless you choose not to keep the heating. If you are going to pay 35k out the door for a motorcycle, why would you dump a feature like a heated seat?

After hours of research and one failed purchase that I returned, I chose to have a custom motorcycle seat made at Russell Cycle Products. Their seat is called the Russell Day Long.

One thing I should note about Russell Cycle Products, they can custom make a seat for you any way you want it, you can choose the type of covering material, the color, you can have custom stitching and embroidery, the sky and your imagination is the limit.

As for me, I wanted something that matched the stock seat as closely as possible.

What Russell does is they take your stock seat and make a custom seat from it utilizing you and your passenger’s measurements, your weight, and other criteria.

craftsmen inside factory making custom seats

You can either order their seat by mail, and send in pictures of you and your passenger on the motorcycle, with precise measurements along with your old seat for customization, or for lucky people like me who live in the same state, or in other close by states, you can ride in and have a custom seat made.

Hell you can also take a road trip just to get your custom seat made at Russell.

If you want to ride your motorcycle into their factory, you have to make an appointment with them first and pay a small deposit to ensure you will show up. I had to reschedule my appointment one time and they accommodated me.. They contact you to confirm before your appointment.

Because of the special nature of riding your motorcycle into the factory to have a seat made, they say they require an entire day.

I made my appointment which was months in advance. They were busy 🙂 I also conversed with them back and forth via email. They told me that if I wanted the Indian roadmaster with a diamond pattern like the stock seat has, that they would need two days to do the seat. (Turns out it only took one day) I told them no problem, we would take our motorhome from Southern California, put the bike in the trailer, and stay overnight in a local campground. Their factory is near Redding California which is a beautiful area.

View of new Russell Day Long Seat at factory without backrest on.

When the time came to go to the factory, we loaded up the motorcycle into our enclosed trailer, jumped in the motorhome and took off the night before. We ended up staying at a great campground just one freeway exit away from Russell’s factory.

We went to Russell’s in approximately December 2018 to get the seat made. I waited one year to write this review.

Russell Motorsports is in Northern California, whereas we live in Southern California. It is much colder in Northern California this time year, matter of fact some of the local mountains there had snow.

Many easterners will probably laugh at this part of the article but for a Southern California boy like me we are not used to snow, it is alien to us. Cold is alien to us 🙂

The morning of our appointment I was feeling a bit under the weather because we drove 12 plus hours in the motorhome, it was cold, and I was not feeling well , nonetheless, my wife and I took the bike out of the trailer and rode it to Russell Cycle Products for our appointment first thing in the morning.

When we got to the factory, everyone there was really cool. They opened a door on the side, and I rode the motorcycle in. They asked my wife and I what we weighed, and asked us to sit on the bike. They took pictures, and measurements. They also asked me to put my feet on the floorboards like I ride, and on the highway bars like I ride, and took measurements and pictures as well. It was a pretty quick process, they know their stuff.

Side view of custom Russell Day Long seat at factory

They told us the seat would be ready the next day, so we took a Lyft back to the campground. I am an attorney, so I ended up working in the motorhome, my wife worked remotely as well.

The guys at Russell, called me a few hours later and told me the seat pan was ready and asked me to come down to sit on it to see if I wanted to make any adjustments. My wife and I took a Lyft back to the factory from the campground.

When I first sat on the seat, it felt like the padding was pushing up into my nuts and it was very uncomfortable. Good thing they had me come in for a test sit.

The fabricator took the seat pan in the back and shaved the padding in that area. He brought it back and it felt okay.

Frankly, I was feeling under the weather, and I had never done a custom seat like this before. When they ask you to sit on the seat without a cover, with just the padding, it was really hard to tell what it was really going to feel like. Nonetheless, we accepted it, and took a Lyft back to the campground so they could work on the seat.

Surprisingly, the guys at Russell called a few hours later the same day, and told us that the seat was finished. It was supposed to take two days to manufacture, but they had the fabricator, and the gal who did the actual stitching of the motorcycle seat in the factory that day, and they took the time and effort to get the seat done in one day, which my wife and I really it appreciated.

We took a Lyft back to the factory again. (By the way the Lyft driver was an older guy, it was his first day driving for Lyft, and it was kind of funny that he kept on picking us up)

I was excited as we approach the factory to pick up my motorcycle..

View of new Russell Day Long Seat at factory right side

You will see many pictures of the seat here at the precise moment I picked up the motorcycle. Other pictures were taken a year later.

First off, before I go into the next section of the review, I want to say that I care about looks, and function on a motorcycle. I feel the same way about my cars, that is why I only drive Mercedes-Benz.

There are some guys that care more about function. There are some guys that care more about looks. I have seen guys with literal bricks as seats on motorcycle’s, and they probably cannot ride more than 10 miles without taking a break, but because it looks really good, they keep it on their motorcycle.

The Indian Roadmaster is a $35,000 motorcycle out the door, and I get nothing but rave reviews about it’s looks wherever I go from Harley-Davidson riders and everyone else. Even 2.5 years later everyone gives me a thumbs up when they see the Indian Roadmaster. They love the look.

The stock Indian Roadmaster seat looks like a work of art, but it turned into a brick to ride which is why got the custom seat. Who cares if it looks good if it causes you pain to ride? It does have the Indian logo pressed in to the leather.

View of Russell day long with my stock rider backrest at factory

When I first looked at the Russell Daylong seat when I went to pick it up, my very first impression was that it simply did not look as good as the stock Indian Roadmaster seat.

It obviously had a bigger area for my butt, it obviously had more padding, the lower back support was much more substantial, however the thread that they use wasn’t as thick as the Indian thread. This was only a first impression, I since have come to love the appearance.

Secondly, the sides of the seat on the stock Indian Roadmaster actually have a piece of leather that hangs down a bit above the side covers and are attached via side bolts on inside of the side covers if you want to remove the seat. I never really liked the fact that you would have to remove the back screw and side bolts to get the Indian seat off, but hereto for I had never had to take the seat off.

On the Russell Daylong seat, they do away with the side bolts, and the piece of leather that hangs down above the side covers. I am ambivalent to this because now all I need to do is remove the back screw to get the seat off, plus it is easier to get the side covers off, and it is easier to polish the side covers. However, a trade-off is that there is no leather hanging down to cover the top of the side cover. For me it really doesn’t matter. Some people might like the aesthetics of the stock Indian seat better with respect to this regard.

If you take a look at the top picture with the stock seat and the pictures below it of the Russell Day Long, you can see on the side of the seat on the rider part, where the stock seat has the leather that comes down and kind of covers the side panel, whereas the Russell does not.

Now my first impression sitting on the seat was that I had made a big mistake. Rather than sitting in the seat like I did on the stock Indian Roadmaster seat, on the Russell Daylong I felt like I was sitting on top of it.

Further, it raised me up a bit which I did not like, however, it also pushed me back a bit which I liked. I always felt too cramped forward on the stock Indian Roadmaster seat. With the new seat I have more leg room now. (Turns out now that I am used to the seat, I like  that it raised me up a bit as I will discuss below)

Close up of Russell Day Long Motorcycle Seat after break in

The seat felt kind of hard, but it was not uncomfortable. I was thinking to myself, well they just destroyed my stock Indian Roadmaster seat, and now I might have to go get another one 🙁

The way they custom design the Russell Day Long, it also makes it harder for you to take your legs and put them on the side of the motorcycle seat like on normal motorcycle seats.

The reason for this is they make a very big distinct place for your ass which is a bit raised on the sides. You can see by the picture how wide it is where your ass is. You actually have to put your legs forward a bit to get your legs on the ground. It actually makes you feel like a kid at first. If you look at the pictures of the Russell seat you will see the area in the front there you put your legs down. It took me a while to get used to this.

Frankly, at first, I was not too pleased. I felt I had made a big mistake. When I rode the motorcycle back to the campground, my initial ride on the new seat, which was just a few miles away, I was disappointed. Now that I look back at it, it was simply a total change from the stock seat, and I was not used to it.

Turns out it was like walking in a new pair of shoes. They are not comfortable until you break them in and get used to them.

Close up of back of Russell Day Long Saddle

The guys at Russell specifically told me that the seat would not be totally broken in for the first 1000 miles. They told me if after breaking in the seat, I wanted to make adjustments, I could do so free of charge for 18 months.

When we got back to the campground, I kept the motorcycle outside of the trailer, thinking that my wife and I would take a ride. It was actually getting to be dark and very cold. We decided not to stay the second night and to just go home.

I got on the bike again to ride it into the trailer, and I was seriously thinking that maybe this was not the seat for me. We packed up the motorhome and went home that night. For us, it was a long 24 hours of riding in the motorhome.

Later, after a few rides on the new seat, I quickly changed my opinion of the seat. Turns out, the Russell Daylong is a great seat for riding your motorcycle. Not only do I feel no fatigue on this seat, but it is downright pleasurable to take long multi-hundred mile rides a day on my motorcycle in all weather conditions with no problem.

Picture of Russell Day Long Saddle with Russell custom embroidered backrest

This seat gives a huge amount of lower back support which makes all the difference in the world when you are riding your motorcycle. Look at the pictures of the new seat on here. I could not imagine riding without the Russel Day Long seat now.

The issue of feet placement when putting your feet on the ground when the motorcycle is stopped, is not a problem now that I am used to it. I would rather have a great seat that is comfortable when riding, then have a trade-off of a seat that is easy to put your legs side to side when stopped but is not that comfortable to ride. You do not put your feet down when you are riding.

We took the bike to Sturgis, 2019, and did a lot of parading (stop and go for extended periods of time) with the new seat, I quickly got used to the new set up of putting my feet on the ground when the bike is stopped. We rode well over thousand miles in the week we were in Sturgis and Yellowstone in August 2019. Plus, we have ridden to many other places since.

Closeup of the custom embroidery gy Russell Motorsports on backrest

On the issue of the seat raising you up a bit, I am 5’11,” and probably around 6’1” with motorcycle boots on.  Prior to getting the Russell Daylong I could easily get both feet on the ground by placing my legs on the side of the seat. The new seat, the way it was designed for my weight (I paid for the heavy weight spring), pushed me up one to two inches.

At first, I did not like not being able to have both legs on the side of the seat, with both feet stretched on the ground like you can do when your bike is real low.

I can still get both feet on the ground, but the seat is higher. I am quite sure Russell can make the seat lower you, keep you the same height, etc., but they used my criteria when I went to the factory.

Now, I like the seat a bit higher because when riding I have more leg room from feet on the floorboard to my body. So, what I give up when stopped which is not much, I now have more comfort when riding with more legroom on the bike.

The seat is broken in now, and I love it. No more wincing in pain at the end of a long day’s ride. I have no fear taking very long rides now.

While at the Sturgis motorcycle Rally 2019, we were at some gas station at a remote stop, and some guy came up to me and asked me what kind of seat I had. I told him it was the Russell Day Long. He told me he thought that’s what it was, and showed me his seat which was from the company that I was looking at prior to choosing  the Russell Daylong.

A view of entire Russell Day Long with Custom Backrest by Russell

His seat did not have the stock heating because he did not pay for that option, which was available on his seat from that manufacturer, whereas I purchased the custom seat that retained the stock heating. His seat manufacturer (one size fits all design) offered keeping the heating which made it cost as much as the custom Russel Daylong.

Frankly, his seat did not look that good, I think the Russell Daylong looks better. I told him how I felt about my seat which at that point was a 10 out of 10 for rating. Hell we were in Sturgis riding hundreds of miles a day with no pain like the year before.

I should say that prior to leaving Russell Cycle Products for home, I picked out a custom embroidery design for my Rider back rest and left a deposit. It would take a week to do the custom Eagle embroidery, and we were planning on leaving the next day, however, we ended up leaving the same day as stated above.

I ended up shipping my stock rider backrest to them after I got home, they did the embroidery and new cover, and returned it promptly back to me.

Here are a couple pictures of the custom embroidery that they did on my rider back rest.

Back side view of Russell Day Long lighting effects image

When we got the seat, I ended up purchasing a seat cover from them as well, which we actually needed to use in Sturgis a few times because of the rain.

I have never used a seat cover on a motorcycle seat before, but the guys at Russell told me that any motorcycle seat has threading and stitches that create holes in the covering, and water will leak through the holes into the padding, which ends up destroying the inner padding, and decreasing the longevity of your seat.

I now use the seat cover while washing the motorcycle as well.

So, here is my final review of the Russell Daylong seat for the Indian Roadmaster. I give it a 10 out of 10. It cannot get any better.

Now that I am used to the look of the seat, but more importantly how comfortable it is while doing short and long rides, I could not imagine having to endure the pain of the brick which was the stock seat again.

I must mention my wife and how she likes the seat.  Many guys put their old ladies on a brick pad, hell I have seen guys make their old ladies ride on a friggen fender. If you want to take long rides with your women and hear nothing but bitching all day, then make her ride on the back of a bad seat. It you care about your woman and want her to be happy as well, get her a good seat to sit on.

My wife Little Teri absolutely loves the Russel Day Long saddle. As a back seat rider she says that she has no more fatigue or pain like she had on the stock seat. Further, she likes this seat better than the seat on my old Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Custom. Russel customized the seat for her as well.

It was well worth the money and the trip to get a custom seat made by Russell Cycle Products if you are a motorcycle rider that rides.

If you do short bar hops and that is your thing, you may not need a seat like this. They do not call it a Russell Day Long for nothing.

I highly recommend getting one of the seats for any motorcycle.

My closing thoughts are that the guys and gals at Russell Cycle Products are geniuses when it comes to motorcycle seats. They have been making custom seats for many years and know exactly how to make a custom seat that fits your exact measurements and needs.

I have not been paid by Russell for this review, nor have I received any discounts or accommodations from them. This is just an honest review.

Here is a link to the Russel Cycle Products website: https://day-long.com/ , their phone number is: 800-432-9566

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., January 2020

The post My review of the Russell Day Long, Custom Motorcycle Seat for Indian Roadmaster, by Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

As you all know from time to time, I review products and services here on the Biker Law Blog. I figured many of you would like to hear about a new motorcycle jacket I have acquired from Viking Cycle.

I literally own at least 10 different motorcycle jackets. I have been riding for so many years that I have tried all types of jackets, textile and leather, padded and non-padded.

Back in the day you would expect to pay two or $300 for a jacket like this. The reason I called this old-fashioned leather motorcycle jacket is because this style came out in the 1950s and is literally timeless. Even today the majority of motorcycle riders that I know where these style jackets.

There are many pockets to put your stuff in, it is warm, it can be zipped all the way up to your neck, if you ride a motorcycle this is all you will need and it only cost .

I am a big guy, so I got a three XL and it fits perfectly. I am very happy with this jacket and will wear it all the time.

There are many people who like to wear leather motorcycle style jackets who don’t actually ride motorcycles. They wear these types of jackets as a fashion statement. For those of you who like to wear this style of jacket, you cannot beat the $99 price.

Anybody who knows me will know that I will not recommend something in less I like it. Well I like this jacket and I highly recommend it. Here is a link to the jacket or you can purchase it. https://www.vikingcycle.com/collections/mens-leather-motorcycle-jackets/products/angel-fire-motorcycle-jacket-for-men

By California motorcycle accident lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, December 2019

The post My review of the Viking Cycle Angel Fire Black Leather Motorcycle Jacket for Men first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

I have ridden motorcycles over 40 years in my life. I have dealt with all types of dealerships from all manufacturers, this includes motorcycles, and cars.

The absolute worst motorcycle dealership, or for that matter any dealership I have ever dealt with is Indian Motorcycle of Orange. I give them a “F” rating, and warn all my readers, and everyone, to do business there at your own risk.

To understand what has happened click here to go to my first review of the Indian motorcycle itself. Then click here to go to my first article about Indian Motorcycle of Orange.

Make sure you follow the links in that article to read the yelp reviews on Indian Motorcycle of Orange, which are strikingly similar to my own experience, and then come back here to read my final review of Indian motorcycle of Orange.

This will constitute my third article on the Indian motorcycle. This and a previous article are related to the horrible experience I had at Indian Motorcycle of Orange. My fourth and final article reviewing the entire Indian experience itself will be forthcoming soon.

Just in case you do not want to go back and read the previous articles, I will synopsis in a nutshell what has happened.

My fiancé and I went to Indian motorcycle of Orange in approximately June 2017 to look at the motorcycles. I was all set to buy a brand-new Harley-Davidson motorcycle when I went to the Indian dealership. We went to Indian motorcycle of Orange because it was the closest local dealership, and that’s where Harley-Davidson used to be before they moved to Huntington Beach.

We walked in and looked at the motorcycles. Their sales staff were busy helping other people with t-shirt merchandise. After about 15 minutes standing there like idiots, we mentioned to them that we were cash buyers looking for a motorcycle, and we would like somebody to come help us. They continued to Jack around helping the T-shirt buyers after we told that we came as cash buyers to purchase a motorcycle. We should have walked out at that point like some people on Yelp stated they did.

During the time my fiancé and I were standing there, I fell in love with the Indian just by looking at it. I pretty much decided that I was sick and tired of riding the same Harley-Davidson motorcycle year-after-year and wanted to try something new, a change.

By the time the sales staff came to help us 20 to 25 minutes had lapsed since we first walked in. Frankly, I was shocked that they cared more about helping somebody buying T-shirts and merchandise then selling motorcycles.

Their salespeople went through all the options and features on the Indian Roadmaster; I decided that I wanted to get one.

My fiancé who loves me dearly told me that she would buy the motorcycle, so long as I promised to only have her on the back of the motorcycle. I promised her.

We told the sales person and the general manager at Indian motorcycle of Orange, Leo, that we were cash buyers and we wanted to buy the motorcycle today, but we wanted the green and cream model. Leo told us that they did not have that color in stock, but that he could call around to his friends and find one for us quickly. I said okay, and we left.

The next day when I  did not hear from Leo, I called Leo to see if he had found one yet, he told me that he had not found one yet, but that he would call me as soon as he did. I thought that was odd because there are not too many dealers in California. You can call every 1 of them in less than an hour to see if they had the motorcycle that I wanted.

Brian on left, Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on right

On my own, I checked the inventory of all the dealers in California online, and within 15 minutes found that Spirit motorcycles of San Jose had the exact motorcycle I wanted in stock. It took me 15 minutes.

The next day, which was 2 days after I initially spoke to Leo, I called him back again to see if he had found the motorcycle I wanted, and still got the same runaround. You snooze, you lose.

You would think that a motorcycle dealership, especially an Indian motorcycle dealership who is just now trying to get their sea legs and market share with an up and coming brand, and with their competition with Harley-Davidson, that they would bend over backwards to sell you a new motorcycle, especially a new ,000 motorcycle. Well they did not. They set on their ass and lost the sale.

In comparison Harley Davidson of Huntington Beach, knew we were cash buyers and called us every day to get us to come in and buy a motorcycle. They were offering great discounts. We however, were already set on getting the Indian Roadmaster.

I decided that I was not going to screw around with Leo anymore, and I called Spirit motorcycles in San Jose. Martin, their owner jumped at the chance to sell us a motorcycle and he was Johnny on the spot to get the deal done. This is what a motorcycle or even a car dealership is supposed to do.

Within 48 hours I was on a plane to pick up the new motorcycle. Sometimes when you want something, you have to go get yourself.

I rode the motorcycle home from San Jose, along the way, I discovered that the cruise control did not work out the door, but I broke the motorcycle in riding in from San Jose to Huntington Beach California.

When I got back into town I called Indian Motorcycle of Orange to set up an appointment for the 500-mile service, to get a couple locks put on the lower compartments, and to have the cruise control issue resolved.

I was charged over 0 for the 500-mile service, (hundreds of dollars more than all other Indian dealerships that I called) and the installation of 2 locks. I’m not going to reiterate all the facts of what happened, you can read about them here in article two, which resulted in this dealership telling me that my motorcycle was no longer welcome at their dealership.

Imagine paying $35,000 for premium motorcycle and a five-year service contract and having a local prima donna dealership refusing to work on the motorcycle because you dared to ask questions.

Suffices to say being a motorcycle industry insider myself, there was no way I was going to let Indian Motorcycle of Orange get away with what they did to us without the world knowing.

I wrote the article which you can read here, I posted a Google review about them, and a yelp review about them. Within 24 to 48 hours, both reviews were removed from both sites. There are other people who have written negative reviews about Indian Motorcycles of Orange who also had their reviews taken down according to what they wrote. I believe what is happening is that Leo or whoever, is objecting to the reviews, and maybe Google or yelp are taking them down because of that.

Just for the heck of it, I went to yelp in approximately August 2018 to see if my review was back up, it wasn’t. I wrote another review which is up now, which you can read by clicking here. What prompted me to write this 2^nd article about Indian Motorcycle of Orange was Leo’s response and later action or I should say inaction.

After I rewrote another yelp review, Leo had the nerve to respond to the review by saying “oh well if you had so much trouble, why did you wait this long to write a review.” I actually wrote the first review right after Indian Motorcycle of Orange screwed me around, and it was probably due to Leo himself that the first review was taken down. So, him questioning me writing the review a year later knowing full well that he most likely was responsible for getting them first review taken down, was a joke.

Furthermore, if you read some of the other negative reviews on yelp about Indian Motorcycle of Orange, it seems like I am not the only one getting the same shitty treatment and service from them.

It seems like people with Hispanic last names are the ones doing the most complaining, so it could be that this motorcycle dealership discriminates against Hispanic people. I don’t have evidence of this but it’s not hard to make a circumstantial case that they are. If you look at me, I look like a white dude, but I have a Hispanic last name. If they are in fact discriminating against Hispanics, they would be idiots because much of their market in Southern California would be Hispanic people. Why throw away good money because of ignorance and prejudice?

Anyway, Leo invited me to call him in response to my review. I was surprised, I thought that maybe Leo did not know what had previously happened, and genuinely wanted to try to resolve the issue. I even offered to him that if he made things right with me, that I would notate that on my review. Further, I changed the review, I mentioned that he had contacted me, and we were going to talk.

I called Leo and left a message, he returned my call and left a message, I called him back and we finally spoke. Pretty much as soon as we started speaking, I realized that this guy is in my opinion, is a friggin moron, and as dumb as they come. Let me explain.

Little Teri with the Indian We Purchased at Spirit Motorcycle in San Jose, CA

The main issue that I had with Indian Motorcycle of Orange to begin with was that their asshole service manager told me that my motorcycle was no longer welcome at their dealership, after I caught him lying about the status of a repair of my motorcycle being approved by Polaris and called him on it. See the second article. Further, the service manager upon telling me my bike was no longer welcome, after being asked by me whether talking to the general manager would help, he responded that Leo already knew and approved of his action.

However, Leo on the phone call recently where we, or at least I was trying to resolve the issue, tried to blame me and Spirit Motorcycle of San Jose for the issue, and not their lying service manager, or his own failure to call me back in the beginning after he said he would find me a motorcycle.

Leo claimed it was my fault that everything happened because I did not buy the motorcycle from Indian Motorcycle of Orange, because they give priority treatment to people who buy motorcycles from them.

He went on for a long time about how he looked for a motorcycle for me, but I went around his back and bought it from Spirit motorcycle, etc.

It’s all a bunch of bullshit, Leo had a cash buyer, my fiancé, and he sat on his ass and did not service the customer by calling us back for days. That is why we did not buy from them.

Leo also stated that if we had bought from them, there is no way the bike would have left their shop with a bad cruise control. Leo must think I am some kind of idiot. I have been riding motorcycles on the street since the late 1970’s, I ride in motorcycle clubs, I have been in the motorcycle scene my entire adult life. He expected me to believe that his shoddy crew would have tested the cruise control before delivery. How are they going to test a cruise control on a motorcycle he did not bother to find for me?

Leo is basically a poster child for the prophylactic. Let me ask you a question, if you are a salesman, or a general manager of a motorcycle dealership, and you are selling a $35,000 motorcycle, and somebody told you they were a cash buyer and wanted one as soon as possible, what would you do? Would you sit on your ass and not find one for the customer, or would you find one for the customer? If you are having trouble finding one for the customer, wouldn’t you at least call the customer to keep them advised as to what’s going on? If the customer in 15 minutes finds the motorcycle he wants from another dealer, when you had 2 days to find the motorcycle, do you think you deserve the sale?

Like I said earlier, Harley Davidson called me on a daily basis during this time to come in and pick up a motorcycle.

The reason we did not buy the motorcycle from Indian Motorcycle of Orange was because Leo sat on his ass for over 2 days, never called me back, and did not find the motorcycle I wanted until it was too late.

Rather than talk about the shoddy service Indian Motorcycle of Orange gave me when I took to bike in for the cruise control issue and their subsequent banning of my bike from their shop because I called out their service manager after he lied to me. Leo was all about my not buying the motorcycle from him.

After my conversation with Leo it became obvious that I was being punished because we did not buy the motorcycle at this dealership. Mind you my fiancé had just paid approximate $35,000 for motorcycle, with a five-year service contract, from Spirit Motorcycle another Indian Dealership, and Indian Motorcycle of Orange off the that tells me my motorcycle is not welcome there for service.

Do you think a Harley Davidson Dealership would ever act like this? Hello no.

I told Leo or at least tried to in our conversation in August 2018, that all I wanted is to be able to locally get my motorcycle serviced without any hassle. If we can work out our differences, I would notate my review, and of course for him he would gain another cash paying client on the service and accessory end of the sale. Most of these dealers make most of their money selling accessories and service anyway. What dealer does not want business or money?

Leo told me he would get back to me.

After a few days, Leo called me and told me that he does not believe we were a good fit and so they would not service my motorcycle.

Let me reiterate that, I have a pretty much brand-new top-of-the-line Indian Roadmaster motorcycle, we paid for a five-year service contract, and Indian Motorcycle of Orange tells me that my motorcycle is no longer welcome because we are not a good fit. What a douche bag.

In the history of retail and customer service, have you ever heard of such a thing? It appears to me that the people at Indian Motorcycle of Orange in my opinion are not only friggin morons, but they are idiots too. What kind of stupid son of a bitch would turn down a cash paying customer because we are Not a good fit! Hell, I was not trying to marry these people, I only wanted excellent customer service on our $35,000 motorcycle.

I guess Indian Motorcycle of Orange cares more about personality, than making money.

These people have a 3 rating on yelp, a 3 rating. The dealership I have been going to who I will not name here is head over heels much better than Indian Motorcycle of Orange. They bend over backwards to provide excellent customer service, because they are in business to make money. Unfortunately I do have to ride around 60 miles each way to get to this dealership. Indian is still building their dealership network and there are not too many dealer options in Southern California yet.

Now if you look at my experience, I am a nationally recognized biker lawyer, and I run a motorcycle news outlet

Leo and his crew at Indian Motorcycle of Orange have not only screwed me around, but they are screwing other Indian customers around based upon the Yelp reviews, and they are probably doing a lot of damage to the Indian Motorcycle brand by their clusterfuck operation.

What do you think may happen if go you there?

Who would anyone buy a motorcycle from a dealership who arbitrarily tells people that they are not a good fit for service?

It’s one thing to go to a liquor store and have a personality conflict with the clerk over a 2 or $3 item, it’s another thing to have a motorcycle dealership basically fuck you around  after buying a ,000 with a five year service contract motorcycle, and then refuse to service it.

Based upon my experience, you will be lucky if Indian Motorcycle of Orange allows your motorcycle in for service. Like they themselves told me, “they do not have to service anyone’s motorcycle if they do not want to.”

If you do buy a motorcycle there, or if you do need service you may have to take it up the ass if God forbid they screw up, because if you complain it is your fault that they screwed it up. If you open your mouth and complain, you will no longer be welcome as well because you will not be a good fit for service there. This is what they did to me.

This appears to be the only motorcycle dealership in the nation that does not care about your money, they care that you are a good fit.

Stay as far away from this dealership as you possibly can. There are many more ethical dealers that will be happy to have your business. In my opinion, Indian Motorcycle of Orange does not deserve anybody’s business. They are a clusterfuck of a dealership.

By Biker Lawyer and injured bikers.com founder, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., October 2018

The post Indian Motorcycle of Orange, “F” Rating. The worst motorcycle dealership ever, do business there at your own risk. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

INTRODUCTION

California biker attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez at the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone national forest just after Sturgis 2015

** 10-25-18 Update: I have written a final article on Indian Motorcycle of Orange, giving them a F rating, and advising all of my readers to do business there at your own risk and recommending that you go somewhere else to buy an Indian or to get service. You may read the new article by clicking here now.

** 8-28-18 Update: On 8-24-18, I heard from the General Manager of this dealership after writing another Yelp Review. My first review was taken down by Yelp for reasons unknown. and we have discussed my issue. I have not asked for any monetary damages or anything crazy. I only asked him to resolve this issue by providing excellent service on my motorcycle. long story short, I will write another article very soon to tell you what happened. Indian Motorcycle of Orange is much more fuc#’d up then I first thought. In the meantime, check out some of the other negative feedback on Indian Motorcycles of Orange County on Yelp by clicking here. There are probably a whole bunch more victims that got screwed and did not do a review.

This is part 2 of my write up on how I switched from riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles to Indian motorcycles in July 2017. You can read part one by clicking here.

In part 1 of my story, I discussed looking at new motorcycles, narrowing my decision down to two motorcycles, and ultimately choosing the Indian Roadmaster motorcycle. I also discussed how my fiancé went about buying the motorcycle, and a problem that I had with the motorcycles cruise control on the way home after picking it up.

Now this is where the story gets interesting. I have been riding motorcycles for over 40 years. I have been dealing with car dealerships and motorcycle dealerships for approximately 37 years.

The worst experience I’ve ever had with any dealership was last week at Indian Motorcycles of Orange County California,  I recommend that nobody purchase any product there, or obtains service from them.

Let me explain what happened.

Within a day or two after riding my fiancé’s new Indian Roadmaster home from the dealership where it was purchased in San Jose California, I called the local dealership where we live, Indian Motorcycle of Orange, to inform them that I wanted to bring the motorcycle in for 500-mile service, and to fix the cruise control problem on the motorcycle.

We are talking a $35,000 motorcycle that was less than a week old.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez at Sturgis

When I got to the dealership everything seemed normal except that there was a female salesperson there that gave me the silent treatment when she found out that we purchased the motorcycle from another dealership. (See part 1 where I discussed why we purchased the motorcycle different dealership)

I took it in stride, because I was dealing with the service department.

I explained to the service manager that I wanted a 500-mile service, that the cruise control did not work and it was a brand-new motorcycle, and requested that they install 2 locks that go on the lower fairing compartments.

We never discussed the cost of service, but I assumed it would be around the same as I was quoted from my dealer in northern California, approximately $200 and some change. I was told in northern California that it was about an hour and half of labor.

Before I left, I talked to the sales manager who was mentioned in my part one story, and explained to him that since I had not heard back from him, I purchased the bike in San Jose at Spirit Motorcycles. He told me he had found one for me locally, but part 1 of my story speaks for itself. You can it read here.

Later that day, after dropping my motorcycle off, I called the service department for a status, and was told that my 500-mile service was done, the 2 lower fairing compartment locks were installed, but that there was nothing they could do on the cruise control issue until they contacted the manufacturer directly for assistance.

They told me I can come pick up the motorcycle, and then when they found a resolution to the cruise control problem, I could take the motorcycle back in.

I asked them if they could come pick me up, just like Harley-Davidson used to do because I am local. They told me that they did not have the personnel to do pickups or drop-offs.

Although that kind of bothered me a bit because Harley-Davidson used to pick me up and drop me off for service, I took it in stride, and ordered a Lyft driver to take me to pick up the motorcycle.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez in Sturgis 2014

When I got to the dealership I was told basically the same thing I was told on the telephone. However, I was hit with a 0.00 for 500-mile service, and the installation of the 2 locks which could not have taken more than 15 minutes.

When I asked the service manager what was included in the 500-mile service, he gave me a list of things that were done. I knew the $530 charge was excessive and outrageous for the 500-mile service , but I figured I would eat it this one time and go to another dealer if I wanted later.

A 500-mile service is basically an oil change, and inspection and tightening of certain parts. About an hour and half labor the most. $530 for the service is outrageous.

When I picked up the motorcycle the service manager reiterated to me that he needed to talk to Polaris, the manufacturer of the Indian motorcycle, to find a resolution to the cruise control problem, because, it appeared to be a computer problem, and they had taken as far as they could.

Mind you, this is a brand-new $35,000 motorcycle, with what I consider to be a major electronic feature, the cruise control not working.

I had to ride the motorcycle over 400 miles with no cruise control from San Jose California to Huntington Beach California in the middle of the night.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez at Yellowstone

I told the service manager that I was planning to go to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, in Sturgis South Dakota, approximately 3000 miles round-trip, at the end of the month, that my fiancé just paid $35,000 for a new motorcycle, and we needed this thing fixed as soon as possible.

I was not rude or obnoxious in telling the service manager that we wanted to get this problem fixed, but I did express the concern of a consumer who just spent ,000 for what was supposed to be the top and motorcycle, that had a major electronic feature not working.

The service manager explained to me that since it was late in the day, and the 4th of July holiday was coming up, that they would not be able to contact Polaris until after the holiday. Obviously, I understood, and I told him that was okay.

On July 5, 2017, a day after the holiday, I called the service manager in the afternoon, and asked him if he had heard anything from Polaris regarding the cruise control problem.

He told me had he had not heard anything from Polaris yet.

I knew from my research that Polaris has literally spent millions of dollars in engineering, manufacturing, and marketing of the Indian motorcycle brand. I knew that Polaris had a great technical staff in Minnesota, there to work problems like this every business day.

I knew that if the service manager opened a case with Polaris, and called Minnesota, that Polaris would’ve jumped on this problem. I also knew that the reason why decisions like this are delayed is because service departments like Indian of Orange sit on problems and don’t report them to the manufacturer in a timely manner.

I gave the service manager the benefit of the doubt that Polaris did not call him back on July 5 and waited until the next day.

Mind you this is a brand-new $35,000 motorcycle less than a week old.

On July 6, 2017, after not hearing from Indian of Orange, I tried to call the service department at Indian motorcycle of Orange, and it went to voicemail.

I have never called a service department at any car or motorcycle dealership and went to voicemail. Usually somebody always answers.

I tried calling again, and it went to voicemail again. I had a sinking suspicion that something was wrong.

I decided to go on the Polaris industries website, and contact Polaris myself, to find out what was going on.

As I suspected, Polaris told me that no case had been opened on my motorcycle by Indian Motorcycle of Orange, and that if a case was opened by the dealer on my motorcycle, that they would’ve jumped on it. Of course, Polaris did the best they good to assure me that everything would be okay.

SERVICE MANAGER LIED TO ME

I called the service manager at Indian motorcycles of Orange again, left another voicemail, telling the service manager I called Polaris directly, and that they told me that a case was not open on my motorcycle, and I reminded him that we just paid $35,000 for a new motorcycle, and that it was without cruise control right out the door.

I further reiterated that we had a motorcycle rally that we were going to at the end of the month, that would require the cruise control.

I then asked him if he could please call me back as soon as possible so we could get this problem resolved.

The service manager at Indian motorcycle of Orange basically lied to me when he said that he had not heard back from Polaris on July 5, 2017. He knew full well that he did not open a case with Polaris when he told me that.

He should’ve simply stated that he did not have a chance to call Polaris yet. I would have been upset, it’s better than lying to a customer. The actions of the service manager described below after this point are not only reprehensible, but would probably lead to his termination in any other business or entity that I know of.

THE SERVICE MANAGER AT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE OF ORANGE NEEDS TO BE SENT DOWN THE ROAD

I received a telephone call from the service manager at Indian motorcycle of Orange, shortly after I left the voicemail telling him that I had called Polaris and found out that he had not open the case with them yet.

My fiancé Teri was sitting with me when I took the call and put it on speaker. I told the service manager he was on a speaker phone.

The service manager told me that;

• that motorcycles purchased from Indian motorcycle of Orange take priority over motorcycles thet were not purchased from this dealership. (I am assuming that this was the dealership’s way of punishing me for not buying the motorcycle there as described in part 1 of my story);
• that he did not have to work on my motorcycle if he did not want to; and
• that he did not like working with lawyers.

The service manager then went on to discuss how he had 20 years’ experience, and basically told me in no uncertain terms that I was under his mercy. He basically was on an egotistical power trip. Imagine spending $35,000 and a brand-new motorcycle from a company who then tells you to basically fuck off.

One thing that many of you may not know, but I have done customer service for basically 36 years. Before I became an attorney, I worked with some of the top aerospace, military, finance, computer, and industrial companies in the world providing service for complex data communications networks. I was also a national service manager for a major corporation. As an attorney, I have provided excellent customer service to my clients for 20 years.

I knew the service manager and Indian Motorcycles of Orange breached every possible customer service principal there is. My fiancé told me she absolutely could not believe how out of line the service manager was, and that she was surprised that I was so calm.

Frankly, I was calm because I could not believe what I was hearing.

I knew that if Polaris knew how absolutely horrible this dealership was, that they would probably take action, because imagine spending millions of dollars to develop a product like Indian motorcycles, and then having idiots like this service manager at Indian motorcycle of Orange destroying their customer relations, and reputation and providing the antithesis of good customer service.

I called the dealership back after the above call, to speak to their general manager. The service manager came up back on the phone, and told me that he had told the general manager everything he had said to me. And that the general manager did not want to speak to me. I did this with my fiancé on the speakerphone.

It became obvious to me, that the service manager went to the general manager, because he knew what he did was wrong, and was trying to cover his ass before I had a chance to call.

After regaining my composure from being told by Indian Motorcycle of Orange that I was basically nothing to them, and that I would be lucky if they service my bike, and that it did not matter and that my fiancé just spent ,000 on a top of the line motorcycle with a factory warranty, I decided to call Polaris directly to complain, and to call the dealership that I purchased the motorcycle to complain.

The motorcycle dealership I purchased the motorcycle from was shocked. They jumped into action to help me get my situation resolved. Polaris was also shocked and they jumped into action to help me get my problem resolved.

I am not going to name names, but I was told by a person either at Polaris, or Indian, that Indian of Orange was authorized to do whatever repair was necessary to my motorcycle, including taking the part that was bad off of another motorcycle if they had to.

The reason I’m not going to name names is because Indian motorcycle of Orange apparently breached their dealership contract with Polaris by the way they treated me, and if there is some sort of action taken by Polaris against this dealership, I may become a witness.

In a nutshell, dealerships such as Indian motorcycle of Orange, sign a contract with the manufacturer stating that they will service the manufacturer’s products, and honor factory warrantees. They are then reimbursed by the manufacturer for factory warrantees.

Going back to the story, I called Indian motorcycle of Orange to let them know what I was told about them being able to take a part of another bike to get mine fixed. I talked to a gentleman from service other than the manager because the manager was unavailable.

TURNING WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A ROUTINE REPAIR INTO AN UTTER NIGHTMARE

A short time later I got a call from the service manager asking me if I called to tell his department that they can take a part off of another motorcycle to get mine fixed. I told him yes, I called, and that he can contact Polaris to determine what to do.

He told me that my bike was no longer welcome at Indian motorcycle of Orange. He actually seemed to take enjoyment in telling me that.

I asked him if there was a way that I can speak the general manager to try to get this situation resolved, he said no. I asked him if he realized the ramifications of what he was doing, and the potential legal action I could take against him, and Polaris. He said yes, he knew.

In a nutshell, because I found out the service manager initially lied to me about contacting Polaris to resolve a problem with our brand-new $35,000 motorcycle, and after we complained about his treatment of us, he thought he would punish us by stating that our motorcycle is no longer welcome at  Indian Motorcycle Of Orange, in apparently violation of their contract with Indian Motorcycles and Polaris Industries, and in violation of my sales contract with Indian Motorcycles and Polaris Industries.

My fiancé and I have been victimized by the service manager at Indian Motorcycle of Orange, and this dealership. We paid for a top-of-the-line motorcycle, and a factory warranty, and the only local dealership in town tells us that our bike is no longer welcome at their shop, because we complained about the sales manager’s reprehensible customer service. I wonder if the owner of this dealership knows what’s going on?

Immediately after that call, I called the dealership that I purchased the motorcycle from, and told them what happened, and that if this was not resolved that I want to return the motorcycle, and just get a Harley-Davidson.

Of course, the owner Spirit Motorcycle, Martin called me as well is the service manager and spirit, to expeditiously get this problem resolved. They talked with a couple of other dealers, in order to get me in.

Furthermore, Polaris called with one of their customer resolution representatives, to resolve the issue.

Polaris industries, did not purchase the Indian motorcycle brand, and spend millions and millions of dollars in engineering and marketing, to have morons like the service manager at Indian motorcycle of Orange ruin their business.

Not only did Polaris directly intervene and talk directly to my new dealer and authorize the repair needed, they apologized for the treatment I had received. I made a formal complaint against this dealer, and told Polaris that I would like to speak to the owner of this dealership, to see if he knows what’s going on.

Turns our the Service Manger at Indian of Orange even lied in the service ticket to Polaris. He stated that we decided on our own to go to another dealer. He never told Polaris that he told us our bike was no longer welcome at Indian of Orange.

Even though at this time the problem has not been fixed yet, I have an appointment with my new dealership who is about 60 miles away from me, to get this problem resolved this Friday. The dealer told me they had whatever part was needed to repair my motorcycle in stock.

Harley Davidson Service versus Indian Motorcycle Service

When you buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, you know that there will be a large number of dealers nationwide to take care of you. If you have a bad experience at one dealership, you know that there will be other dealerships close by to help you.

Indian motorcycles on the other hand, is in the process of building their dealership network. Here in Southern California, particularly in the Los Angeles Metro area, there are only two dealerships local to where I live. You have just read about my experience with one of those two dealerships.

The other dealership in the Los Angeles area was apparently purchased by Harley-Davidson, and will not be providing service to Indian motorcycles anymore.

This lack of dealerships leaves customers like me with a quagmire. Because of the horrible service I received at Indian of Orange, I will now have to travel 60 miles to a dealership near San Diego, California.

Frankly, had I known about the lack of dealers, I probably would’ve went with Harley-Davidson knowing what I know now, even though I love my Indian motorcycle.

When I purchased the Indian motorcycle, I relied upon the fact that there were multiple dealers in my area. Obviously, I am not a mind reader, and had no clue that one dealership would turn out to be horrendous, and the other one was not going to be available to me.

One of my reasons for keeping the Indian motorcycle, and not just giving it back to the dealer in San Jose, is that I trust that Polaris will rectify their issues, and open more dealerships in the local area.

The Los Angeles market is by far the largest motorcycle market in the world. Los Angeles County alone has more population than 40 states in the United States. Orange county California has a population greater than 38 states of the union.

I am wondering what would’ve happened to an ordinary person who doesn’t write a blog, and who is not an attorney, if they had to deal with Indian motorcycle of Orange? I am sure this Service Manager has left other victims in his midst. There is no way this can be a one time thing with him.

This is a cautionary tale. I am going to keep my Indian motorcycle because I love it, but there is a bad apple dealership out there, and that is Indian motorcycle of Orange. I strongly suggest to all my readers, and anyone else who reads this article, to not buy or service your motorcycle at this dealership.

In my many years of owning Harley-Davidson’s and other brands of motorcycles, I was always treated with respect, because the dealership wants my business. I don’t think there’s any dealership in town who wants to lose money, so they treat their customers right. Sometimes a dealership cannot fix a problem in a way to satisfy the customer, sometimes you cannot completely satisfy a customer, but you do the best you can, you don’t tell your customers to go screw off if you want to stay in business. You don’t tell customers that you don’t have to provide service to them if you don’t want to, you don’t tell customers that they are not a priority, you don’t tell customers that you don’t like dealing with people from their profession.

If I were the general manager of this dealership I would immediately fire the service manager for his actions. Nobody is indispensable. The service manager needs to be sent down the road, because he is costing the dealership money, and ultimately potentially losing business for Polaris.

I know good customer service, and good customer service is not at Indian motorcycles of Orange.

Look for part 3 of my story, where I discuss my review of the Indian Roadmaster motorcycle in detail.

By Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, July 9, 2017

The post Indian Motorcycles of Orange County, possibly the worst motorcycle dealership in the country first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

I recently acquired a Viking Motorcycle Sissy Bar Backpack, from Vikingbags.com. Here is a link to the actual bag: https://www.vikingbags.com/viking-motorcycle-sissy-bar-backpack

In the past I would’ve loved to of had a bag such as this when I was running with a motorcycle that had a sissy bar, but since I have a tour pak on my current Harley-Davidson motorcycle, I personally cannot not use the bag right now.

I have a brother in my motorcycle club named Andrew T., who I knew was considering getting saddlebags, I knew he had a sissy bar, and no way to carry anything on his bike.

I decided to give him the bag for personal use on the condition that he review here on the Biker Law Blog.

The following is a synopsis of Andrews review:

Andrew Trujillo

The bag is big and has plenty of room. It easily fits over the sissy bar, and it’s probably best to secure it down with the included strap buckles, rather than just leaving it placed over the sissy bar. It is lockable, and durable. It looks like it’s waterproof as well. It is really easy to put on and take off. This bag can be used as luggage for your motorcycle. I highly recommend this bag to others.

Since Andrew used the Viking Bags motorcycle sissy bar backpack personally, and recommends it, I will also recommend as well since my brother vouched for it.

Below is also a video about the backpack.

In the past I have used many types of sissy bar motorcycle luggage. Most of the ones I previously used, or a hassle to strap on and to take off, especially in the dark.

Further, most motorcycle luggage is that I purchased in the past were over $200. This simple $99 bag looks to me to be a very good solution if you need something to carry her stuff around, motorcycle luggage, and something that’s easy to put on and take off.

I recommend getting one!

By motorcycle accident attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, April 2017

The post Viking Motorcycle Sissy Bar Bag, a review. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

My Stock Carry-All cargo trailer before customization

As part of my thousands of miles of travel each year to various motorcycle rallies all over the nation, I have come to the conclusion that for motorcycle rallies of great distance up to and including 1000 miles or more each way, it is not practical to ride my motorcycle to every event.

I used to be one of those hard core bikers who laughed at “the trailer queens” trailering their motorcycles to rallies. Hell I was so hardcore that I only put on a Windscreen on my motorcycles in the past 10 years.

I remember the good old days of doing 90mph in the deserts of Arizona with the temperature at 120, no helmet on, no windscreen on, holding on for dear life. I have ridden with hundreds and probably thousands of people over the years, who can attest to this.

Well at this point in my life, especially since I acquired a Class A Motorhome, I have decided to join the ranks of those who go for comfort and fun when traveling to motorcycle rallies that are a long distance away.

My custom cargo trailer at the storage yard before customization

I have come to the conclusion that many people tow their motorcycles for one reason or another, and it is okay. You will notice many bikers and motorcyclists at the rallies with their RV’s.

Furthermore, my law firm, The Moy & Fernandez Law Group, Real Bikers – Real Lawyers, has had enough of watching other so-called marketing outfits holding themselves out as real biker lawyers at the rallies, while I just sit by and complain.

I have decided that my firm will also have booths at the rallies. However, instead of being a marketing outfit, we are the real deal. We will prove it at our booth. Let’s see the other guys do that. Anyway……..

Along these lines, I have acquired a 6 foot wide, by 12 foot long, by 7 foot high, brand new enclosed cargo trailer from Carry-All.

My plan is to customize it to not only trailer my motorcycle to events behind my RV, but to make it in to a bad ass trailer that will carry my law firm booth stuff, for when we start appearing at events next year.

The inside of my cargo trailer at the shop, before customization

You can see the before pictures here in this article.

The phase 1 plan is to surface sand the floor, add a couple of coats of urethane to weather proof the floor, install a 2 by 10 strip of diamond plate metal in the middle for motorcycle traction, install a Biker Bar strapless motorcycle fastening system in the middle, along with a front wheel chock, and to install a wireless camera in the back of the trailer, since with my 35 foot RV, I won’t be able to see squat behind me at 50 feet away. A wireless receiver will also have to be powered and hooked up to my camera monitor in the RV which already has 3 cameras attached to it.

The phase 2 plan is to add a few cabinets, racks, and storage items within the trailer for all my motorcycle cleaning stuff, extra oil, helmets, and motorcycle gear. I am also going to acquire a spare tire.

The phase 3 plan will begin on July 23, 2013, with Monster Graphics of Huntington Beach wrapping the entire trailer with a custom Vinyl advertisement for my law firm. I will unveil it on here first. I will give you a little hint, there are some hot babes on it!

My cargo trailer at the shop before customization

The trailer will be ready for its first big road trip on July 30, 2013, when I travel 1500 miles to Sturgis one way.

I will review all the items being installed into the trailer including the trailer itself in future articles.

I hope my journey helps you to acquire and customize your own motorcycle trailer.

One curious note about the customization so far, the shop that is doing the work is so worried that the Biker Bar strapless trailering system will not work, they made me sign a waiver in case any damage happens to the motorcycle while using the Biker Bar strapless motorcycle trailering system.

I am going to do a full write up on the Biker Bar strapless system, once I have a chance to test it out, but I have all confidence it will work as promised. If I see any reason for concern, I will reinforce the trailer floor. The instructions say for a 3/4″ wood floor, it is all that is necessary.

I am going to have 3/4″, plus diamond plate. Hell, worst case scenario, I will use straps as well. The trailer has 4 recessed D-Rings for strapping if necessary.

We will see!

By California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer and Biker Lawyer, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © July 9, 2013

The post The birth of a Custom Enclosed Motorcycle Trailer Part 1 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Deadwood, South Dakota

This year I am planning to go to the Sturgis 2013 motorcycle rally, in Sturgis, SD, for one hell of a time.

The one way distance to the rally from my home will be approximately 1500 miles, round trip approximately 3000 miles.

You may remember last year I took an epic 8600 around the nation trip, so this trip should be a short jaunt in comparison.

This year I plan on taking my 35 foot class A motorhome, and tow my new 6×12’ enclosed trailer, with my Harley Davidson Electra Glide in the back.

The beautiful thing about the enclosed trailer, rather than the open trailer I have been using heretofore, is that my motorcycle will be safe from the elements during the trip, so I do not have to worry about washing and waxing her every time I stop. I will also be able to carry my motorcycle supplies in the trailer instead of the back of the motorhome.

I have already pre-paid for my 10 day stay at the world famous Glencoe camp resort in Sturgis, SD. This place is famous for the ongoing adult party that happens 24 hours a day during the rally, and the major concerts that happen there at night. It is also right next door to the famous Full Throttle Saloon as well.

I will be documenting, videotaping, recording, picture taking, and reporting on all of the debauchery here on the Biker Law Blog, as well as all of the great riding.

Yes, there will be some great riding in the Black Hills just like last year, except this year the rides will be caught on my GoPro Hero 3, Silver HD Camera.

I will be leaving on July 30 with an estimated arrival date of August 1, 2013, one day before the rally starts.

After the rally, I am planning on taking my RV to the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana, the scene of General Custer’s last stand, from there I will do Yellowstone by way of Cody, WY, and then go through and ride Greybull Wyoming again, like I did last year. This year I will be much more cautious on the mountains so I do not lose my brakes again.

I figure I will be back home again around August 15, plus or minus a few days.

This will mark my first major trip in the past 12 years being single, which is a major milestone for me. I look at it more as a major adventure doing it this way, but this is the way it is. My motto for the trip is “It’s on!”

Since I will be leaving on July 30, 2013, exactly 4 weeks from today’s date, I will be reporting on here my preparations for the trip.

As I write this article right now, my RV is in the shop having the In-Motion Satellite Dish and two central air conditioning covers being replaced.

My new enclosed trailer is going to go into the shop to have the floors sanded and a few coats of urethane brushed onto the wood to protect it, then I am going to have diamond plate installed on the trailer floor and swing down back door, a wheel chock installed, and a Biker Bar installed so I will not have to strap the motorcycle down in the trailer, it is a strapless system.

Finally I am going to have the exterior of the trailer wrapped with my law firm advertisement in Vinyl.

Believe it or not this will all be ready before I leave on July 30, 2013 and I will report about it on here.

I expect to be able to share to you, the biker and motorcycle community much information, including product reviews on new stuff.

So there it is, another road trip is almost here again.

Here is a video from Sturgis, 2012

By California Biker Lawyer and California Motorcycle Accident Attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © July 2, 2013

The post Planning a trip to the greatest motorcycle rally in the world; Sturgis 2013 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

My Trinity 3 motorcycle trailer with my Electra Glide on it in South Carolina

This review is long overdue, I am now finally able to share it.

Last year in July 2012 I purchased a Trinity 3-Rail Motorcycle Trailer from Theusatrailerstore.com .

You see I have never trailered any of my bikes ever, but when I planned my epic around the country motorhome trip, I needed a trailer so I could bring my motorcycle along.

I researched all different types of trailers. I looked at the Motorcycle Trailer in a Bag, the Kendon Trailers, Enclosed Trailers, and every type of trailer you can possibly imagine. I put a lot of time into finding the right trailer, at the right price.

I was almost set to pull the trigger on a used Motorcycle Trailer in a Bag, when I found the Trinity 3, from theusatrailerstore.com .

I contacted them through their website, they contacted me right back. The head guy gave me his phone number and I gave him a call. As it turns out, this company if located back east in the South, but they had a local distribution center right here in Southern California.

My Trinity 3 trailer with Electra Glide on it behind my RV in South Carolina

They offered me a brand new Trinity 3 for around $1,375, plus another $75 for a chrome spare tire. After all was said and done, this trailer looked a lot more beefier and safer for my new Electra Glide Ultra Classic than the Motorcycle in a bag, I told him I would come the next day to pick up the trailer.

At this time my motorhome was in the shop getting customized and I had nothing to pull the trailer with, so I rented a pickup truck for $75 plus tax so I could go pick up the trailer and pull it home.

When I went to pick up the trailer, it was literally brand new and just assembled at the distribution center. It was beautiful. To my surprise, the trailer folded up and could be stored upright like a Kendon, but it did not have the casters like the Kendon. This was ok with me since I was saving at least $2,000 right off the bat by getting this trailer.

This trailer was rated at 2,000 pounds, whereas the single Kendon was only rated at 1,000 pounds. My Electra Glide Ultra Classic is almost 1,000 pounds without rider or passenger.

This trailer also came with 3 Wheel Chocks. The owner even offered and shipped to me 3 lowered wheel chocks to accommodate the low fender on my Electra Glide.

My Electra Glide on the Trinity 3 trailer in South Carolina

The manufacturer says that you can fit 3 small bikes, 2 medium bikes, or 1 bagger on the trailer at the same time. All I cared about was my Electra Glide.

Another issue I had was that on my trip I would need to load and unload my motorcycle from the trailer by myself, and I wanted to be able to ride my motorcycle up onto the trailer, since it was going to be only me, and my now ex on the trip, and I knew she was not going to be able help me getting it on and off.

Like Kendon, the Trinity trailer comes with its own ramp that is secured to the bottom of the folding part of the trailer by wingnuts. However in looking at it, I knew I would need a larger ramp just to make sure I could load and unload my motorcycle onto the trailer.

I ended up buying a beefy ramp I found on Amazon for about $200 that was rated at 1500 pounds and that was really wide, and had no holes for my feet to go through.

The owner of theusatrailerstore.com told me that I should take off the rubber caps from the wheel axels and lube them every 5,000 miles, however, in extreme heat, I should lube them every 3,000 miles.

He showed me how to hook up the trailer and the safety cables, and the electrical and I was off.

I learned on my own that when backing up with a trailer if your trailer is going left you need to turn left to straighten it and visa versa. I learned that the speed limit in California for persons hauling trailers is 55.

Another view of the Trinity 3 motorcycle trailer with my Electra Glide on it in South Carolina

The owner of theusatrailerstore.com told me to keep my speed down as much as possible.

When I first got home with the trailer, I backed it up my driveway, unhooked it, found a space for it in the garage, then lifted it so that it was upright and not taking up too much space in my garage. When the lowered wheel chocks arrived, I installed them by unbolting the original ones, and bolting on the new ones.

When it was time for my trip on July 16, 2012, I hooked up my beefy ramp to my new trailer and rode my motorcycle up onto the trailer. When my front tire engaged the wheel chock, the motorcycle was locked in place. I was now able to get off and strap my motorcycle down.

I did my research before the trip so I knew exactly what to do. I purchased some Kuryakyn tie down brackets and installed them onto my front forks where the front fairing mounts to the forks. They are custom made for Electra Glides and give you place on each side to strap you bike down with.

I strapped the back two straps onto each hard luggage bag guard.

I had previously purchased the most expensive and heavy duty straps I could find, hell I was driving around the country, not just across country, so I only wanted the best. I got the 440 lb. 2” wide by 6’ long Ratchet with snap hook kit. The kit also came with soft covers and soft loop straps. I paid around $100 for the whole kit which came in its own plastic case.

Trinity 3 Folding Motorcycle Trailer

The first few times I strapped the motorcycle on and off of the trailer it took a while, but after my almost 2 month trip I became a pro and could do it real fast.

I had one major snafu in New Orleans when I was putting the motorcycle on the trailer. I was on a wet lawn, I had basic thongs on which become real slippery when wet. When I went to put the motorcycle on the trailer my thongs slipped and I dropped the bike halfway on the trailer and the ramp.

Thank god the bike did not fall off of the trailer or there would have been some real damage. After getting the motorcycle upright, I was shaken, but shocked to find literally no damage whatsoever on the motorcycle, the engine and luggage guards did their job.

The next few times putting the motorcycle on the trailers I was much more cautious.

The trailer did exactly what it was supposed to do with no problems whatsoever for over 8,600 miles on the trip. The tires held up, the trailer help up, no problem whatsoever.

The only real issues I had was because Camping World installed my new infrared back camera on the RV behind the stock Plexiglas housing, I became blind at night because the infrared reflected off of the Plexiglas.

Trinity 3 Motorcycle Trailer in the Folded Position

This became a major problem on a couple of areas on the trip because there was no way to see my small trailer at night without the camera behind a 35 ft. motorhome. My ex and I had walkie talkies and did our best when we had to.

I used the trailer on a few other major trips to the Las Vegas Bikerfest, the Laughlin River Run, etc. The trailer gave me no problems whatsoever, and was solid.

I give the Trinity 3 trailer and solid 10 out of 10 and highly recommend it to anyone who has a need to tow up to three motorcycles, and has limited space. The trailer folds and can be stored upright so it can be put into a small place in the garage.

Let it be known that I was not compensated, comped or paid anything for my review of this trailer.

POSTSCRIPT – I recently sold my Trinity 3 trailer for $1250, because I decided to get an enclosed trailer for the upcoming Sturgis Motorcycle rally. So in the end I basically paid $200 for my trailer and got around 10,000 miles out of her.

I also sold my beefy motorcycle ramp for 0 since my new enclosed trailer has a ramp door on the back and I did not need it.

By Biker Lawyer and California Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © June 30, 2013

The post A Review of the Trinity 3-Rail Motorcycle Trailer first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

One of California Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez's motorcycles all packed up for trip to 4 corners rally in Durango Colorado

I have been a serious long distance motorcycle rider for many years now. You may ask what is a long distance motorcycle rider. To me a long distance motorcycle rider is someone who rides 800 or more miles on a motorcycle trip multiple times a year.

So according to my definition, even a first time rider who does a few 800 mile or more motorcycle trips per year would qualify as a long distance motorcycle rider.

I regularly do trips of 1000 miles or more like they are no big deal.

I know many guys who are bikers, and what some would consider to be hardcore bikers, that literally do nothing but bar hop on their motorcycles. To them doing 300 miles in a day is unheard of. Further, many of these guys have motorcycles that are in no way set up to do any serious mileage.

Most of these guys do not have saddle bags, and brag about how they do not need wind screens.

I am not going to knock these guys that are basically local bikers, but they really have no clue what it is like to be a long distance biker.

There are also what I call your ubiquitous trailer queens. These are guys that trailer their motorcycle to events, and then unhook them and ride at the actual event, making it appear that they rode to the event. This article not about packing up your car, it is about packing up your motorcycle.

Unless you are doing an Iron Butt Ride which is 1000 miles in a 24 hour period, (basically nonstop riding except to stop for gas and quick meals) a 1000 mile or more motorcycle trip will be a trip that is at least a 2 days or more.

I have done runs that last a week or more.

The big issue for me on long distance motorcycle trips is; what should I carry on the trip, and how should I carry what I need on the trip.

For me what to carry with on long distance motorcycle runs is almost automatic. I carry:

Water
Sunscreen
Flashlight
Small Tool Kit
Knife
1 Quart of Oil
Flare
Lighter
Sunglasses, and clear night glasses
Warm weather and cold weather gloves.
Leather Jacket
Leather Chaps
Spare clothes
Tennis Shoes
Emergency Contact Form
Cell Phone
GPS
Fine cotton cloths
Spray Wax
Plexus windshield cleaner
And whatever else I may need.

When I go on long distance motorcycle runs at least for the past 11 years or so, Elizabeth has been with me. Therefore inevitably, I also have to carry her purse, gloves, jacket, chaps, and whatever else she might want to bring as well which always includes her makeup and cloths.

In the past when I just had a softail or regular large cruiser motorcycle and no bagger, (see the picture above, the motorcycle is packed up to the brim, with tents, chairs, and everything for a full motorcycle rally.) my solution to accommodate all of the stuff that I like to carry, was to first to buy soft saddlebags, or a locking rigid saddlebag system, install a luggage rack behind the sissy bar, and buy a T-Bag soft luggage system that sat on the luggage rack behind the sissy bar, and then secured around the sissy bar.

The locking saddlebag system, called Leatherlykes Bags, was better than soft saddle bags, because they were bigger, and  I could lock the bags and walk away without worrying about being ripped off.

I used the soft T-Bag motorcycle luggage system on a couple of my motorcycles. After a few years, I switched from the T-Bags, to something called the Kuryakyn Full Dresser Bag, when they first came out. This bag had a rigid plastic shelving system in it, held more stuff then the T-Bags, and actually looked better as well. Not only that, but it had a wheel system on it like conventional luggage so when I got to a destination, I could lift it off, and wheel it in.

I used this system a few times on my FLHT Electra Glide Standard when I got her, but once I put the removable Tour Pak on; there was no room for the Full Dresser Bag.

For 6 years with the Electra Glide we would use plastic bags to fill up the side hard Harley Davidson Saddle bags, and the Tour Pak. We would also utilize the luggage rack on top of the tour pak to bungee tie our leathers as necessary.

I eventually went back to T-Bags and got a Dakota bag which is specifically designed to fit the premium luggage rack on a Harley Davidson Electra Glide Tour Pak.

The Dakota Bag is so big, that it pretty much holds everything we need. Obviously there are some items that will not fit in the Dakota, so we continue to keep small plastic bags in the hard side saddle bags.

The Future

Liz and I are talking about riding cross country this summer. I figure on a cross country run we are not going to want to have to constantly lift the Dakota Bag off everytime we stop, and we are not going to want to have to park in a place where we can see the bike everytime we stop so someone does not rip off our Dakota bag.

So after doing some research, I have found a motorcycle tow behind cargo trailer solution that I may purchase and use for our cross country trip on the Electra Glide.

I can get a cargo trailer that holds anywhere from 18 cubic feet of stuff, up to 25-26 cubic feet depending upon how much I want to spend, or how big I want the trailer to be.

I would need to install a motorcycle ball hitch onto my motorcycle for the trailer to hook onto, and rig up a wiring harness for brake and signal lights on the trailer.

It looks like there are many off the shelf trailer solutions for my Harley Davidson Electra Glide.

A cargo trailer at least to me would be the optimum way to travel cross country on a motorcycle, because we can just throw everything we want to take in the trailer, plus there will be room to store souvenirs if we decide to buy any along the way.

The trailer will take away the fun of trying to cram everything into a few small spaces on the motorcycle.

Even with a full Harley Davidson Electra Glide Custom Ultra, things can get tight real quick.

On a cross country trip I want to be able to enjoy the ride and the sights, without worrying about having to wash clothes every couple of days on the road.

There are many out there that say towing a cargo trailer behind a motorcycle is dangerous. Based upon my research, it can be done safely so long as you get used to it and take it easy just like anything else.

In closing, I have found that rigid saddlebags, a nice luggage rack mounted soft or rigid motorcycle luggage system, tour paks, and cargo trailers, all will allow you to carry the things you need on a long distance motorcycle run. What you do is really up to you.

Keep Both Wheels on the Road.

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney, and Biker Lawyer, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © November 13, 2011

The post Long Distance Motorcycle Riding; how do you Carry What You Need? first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

My Harley Davidson Electra Glide

See below for a video demonstrating how the mufflers sound.

Many of my friends have aftermarket exhaust systems on their motorcycles which sound great and are not too obnoxious. Some have exhausts which are so obnoxious, that they would cause strain on long rides.

Through the years I have tried many different types of mufflers on many different types of motorcycles.

For about 5 years, I have run Screaming Eagle slip on mufflers on my Harley Davidson Electra Glide, with a stage 1 setup on my carb. and air filter. It is basically a Screaming Eagle stage 1 setup. Other than that, I am running a stock Harley Davidson 88 c.i. Twincam engine.

My right muffler developed bluing where the head pipe met the slip on muffler, very soon after I put the Screaming Eagle mufflers on the motorcycle.

I recently decided to try out some new slip on mufflers. My criterion was that I wanted my mufflers to have some bark, but not be too obnoxious.

As I have said many times before, I am a Biker Lawyer and Attorney, not a mechanic.

In the past, I have had my slip-on’s put on by the dealer. However, now there are many dealers who will not install slip-on’s due to E.P.A. regulations.

I almost pulled the trigger on some slip-on’s at the Laughlin River Run, but they were gouging the prices a bit, plus I did not want to wait any longer than I had already waited to get repairs done to my motorcycle.

After doing research on the internet, including watching some YouTube videos of guys installing slip-on’s, I decided that I could do the install myself this time which would save both time and money.

Some guys are running mufflers with no baffles. This is not only obnoxious and loud as hell, it is illegal. Further, unless you have some serious engine modifications, and/or carb. jetting, or fuel injector mapping modifications, running with no baffles will make your engine run too lean, and can burn your engine out.

Read the rest of the review below the video.

On top of that running open pipes without mods. will actually decrease your power output.

Baffles are encasing’s in the mufflers which decrease or muffle the sound of your exhaust/motorcycle. The smaller the baffle diameter, the less sound that is supposed to come out of the muffler.

Conversely, the smaller the baffle diameter in the muffler, the less exhaust flow you will have through the muffler, and the less power you will get out of your motorcycle engine.

Although in the past, I would just buy a set of mufflers for my other motorcycles, and just go with whatever I bought, this time, I decided to do a significant amount of research on the internet to determine which set of mufflers I would put on my Electra Glide.

One thing I have learned with Harley Davidson’s as opposed to other types of cruiser motorcycles is that you have a huge selection of options. Further, the sky is the limit as to how much money you can spend as well.

There are slip on mufflers out there such as the Vance & Hine wide ovals that run around $700.00, or you can get a set of LaRosa Design mufflers on EBay for $99.00.

It is reported that each of the above mufflers sound great.

After doing a bunch of research, I decided the best bet would be to get some muffles on eBay, because I could save money on used mufflers, and if I did not like the mufflers I could simply sell them again without taking a loss.

I also did not want to spend $400-600 dollars on new mufflers that could be a hit or miss with respect to being too loud, or that had an exhaust note that I did not like.

Many guys on the internet forums recommended Rush Mufflers as being a good sounding muffler, and not too expensive. I also read good things about LaRosa Design Mufflers, which were also supposed to have a great sound at a low price.

I decided to buy a set of Rush Mufflers with 2 inch baffles, and a set of LaRosa Design Mufflers with 1 7/8 baffles to test out.

This review is of the Rush Mufflers with the 2 inch baffles.

I scored a set of chrome Rush slip on Mufflers for 95-10 Touring motorcycles, slash up, part number 15302 on EBay for $142.51. The mufflers were almost in new condition.

I saw many guys bidding away on almost the exact mufflers in other auctions. Hell some guys were paying about $300.00 for the same used mufflers in other auctions. I just got lucky in my auction. The secret was to go with someone who was not too savvy with their auction design on eBay so that it was not too flashy!

The list price for these mufflers from the Rush website is $398.95, so you know I scored on EBay. Click here to go to the Rush website to see the mufflers I purchased.

Another excellent feature of these mufflers is that the Rush mufflers feature removable baffles, and you can buy different size baffles from them at their website here. I am running the 2 inch baffles. If I want to quiet it down a bit I can buy smaller diameter baffles.

The baffles can be removed and replaced with one bolt on the bottom.

When I received the mufflers you could tell they were used by looking inside of the pipes and seeing the grit, but the Chrome on the outside was in surprisingly good condition, they were basically new. The mufflers were heavy duty, and actually heavier than the Screaming Eagles. They appear to be longer than the Screaming Eagle mufflers as well, and protrude further out of the back than my Screaming Eagles did.

Now I could see why the guys on the forums were recommending them, these are top quality mufflers for a better price. But did they sound good?

The slash-up design fits the taper and shape of the back of the Harley Davidson hard saddlebags, I like the look. My Screaming Eagles were slash downs.

The install was kind of a bitch to say the least.

The easy part was removing the hard saddlebags on each side to get to the mufflers, which I did.

I decided that the install would be easier if I removed the heat shields on each side, so that is what I did, I removed the right and left heat shields which butt up next to the mufflers for easier access.

I then unbolted the muffler on the right hand side from the clamp at the head pipe, and the two bolts below the saddlebag bar, no problem.

I then tried removing the Screaming Eagle muffler on the right hand side; it would not budge. I tried twisting and pulling, it would not budge; it was stuck on real good. This is the muffler that blued so I was worried that the damm thing was welded on to the head pipe.

I decided to take a break and do the left side pipe. This one came off easy.

After trying everything to get the muffler off and failing, I in the end, went to Home Depot, and purchased a strap wrench to get the right muffler off. It worked like a charm, but I still had to use some heavy elbow grease. It finally came off.

The strap wrench is basically a rubber strap that wraps around the muffler and attaches to a special handle which allows you to get rotational torque around the muffler without damaging or scratching the chrome.

The install of the left muffler was no problem at all, it slipped right on; the right muffler did not seem to fit. It would not slip on!

Hell, I had my wife hold the front of the motorcycle, as I tried to force the muffler onto the head pipe. I sprayed WD-40 and Silicon lubricant onto the damm thing, but it was a no go. The muffler simply would not fit onto the head pipe. I pushed and twisted so hard, I was worried that I would damage the head pipe or the connection between the head pipe and the cylinder.

I went on the forums to see if I could find a solution. As usual there were many good solutions from buying a tool to expand the muffler pipe, to using other creative methods.

I decided that the best solution would be to take the muffler to an automotive muffler shop the next day, and have them expand the muffler pipe where it slips onto the head pipe.

I found a place close by. They charged me $10 bucks to expand the muffler pipe. This solution was cheaper and faster than buying a tool to do it, and it took no time whatsoever other than driving down there.

When in doubt, use professionals who know what they are doing.

I decided to run by the Harley dealership to buy a new muffler clamp for the right side as well. These are supposed to be single use items. They only had one left. I reused my old clamp on the left hand side and have no problems with it.

When I got home the muffler slipped on very easily, probably too easily. I was worried that the muffler guy may have expanded the muffler pipe too much.

My worries were unfounded. Once I tightened up the clamps and bolts on the slip-on’s, and checked very carefully, everything was great, with no apparent leaks.

After I started my Electra Glide, I first felt that the mufflers kind of sounded like my Screaming Eagles or just a tad deeper and louder.

When I did my ubiquitous test ride down my block with no helmet on, it sounded a bit louder and deeper. However, when I got back in the garage, my wife said they were much louder and deeper. I could not tell.

However, I then went on two day riding binge and discovered that these pipes are much louder and deeper than the Screaming Eagles, no doubt about that. I am quite satisfied.

Hell with ear plugs in; my ears were ringing pretty well after the two day jaunt. I do have tinnitus or ringing in my ears that gets worse at times with loud sounds.

I have decided to keep the Rush slip-on’s, and to sell the LaRosa mufflers that I purchased brand new without installing them. Why play around if I am satisfied.

As of right now I have a pair of stock mufflers, a pair of Screaming Eagles, and the LaRosa’s.

I give the Rush slip-on mufflers a big thumbs up and would recommend them above all.

By California Motorcycle Accident and Biker Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2010

The post Rush Slip On Mufflers for Harley Davidson Touring Motorcycles; My Review first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Norman's Sony Stereo - Biketronic's setup

See Video Review Below!

Background

I am a long distance motorcycle rider. This summer I am not only planning on riding to the Sturgis motorcycle rally which is a 2700 mile round trip plus ride, I am also planning on doing other rides, not to mention the 2000 miles I have already put on in the last couple of months. I wanted a state of the art stereo on my motorcycle with built in MP3 for my music collection, a built in High Definition receiver, and the ability to have built in Satellite reception for when I am in the middle of no where. I want to listen to CNN in the middle of the Western Desert!

In 2005 I switched to a Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle from a traditional cruiser motorcycle. Before 2005, I had never ridden with a stereo system built into a motorcycle before, hell a windscreen was luxury to me back then. Since 2005, I have become spoiled. I will probably always ride baggers from here on out. Once you get used to luxury it is hard to turn back.

My Harley Davidson Electra Glide came with the Harley Davidson Advanced Sound system installed in the bat wing fairing, which in of itself has done its job quite well over the last 5 years, but the technology is outdated, even on the new units.

On my unit, there was a built in CD player, minimal AM/FM presets, built in weather band, and a sensor which increased volume as I would increase speed on the motorcycle. There was also an auxiliary input which allowed me to plug in an external MP3 player so I could listen to my music collection. The system worked with my OEM hand controls so that I could virtually control the entire stereo via my OEM handlebar mounted hand controls on the Electra Glide. The unit is great, but it is old technology. If all you want is a standard CD, a few AM/FM presets, and weather band, this unit is perfect for you. I am a tech geek, I wanted more!

Over the years I have plugged in an I-Pod, a smaller MP3 player, and I have also used my Garmin GPS to serve music to the Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System via a cable plugged from the device to the auxiliary input of the Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System. It worked, but to be frank, there was no real control of the tunes being played unless I dangerously tried to skip tracks while I was riding because the external device was controlling what was being played rather than the head unit. There were issues with the volume of my MP3 device having to be cranked up to full volume to sound good through the auxiliary input, and each device sounded different through the stock stereo.

Furthermore, the cable plugged in from my GPS, or a device in my pocket looked like crap, it flutters in the wind, and the quality of having an external connection is not as good as it could be. Not only that, but everytime I got off the motorcycle, I would have to unplug my external MP3 player, turn off the external MP3 Players, etc. If the battery wore out on my external MP3 Player, I was shit out of luck. Lately using the GPS solved many of the problems, but I had no real control of the tunes being served to the Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System. When I got back on the motorcycle, I would have to plug everything back in, and start the MP3 player before I started riding, a real hassle; I am sure you get the picture, because many of you are doing this right now!

For short trips, rather than plugging in my external MP3 player, I used one of my home burned CD’s in the OEM system, which I have probably listened to over a 100 times now. It gets old if you know what I mean.

Let’s face it, with MP3, standard CD’s are obsolete, even CD units which read MP3’s, and other digital formats are obsolete because you can only fit so much on a disk, and most of these units have a limit as to how many tracks can be on a disk even if you buy the more expensive DVD format units.

Modern technology allows you to literally have every song ever made on one thumb drive, or standard USB disk drive now. There is no reason to ever have to switch CD’s anymore. Most of you including me don’t have every song ever made on disk, but my collection is almost 4GB and growing weekly.

There was an MP3 option for the Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System, but it is an external unit that mounts to the handlebars and it is ridiculously expensive for what they give you. Plus you are severely limited to memory on Harley Davidsons MP3 option. On top of that, the new Harley Davidson Advanced Sound Systems need to be programmed at the dealer. If the unit goes dead, it can only be revived by a dealer reprogramming it. How much would that cost everytime? No thanks, I love Harley Davidson, but the reason I am upgrading is to go state of the art. Their solution is not state of the art.

The Biketronics Article and Review Continues below the two videos.

One good thing about the Harley Davidson Unit is that it was as reliable as a beast. It is basically waterproof. I have ridden through rain storms, and washed my motorcycle many times, and the stereo kept working no problem.

Well recently, I decided to upgrade my stereo to an aftermarket non OEM stereo so that I could have modern electronics on my motorcycle the way I wanted it, and not the way Harley Davidson wanted it.

Research

My first dilemma was to find a stereo system (head unit) that would work with the existing hand controls on my Harley Davidson Electra Glide, and that would mount in the faring without having to modify the OEM wiring. I wanted a plug and play solution.

I found two companies which allow you to adapt aftermarket stereo systems to the motorcycle, using the OEM wiring, and your existing Harley Davidson Hand Controls. One of the companies is called Biketronics, and the other one is called Hawg Wired. Each of these companies sells adapters and units which allow you to mount an aftermarket stereo into a Harley Davidson Cruiser without having to change any of the wiring, and let’s you use your hand controls, just like you would with a Harley Davidson Stereo.

A negative note with upgrading the stereo unit with an aftermarket solution is that replacing the head unit will disable your built in CB, and intercom if you have it on your motorcycle. I myself have an FLHT Electra Glide Standard that had the Advanced Sound System installed by the dealer upon pickup of the motorcycle. I did not have the CB or intercom option installed because I don’t use them.

Let’s be frank, at highway speed on a Harley Davidson, a CB or intercom are virtually useless because of the wind noise anyway, so it is a feature I did not waste my money on.

Furthermore, even if I did have the CB or intercom installed on my Electra Glide, I would willingly disable them anyway in order to have a turnkey state of the art stereo on my motorcycle, that I could upgrade in the future for a nominal cost, as technology advances. There are Bluetooth headsets out there now that mount to your helmet that can be used to replace the CB or intercom if you absolutely have to have those options. The tradeoff depends on you. For me the decision was a no brainer.

Norman's Sony Stereo - Biketronic's setup

After much research, and a lengthy telephone call, I opted to go with the Biketronics setup, because of the good reviews I read about them on the internet, (their units have a lifetime warranty) and their units seemed to be more straightforward to me. I must note that many guys said good things about Hawg Wired as well.

A Biketronics tech support guru spent at least a half an hour on the phone with me before and after my purchase. You can tell that they are bikers themselves, and are really into their product. They know what they are talking about.

The guy from Biketronics highly recommended a Sony Marine Unit that they sell because they are waterproof. However, my Internet research showed that guys without the Marine Units who wash their motorcycles, and ride through rain, have ridden for years with a standard unit with no problems at all. Furthermore, the Sony Marine Unit did not have all of the features that I wanted, which was the whole reason for upgrading anyway. I wanted my stereo to be state of the art, the way I wanted it to be!

Another factor that was a deal maker for me was that Biketronics stated that if you use a Sony head unit, their adapters were plug and play, including the mounting unit they sell, and the clear plastic cover they sell for their mount as well to protect the unit from rain or water. This is what I wanted; plug and play, no hassles.

My next issue was which stereo system to buy. Biketronics sells a complete kit including Sony Stereo, Hog Tunes speakers, all of their adapters, a clear plastic splash cover, and a powered in fairing antenna. The cost of this package which includes the basic Sony CDX-GT640UI was $509.88 with free shipping. Biketronics also sells a couple of other Sony Head Units, including a waterproof marine version. The other Sony Head Units will add an additional $10-$40 dollars to the cost of the package I mentioned above.

To put this in prospective, a Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System is around $1,000.00 and does not include the Hog Tunes Speakers or the powered in fairing antenna, and the Harley Davidson Stereo is obsolete compared to the Sony Stereo.

Since I have already previously installed Hog Tunes speakers and a powered in fairing antenna when I installed a Premium Tour Pak with the removable bracket, I did not need either, so why pay for them in a complete kit?

Further, I wanted to be able to buy the Head Unit that I wanted rather than going with only the head units that Biketronics sells, plus I did not want to put all of my eggs into one basket.

For Stereo (head unit) research online, there is one vendor that I know and trust, and that is Crutchfield Electronics. They are the car and home stereo experts online. They have a huge selection of stereos, they have all of the features, specs, pictures, and options, online, and they are reputable. You can speak to them 24 hours a day and they honor warranties and have a generous return policy. I previously purchased my powered in fairing antenna from them for $19.00 which is around $20.00 cheaper than the Biketronics version, and it appears to be the same thing!

I went one step further; I wanted to look at all car stereos and not just the Sony’s.

Biketronics and Hawg Wired both sell kits to adapt to non Sony units that work with your OEM wiring, and OEM hand controls, but based upon what I read, the install might be a bit more dicey for non Sony systems, rather than just settling for a Sony which is guaranteed to work with the Biketronics. The caveat is that whatever stereo I chose must have a plug in for the steering wheel controls, which is how both Biketronics and Hawg Wired adapt the Harley Davidson Hand Controls to the stereo system.

I looked at many different stereo systems. I spent days looking at systems. I finally found the Sony CDX-GT700HD which you can see by clicking here, for $179.00 with free shipping. This unit is only $20.00 more than the base unit that comes with the Biketronics Kit, and the biggest difference is that it has a built in High Definition Digital Receiver on top of the standard Analog AM/FM receiver. None of the other stereos I looked at had the built in HD receiver. On the others you need to buy an HD Receiver Adapter for an additional $150 or so. This included the Pioneer’s, the Alpine’s, the JVC’s, and other stereo’s I looked at.

Another big feature is that this unit has a front slide covered plug in USB port, and auxiliary port. I realized that I could plug in a thumb drive into the front with my entire music collection on it, and that the stereo would control it digitally without having to convert from Analog to Digital like I used to have to do with my Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System with the auxiliary port.

The Sony CDX-GT700 HD also has a XM or Sirius direct Satellite radio tuner option that installs right into the unit, so that I would not have to worry about having an external satellite receiver plugging into the Auxiliary port of the stereo, or using FM from a separate Satellite receiver to transmit to the head unit. I could control the Satellite directly from the Head Unit while on the road. This is what I am talking about!

Another feature for a stereo that I was going to mount on my motorcycle is that I wanted a removable face plate that I could make non removable if I wanted, and I wanted the CD plug in to be behind the faceplate to prevent dust and dirt from going into it.

Now the Sony stereo which has unparalleled sound quality, has so many features and specs that there is no way that I can cover them here. All I can say is that it is like having an iPod with full control right from the head unit with all of the features of a State of the Art Stereo.

I could not find any other stereo that surpassed the built in features of the $179.00 Sony CDX-GT700 HD, not even the real expensive ones. Many of the high end units require an external HD tuner, most had the CD slot open in the front, (more appropriate for cars) and many had the USB, and Auxiliary ports in the back of the unit rather than the front. This kind of setup would require you to open the faring and run wires everytime you wanted to change what was plugged in the darn thing, or run a live wire to somewhere on your motorcycle such as your saddlebags, etc. No thanks! I wonder what would happen if those live wires get wet.

I even looked at the units which have actual motorized screens that pop out of the unit, and allow you to have GPS on the Screen, and be able to Watch DVD’s, and even have a rear mounted camera view on the screen from your motorcycle.

These systems seem fantastic, but the guy from Biketronics told me that anytime you have a unit with a moving motor, such as these units which have a motor to drive the screen out, that the vibration on a motorcycle usually make them go bad quickly. Not only that, but the units I looked at were in the $1,000 range, and they also did not have the front USB and Auxiliary connections that I wanted, plus they did not seem practical for a motorcycle solution.

Although I have seen some guys with these units installed on their motorcycles, they look cool and the bling value is there, I need turnkey functionality, not bling!

I was again brought back to the Sony CDX-GT700 HD again and again, no matter what I looked at, so there it was, I decided on the Sony CDX-GT700 HD from Crutchfield Electronics, this is what I wanted. Here is a link to the actual system I purchased.

Now going back to the Biketronics kit which would allow me to install the system, I decided to buy the components I needed, rather then the complete kits they sell. I got the best Sony stereo that I could find, plus the whole thing would be cheaper for me than buying their whole kit.

I purchased the following from Biketronics to install my Sony CDX-GT700 HD into my Harley Davison Electra Glide:

(1) BT 1000 – 1998-2005 Sony Radio Install Kit, $199.95 (free shipping)
(2) Sony Harness w/Connector, $14.95 (free shipping)
(3) BT Splashcover, $19.95 (free shipping)
_______________________________________________________________
Total Price from Biketronics = $234.85, (free shipping), No tax.

I purchased the following from Crutchfield Electronics:

(1) Sony CDX-GT700 HD, $179.95 (free shipping)
(2) SoundKase DFC1X Black, $9.99 (free shipping) This is a case you put the faceplate into when you take it off of the motorcycle.
_______________________________________________________________
Total Price from Crutchfield Electronics = $189.90, (free shipping), No tax.

Total Price of Radio Upgrade Project: $424.75

The total price of my radio upgrade project was around $45.18 cheaper than buying the complete retro radio kit from Biketronics with their stereo included, and I got a much better stereo than comes with their kit. As stated above, I already previously purchased the Hog Tunes speakers, and a powered in fairing antenna. Now for guys that have an FLHT without a stereo, and are installing the stereo from scratch the Biketronics kit is just a tad more expensive.

After my order, the Biketronics kit arrived within a couple of days. The Crutchfield order took about a week to arrive.

Norman's Electra Glide with front fairing removed

Installation

First off, I got my tools out, unpacked the Biketronics Kit, and the Sony Stereo. I read the instructions for each before I began. It looked like it would be a very easy installation.

First, I removed the Sony stereo from the mounting cage that it comes with out of the box, and discarded the cage because it is not used in this application.

Then, I took the heavy vinyl that comes with the Biketronics kit. I removed the backing to expose the sticky surface, and placed it on the top of the Sony Stereo where indicated, and down the sides. I trimmed off the excess from the sides and back. It is obvious that this vinyl is stuck on to protect the stereo from dirt, debris, and water. No problem at all with this process.

I than removed the seat from my motorcycle, and disconnected the battery, negative first. The last thing you want to do is install something like this with the motorcycle battery connected. You could cause a short and do serious damage to your electrical system. Don’t be a fool; take a few minutes to disconnect your battery.

Then, I removed the outer Bat Wing Fairing. I am not going to describe how to remove the fairing here. If you are interested in how to remove the outer Bat Wing fairing, I previously wrote an article about removing the faring when I installed the Hog Tunes speakers which you can read here.

I then unplugged the Antenna from the Harley Stereo, and the two large connectors that plugged into the back of the stereo.

I proceeded to unbolt the 4 hex bolts which hold the stock Harley Davidson into the bracket where it mounts. I used a basic hex wrench squeezing it in inside the bracket to get the bolts off. My fingers were too big for this process but I got them out. It was a bitch.

I knew there must be a better way to remove and install these bolts, and realized it would be almost impossible to get the bolts back in if I used the reverse method of how I removed them. I decided to look in my factory service manual. The manual recommends using a long socket hex attachment that goes in through holes on each side of the bracket. Damm some times looking at the factory service manual helps. I could have got the damm attachment from Wal-Mart and had the stereo unbolted in seconds, but instead, I found a long standard hex wrench in my tool kit, put it in through the holes on the side of each bracket, and it worked like a charm. It took a few more seconds than using a socket attachment, but I saved a few bucks and time driving to Wal-Mart. If you are doing this install and you don’t have longer hex wrenches, just go to Wal-Mart and buy the socket attachment for $10.00. You can return it when you are done!

The instructions then said to lift the back end of the Harley Davidson system up, and pull out. Well I did this a few times, and the Stereo was not coming out. I was pissed off. I got on the internet and went on a few forums to confirm that you were supposed to just be able to pull the stereo out from the front. (Not the tank side of the stereo, but the front headlight side) Everyone responded that it should come right out.

One guy recommended that I remove the bolts from the vertical fairing stabilizer bracket to give more room for the stereo to come out. When I went to remove the bolts I discovered that I had the dreaded broken vertical fairing stabilizer bracket on the left hand side, and my horizontal bracket under the speaker was also broken. I was truly pissed off at this time. (This is a known bug on this motorcycle; I will discuss this issue on another article.)

My stereo was not coming out and as I tried, it was bending the inner fairing. I was worried that I would crack or break the inner fairing that is how bad this was. Here I am looking at my motorcycle all taken apart, and I could not get the damm stock stereo out. I decided to try again, and to use more pressure. Either the stereo was going to come out or I was going to break something.

I finally felt a bit of a pop and the stereo came out. It turns out that I got lucky; the asshole that installed the stereo in my motorcycle thought it would be a good idea to put what looked like rubber cement on the top and bottom of the front of my stereo where the front bezel meets the fairing, when he installed it. This is not standard. I guess he thought that it would stay in my solid that way. It sure did stay in solid, even when unbolted it would not budge. I almost destroyed the fairing getting it off.

Now I could finally install the new stereo.

First, I slid on the front black mounting piece that comes with the Sony Stereo and snapped it in place on the front of the unit. I then slid on the black bezel that comes with the Biketronics kit. The bezel is what goes against the fairing to seal the stereo from the inside of the fairing.

I then bolted on the two blocks that mount to each side of the Sony stereo which allow the stereo to be bolted into the Harley Davidson stereo bracket inside of the fairing. I did not over tighten the bolts as indicated.

I then lifted the back of the stereo and pushed it in and down into the fairing so the bezel was flush with the front of the fairing, and then bolted the stereo into the fairing bracket using the same screws that I took off of the stock stereo. It was easy to bolt on because I went through the sides as described in the service manual. You do not need the service manual to do this but it helps. All you need is the long hex wrench and then bolt in through the holes in the bracket on each side.

At this point I was not sure if the front bezel was flush with the front of the fairing, so I removed the Sony and reinstalled it. I discovered that I had it right the first time, but it was no big deal.

The Sony is much smaller and lighter than the stock unit which took some time to get used to. It is newer technology.

Now that I had the Sony mounted, I plugged in the Antenna. I then took the Harley Davidson wiring harness, and plugged it into the Biketronics retro radio kit. I then took the Sony wiring harness and plugged one end into the Biketronics retro radio kit, and took the other side and plugged it into the back of the Sony Stereo. I plugged in the connector for the hand controls into the stereo making sure that the plug was facing up as stated in the instructions.

Everything was ready to be tested per the Biketronics instructions. I installed the battery, and put the starter into the auxiliary mode. The stereo powered up, but there was no sound at all. I tried to fidget with the sound controls but nothing. I could tell that the speakers were not getting any juice at all. The Sony Stereo has a feature where when power is turned off, it beeps a few times to remind you to remove the faceplate. There was no beeping.

I went into the fairing and discovered that my speaker’s wires routed to a separate plug, and that there were also speakers wires routed to the back of the bike under the seat which went to the same plug. My stock stereo had two big plugs, one for the power and hand controls, and one for the speakers. The Biketronics kit only had one plug which was supposed to accommodate everything so they say.

At this point after all of the above hassles I went through I was pissed off. I thought Biketronics sent me the wrong adapter. I had to wait for the next day to talk to them. Their tech support told me that I had a unique setup on my motorcycle. It looks like it was set up for an amplifier on my motorcycle. They told me my wiring was non standard and they had only seen this issue once before.

To be frank, my Harley stereo had two big plugs, one of which was for the speakers. I cannot see how this is non standard if the stereo had the separate plug. The guy from Biketronics insisted that I had a non-standard setup.

We mutually agreed that the easiest and best solution would be for me to manually wire the speakers to the Biketronics Sony Adaptor. This would prevent me from having to cut into the Harley stereo plug harness. All I would have to do is unplug the stereo speakers, and run separate wires to the Biketronics Sony Adaptor Plug. It was basically 1 2 wire connection for each speaker. It sounds like a bitch but it is really no big deal. Any of you who have wired up a home stereo know that is real easy to wire up two speakers.

My only complaint was that this thing was supposed to be plug and play, and now I would have to manually wire the speakers to their harness.

I went to Wal-Mart and got a universal wiring kit with spade lugs and a crimper so I could do the job right, plus I got some wire. Turns out the spade lugs in the kit did not fit on the Hogtunes speakers, and the wire was too large of a gauge to work with. I went to Auto Zone to get thinner wire. To make a long story short I spend I significant amount of time trying to make my own spade lug wires, etc. but the connections were no good. I then tried to solder the wires directly onto the speaker lugs but they would not stay on.

Finally, I opted to just use the factory wires which I cut half way down and connected to the Biketronics Sony Harness and then wrapped real well with electrical tape. Again, it sounds like a nightmare, but it was only 4 wires total.

I then put the starter switch on Auxiliary, and wholla, I had tunes. However, I had to fix the broken fairing stabilization brackets before I could button the motorcycle up. I will discuss this in a later article.

I then buttoned everything up. I did have a minor issue while tie-wrapping the Biketronics module into the fairing. The kit did make my fairing tighter than before. I am sure that I could have done a better job tie-wrapping the unit into the fairing, but I had done some other work to the motorcycle and I was tired. I got it in, and the fairing buttoned back up.

Norman's Sony Stereo - Biketronic's setup

Testing and Operating the Stereo

I am not going to go into much detail here because this stereo has many features and options. The manual is pretty extensive. If you want, you may read the Sony stereo installation manual by clicking here, and the operating instructions manual by clicking here.

First I tested the AM/FM/HD reception; it works and sounds fantastic. Local HD stations tune in just fine, and give you a display on the radio face of what artist is playing, etc. This is the first time that I have heard my favorite station in Los Angeles; 95.5 KLOS in HD sound. There is absolutely no sound or static at all. The stations transmit in digital HD. HD reception never has static like FM- Frequency Modulation (Analog), or AM-Amplitude Modulation (Analog) stations. I am going to have more fun with HD as I ride with the motorcycle more.

I burned a CD on my computer with about 300 MP3’s on it. This would be a backup music option in case I did not have my thumb drive music collection, my I-Pod, or another MP3 player with me. The CD worked flawlessly and sounded great. The stereo does have to be turned on to feed a disk into it. The artist and song info displays on the face of the radio like it is supposed to while playing.

It was then time for the biggest test of all, my entire music collection copied onto a USB thumb drive.

I copied my entire MP3 music collection, excluding full albums onto a 4GB thumb drive and plugged it into the front USB port on the stereo.

I was kind of worried beforehand that the vibration and wind of a motorcycle ride on the road would cause the thumb drive to dislodge and fall out on the road. One of the reasons I got the stereo in the first place was so that I could simply plug a thumb drive in without any cable, and that I could have my entire music collection play on the stereo without any cables or external players.

My worry was not a problem. I have now ridden at speed for many miles with the thumb drive plugged in, and it has not come loose at all, nor has it come out, or even come close to falling out. Believe me; I have ridden at speed on the freeway as well.

The ability to plug in a thumbdrive direclty into the Sony Stereo from the front, is the biggest feature of the stereo by far in my opinion. The feature gives me the ability to have my entire music collection on a miniture thumbdrive, plugged directly into the head unit, with pure digital music going directly into the stereo by way of the USB, and then having the Sony’s electronics convert it into excellent sound.

As I stated above, by plugging into the Aux port on the old Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System, you are using an external MP3 device to convert the digital to analog for you, and then the headphone jack is used to plug into the Harley system with a cable. With this method there is some signal loss at the Aux jack no matter what you do, plus there is no real safe way to control the tunes while riding.

I was able to hear some of my songs (my music collection is so big that it would take about 3 days to hear every song) as clear and as good as can be. Plus I was able to read the artist and song info on the faceplate which is something I could not do before with the Harley system. On top of that, I could also toggle through my collection while riding using the Harley Davidson stock right Hand Control.

There is another feature in the stereo that makes finding tunes much easier when riding, it is called the Quick-BrowZer Mode. When the button for this feature is pushed it basically plays about 15 seconds of each song in your collection, when you reach a song you want to hear you just push the big select button, and the stereo then starts the song from the beginning.

I have used the stereo for many hours now and the sound quality blows away the stock Harley Davidson stereo system.

Although the Sony stock head unit only puts out around 17 watts per channel, for 4 channels without an amplifier, which is around the same output as the Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System, this stereo is better sounding and louder than the stock Harley Davidson stereo.

Since I am already running Hogtunes speakers on my motorcycle, I get no distortion at all when the stereo is cranked up.

Future Options

This stereo is setup to accept XM or Sirius satellite with a quick plug and play option. I did not order this option initially because I wanted to make sure that I was going to keep this new setup. I am probably going to get the satellite option for this stereo in the very near future, especially before I go to Sturgis.

I am also contemplating getting an amplifier for my system. Although the stereo is already loud now, I do not want to really have to crank it up at highway speeds. Let’s face it, when you are rolling at 80mph with a full face modular helmet on, and ear plugs, any stock stereo system will be very difficult to hear, even if it is cranked up. I know that with a nominal amplifier, I can get the stereo loud enough to hear even at highway speeds.

I am sure that if I removed my ear plugs, or if I only wore a beanie helmet or no helmet, I would be able to hear the stereo just fine, even at highway speeds. However, due to my tinnitus which has been caused by many years of riding without hearing protection, I do not want to damage my already damaged ears.

Biketronics and Hawg Wired each sell amplifiers; however I feel that each of their solutions is too expensive. I think the minimum price of their solutions is $399 plus. I can get a cheap two channel amplifier from Crutchfield for around $99 that will probably do the trick.

Why pay $399 plus if I can do the same thing for $99?

One big issue for me will be to get an amplifier that is small enough to mount in the fairing above the Sony stereo that does not generate too much heat and one that does not drain too much power. A motorcycle electrical system is not as strong as a car electrical system, so any amplifier I get will need to work on the Harley Davidson.

If I find that the Crutchfield cheapo solution does not work to my satisfaction, I will buy an amplifier from either Biketronics or Hawg Wired.

Rap Up

Bottom line, I cannot believe I waited so long to upgrade my system. I can think of countless trips I have taken that would have been much better had I been able to have a system like this on my motorcycle.

Like you I wanted to keep everything OEM. However, I got sick of using obsolete technology, or being extorted into paying Harley Davidson’s high prices to not get everything I wanted.

Now I have almost everything I want. I would recommend that everyone upgrade their Harley Davidson Sound System to the latest and greatest aftermarket solutions. There is no need to stick with obsolete technology anymore.

Just a side note, none of the vendors mentioned on here provided me with any product or compensation in return for this review. I wrote this review because I know that many of you out there are contemplating this type of upgrade or installation.

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2010

The post I Replaced my Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System with a state of the art Sony Stereo System; Here is My Review. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Through the open door at Central Florida Choppers near downtown Orlando, Allen Dixon can hear the rumble and roar of motorcycles traveling up and down Interstate 4.

It is, after all, Bike Week, and Dixon makes his living building motorcycles.

But right now, he isn’t building many. The recession has sent the market for choppers — long, raked-out custom cycles with Harley-Davidson-style engines and tall “ape hanger” handlebars — straight into the Dumpster.

“The $40,000 and $50,000 bikes are gone for now,” said Dixon. 46. “If anyone is buying, its bikes in the $20,000 to $30,000 range, and there’s very little of that right now.”

The downturn has also affected the used market. “Most guys are trying to sell their bikes. I can’t build you one for what they’re selling theirs for. I’ve got one in here right now — the guy probably paid $25,000 for it, and he said if I can get $10,000 for it, sell it.

“A lot of shops — a lot of shops — have fallen by the wayside. But we’re still here, still have the lights on. We’re struggling, but we’re still here.”

Many of us got an introduction to choppers 40 years ago with the release of the film Easy Rider, which had stars Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper biking across the country, for a while with Jack Nicholson squeezed on the back of Fonda’s bike.

Those bikes were built by California customizer Ben Hardy from retired Harley-Davidson police cycles. Hardy also built some of the bikes used several years earlier in The Wild Angels, one of a series of drive-in movies based loosely on the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang that helped cement the idea that chopper riders were nonconformists at best, and trouble at worst.

This was also when Japanese-built motorcycles began to make major strides in the business of building large motorcycles. As owners sought to customize their motorcycles, the chopper industry grew, but promptly receded to the point where only dedicated chopper owners kept the business going.

A major resurgence came in 2002 when American Chopper debuted on the Discovery Channel, featuring the bike-building Teutul family from New York. Television also made stars of other chopper builders, including Jesse James, who founded West Coast Choppers in his mother’s garage in 1992 and is now a major personality married to actress Sandra Bullock.

Now, American Chopper has been canceled, the Teutuls are involved in million-dollar interfamily lawsuits, and Dixon feels the pain.

“The motorcycle market is flooded,” he says. “That’s the honest truth. But there are still a few guys out there who want to ride something special.”

That’s where Dixon comes in. He and the customer design the bike in advance.

“It’s something we create together and make it one of a kind. Sure, you can go down to the store and buy a motorcycle, but if you ride it to Daytona this week, you’ll probably see hundreds of bikes just like yours. The only difference is the rider and paint.”

Owning something no one else has appeals to John Argall, a cabinetmaker and chopper rider: “To design something myself and see it built, and know that no one else has a bike like it — that’s what I like.”

Argall’s bike, which Dixon built, is red with black trim — skulls, mostly — and is powered by a V-Twin S&S engine.

And unlike a lot of chopper riders, Argall rides his regularly, not just on weekends. “It’s comfortable. After all, it was built especially for me, so everything fits just right.”

Central Florida Choppers is obviously good at what it does: Trophies from motorcycle shows line the walls of the office.

Likely adding to the challenge for chopper builders such as Dixon is that Honda and Harley-Davidson have entered the chopper market — sort of, at least.

Two years ago, Harley introduced the Rocker, a raked-out, chopper-looking motorcycle that started at $17,295. And in 2009, Honda introduced the 2010 Fury, which has the V-Twin engine that looks like a Harley motor, plus lengthened front forks. The Fury starts at $12,995, and Honda offers about $3,000 worth of options and accessories.

Bikes like those, Dixon says, are merely amusing to dedicated chopper riders. “[They’ve] been trying to look like us for years, copying the look, the sound, everything. Honda will sell as many Furys that all look alike to anyone who buys them.”

And they are selling, says Kirby Mullins, owner of Seminole PowerSports, a Honda dealer.

“Its heck of a buy for $12,995,” he says, “and you have Honda reliability and a warranty backing it up.”

Also, the wheelbase of the Fury — the distance from the center of the rear wheel to the center of the front wheel — is just short enough so that many insurance companies don’t consider it a true chopper. Insuring a chopper, Mullins says, can get expensive, largely because many of them can’t be repaired easily with off-the-shelf parts.

Mullins agreed that the motorcycle market in general — the chopper market in particular — is going through some tough times.

“I’ve never really understood the chopper market,” Mullins says. “It seems like a lot of people have spent $30,000 or $40,000 on a custom chopper, then a year later, they’re trying to sell them for $15,000.”

“It’s like the boat market,” Dixon says. “No one really has to have a boat, unless you make your living fishing. And no one really has to have a chopper.”

But some people want one anyway, and for those customers, the door is still open, the lights are still on at Central Florida Choppers.

California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and California Biker Lawyer Website

The post Custom Motorcycle chopper sales crash in tough economy; now may be the time to get a deal if you can afford it. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

I am sure that motorcycle security is a hot trigger type of issues with all bikers and motorcycle riders.

Writing this article has elicited some severe anger on my part. Luckily I myself have not been the victim of someone stealing my motorcycle. Although back in the day when I lived in Hollywood, California, I had someone vandalize my motorcycle by cutting the straps of my saddlebags to open them instead of just unhooking the fasteners. The car that my motorcycle was parked next to was torn apart by the vandals.

God help the person that I catch fucking with my motorcycle; anyway……….

I have heard many reports of motorcycle thefts from friends, clients, and readers of the Biker Law Blog. I have also heard of reports of excessive motorcycle theft at specific biker hangouts, rallies, bars, etc., but I will not name these places here for legal reasons.

Another trend in motorcycle theft is scumbags stealing parts off of your motorcycle while it is parked somewhere. There are scumbags who will steal your seat, and bolt on items as it is sitting somewhere.

There are many types of motorcycle safety devices; alarms, locks, chains, cables, disk locks, immobilizers, motion sensor alarms, GPS tracking devices, ground anchors, etc. that are presently on the market.

Here is a video from the UK that shows just how fast a thief can get through a chain or cable.

Here is a video from the UK shows how to secure your motorcycle.

I myself use a Harley Davidson security system on my Electra Glide, alarm disk lock, and the stock fork lock when I park my motorcycle. If my motorcycle is moved, the alarm will go off.

In the end, a determined thief and scumbag will take your motorcycle if they want it. The most important thing that you can do is to make sure that you have adequate insurance to cover your motorcycle in case of theft or loss. Make sure that you have accessory coverage that insures not only the fair market value of your motorcycle, but all of the aftermarket accessories and customization you have done to your motorcycle.

If any of you have some motorcycle theft prevention tips that you would like to share with our readers, feel free to post your comments below.

By Biker Lawyer and California Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2009

The post Motorcycle Security and Alarms; what can you do to protect your Motorcycle! first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

The Honda VRG1200F Motorcycle

For many, California was the center of the motorcycle performance universe yesterday as American Honda Motor Company’s Powersports Division revealed the much-anticipated 2010 VFR1200F.

The first V4 concept was seen at the Cologne Motorcycle Show in 2008 with yesterday’s latest model the resulting bike. The 2010 VFR1200F promises the next generation of motorcycle technology, aimed at older riders who are looking for the thrills of back road curves rather than the adrenaline rush of track day.

The latest in Honda MotoGP engine technology and architecture features a light and compact 1237cc liquid-cooled 76-degree V-4, mind-boggling Throttle By Wire, smaller cylinder heads and the latest innovation of optional Dual Clutch Automatic Transmission with manual mode and automatic mode with two D/S modes and paddle-style shifters.

The new model promises GP technology layer-concept aero fairing and next-generation shaft drive system with offset pivot point and sliding constant-velocity joint for a new level of shaft-drive performance and control.

The VFR1200F’s four-valve-per-cylinder engine offers an offset crankpin to eliminate primary engine vibration and an electronic throttle system named ‘Throttle By Wire’ features linked ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) brakes.

“This is one of the most exciting motorcycles in Honda’s history,” said Powersports Press Manager Bill Savino.

“The VFR1200F establishes a whole new definition of performance motorcycling, one that taps into Honda’s rich V-4 VFR heritage and extends it into the future of Honda motorcycling. The new technology within this motorcycle is flat-out amazing and it all works together in a manner that takes the VFR1200F strides forward in how a high-end machine looks, works and feels. This is a sport motorcycle that will leave you smiling and ready for more even after you’ve been riding for hours on end.”

This motorcycle looks to me like it will be a fun motorcycle to ride in the twisties, especially with the automatic transmission. I cannot wait to see more viable options in the cruiser market with respect to automatic transmissions.

California Biker Attorney and California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

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