By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.
Biker Law Blog – https://bikerlawblog.com

There are few places in America that ignite the soul of a biker quite like the Great Smoky Mountains. Towering ridgelines, cool mountain air, dense forests, and miles upon miles of twisting Appalachian roads—this region is a paradise for motorcycle riders. It calls to experienced riders, touring bikers, adventure riders, and everyone who loves the open road.

Every year, Smoky Mountain Bike Week draws thousands of motorcyclists from around the country. But even outside the rally, this entire region offers some of the best riding anywhere in the United States.

As a lifelong biker and a California motorcycle accident attorney who has ridden all over the country, I can tell you: The Smokies are magical, but they’re not forgiving. You must respect the roads, the weather, the crowds, and the risks—especially on legendary stretches like the Tail of the Dragon, which has unfortunately become more dangerous in recent years.

Below is your guide to hitting the Smoky Mountains on two wheels—what to expect, which rides you can’t miss, and what dangers you must be aware of.

The Smoky Mountains: A Rider’s Dream

The Smokies offer a rare combination of:

• Cooler mountain weather

• Endless forested roads

• Elevation changes and technical twisties

• Scenic overlooks around every corner

• Hundreds of miles of rideable routes

From Tennessee to North Carolina, the mountains provide rides ranging from relaxed and scenic to downright technical and challenging.

If you go during Smoky Mountain Bike Week, the energy level skyrockets. Bands, events, vendors, and thousands of motorcycles fill the area. The rally is centered around the Townsend–Pigeon Forge–Sevierville region, but bikers flood the entire Smokies.

It’s a great time—but also the most dangerous time—so keep reading.

The Best Motorcycle Rides in the Smoky Mountains

1. The Tail of the Dragon (US 129)

318 curves in 11 miles.
No intersections. No driveways. Pure riding.

It’s beautiful. It’s iconic. It’s one of the most famous motorcycle roads in the world.

But here’s the truth:

California Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez Riding the Tail of the Dragon 2025

The Tail of the Dragon is no longer the relaxed technical ride it once was.

It has become:

• Overcrowded with inexperienced riders

• Swarmed with performance cars drifting corners

• A hotspot for GoPro daredevils

• Heavily patrolled by law enforcement

• One of the most accident-prone stretches of asphalt in America

Every year, riders go down. Some severely. Some fatally.
Many crashes happen because riders exceed their skill level, cross the double yellow, or get overwhelmed by the tight, continuous curves.

If you ride the Dragon:

• Keep your ego in check.

• Stay in your lane.

• Ride your own ride—not the guy in front of you.

• Avoid weekends if possible.

• Don’t chase the curve photographers—ride safely first, pose later.

The Tail of the Dragon is an amazing experience, but respect it or it will punish you.

2. The Cherohala Skyway (TN 165 / NC 143)

Many riders—myself included—prefer the Cherohala Skyway over the Dragon.

Why?

• Sweeping high-altitude curves

• Breathtaking overlooks

• Much less traffic

• Perfect pavement

• Cool temperatures at the highest points (sometimes 20 degrees cooler than the valleys)

It’s a fast, flowing, majestic ride that every biker should experience.

The Tail of the Dragon

3. The Foothills Parkway

One of the most scenic routes in the entire Smokies. Smooth, easy, panoramic.

This is the perfect ride if you want:

• Wide, gentle curves

• Stunning mountain views

• A relaxing ride that your passenger will love

• A break from the intensity of the Dragon

A great warm-up or cool-down ride.

4. Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway stretches from Virginia into North Carolina, but the southern sections near the Smokies are spectacular.

This is a rider’s dream:

• No commercial traffic

• Low speed limits (and strict enforcement)

• Endless overlooks and photo spots

The parkway is less technical but unmatched in beauty.

5. Newfound Gap Road (US 441)

Running straight through the heart of the Smoky Mountains National Park, this road climbs to 5,046 feet and offers sweeping curves and jaw-dropping views.

Beware of:

• Tourists

• Wildlife

• Sudden weather changes

Still, it’s worth every mile.

6. The Moonshiner 28

A hidden gem—highly recommended.

Riders love it for:

• Tight curves

• Waterfall stops

• Beautiful forest canopy

• Low traffic

Runs from Deals Gap down to Walhalla, SC.

The Devil’s Triangle (TN 116): A More Technical and Far More Serious Ride Than the Dragon

If you want a ride in the Smokies that truly tests your skill, concentration, and respect for the road, look no further than The Devil’s Triangle—a brutally technical 44-mile loop near Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

While the Tail of the Dragon gets the fame, the photographers, the stickers, and the YouTube videos, the Devil’s Triangle gets your full mental focus. It’s a road for experienced riders who want something more challenging than the Dragon’s repetitive tight curves.

Why the Devil’s Triangle Is a Better Ride Than the Tail of the Dragon

Here’s the truth most serious riders know:

1. It is significantly more technical.

The Triangle features:

• Steep elevation changes

• Tight switchbacks

• Blind decreasing-radius turns

• Gravel-prone spots

• Narrow mountain passes

• Rapid transitions between fast and slow sections

The Dragon is intense—but predictable.
The Devil’s Triangle is not predictable. It demands real skill.

2. Far less traffic and fewer tourists

You can actually ride your own ride.

No massive car clubs.
No nonstop selfie stops.
No YouTube performance drivers drifting corners.
Just raw mountain riding.

The Smokey Mountains

3. More variety and better flow

The Devil’s Triangle combines:

• Twisties

• Sweepers

• Cliffs

• Forest runs

• Rural straightaways

• Technical climbs

It’s like getting every type of mountain road in one loop.

4. It’s a rider’s road — not a tourist attraction

There are no crowds. No commercial distractions. No circus.
Just you, your motorcycle, and a road designed to humble you if you lose focus.

5. It is more dangerous and requires REAL experience

This is not a road for new riders or those without mountain experience. People have gone down hard on this route because they misjudge a corner or lose concentration.

But for skilled riders?
It’s unforgettable.
Many say the Devil’s Triangle is the best ride in the Smokies—and I personally believe it is a better, more technical, and more satisfying ride than the Tail of the Dragon.

Smoky Mountain Bike Week: What to Expect

During the rally:

• Hotels are packed

• Popular roads are crowded

• Law enforcement presence is high

• Accidents increase dramatically

• Weather can shift quickly

But you also get:

• Incredible camaraderie

• Thousands of bikes

• Live music

• Scenic group rides

• Vendors and bike shows

• The electric feeling of riding among your own tribe

If you go, ride defensively. Many riders in the Smokies during rally week are unfamiliar with mountain riding.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez riding the Tail of the Dragon 2025

The Tail of the Dragon: Why It Has Become More Dangerous

Let’s break this down clearly.

1. Overconfidence + Inexperience

Riders see YouTube videos and assume they can handle it. Many can’t.

2. Car Clubs and High-Performance Vehicles

Corvettes, Porsches, BMW M-series, and tuner cars bombard the Dragon. Some drive too aggressively.

3. Double-Yellow Crossings

This is the #1 cause of collisions.

4. Fatigue

The Dragon has no breaks—curve after curve. Many riders mentally and physically tap out halfway through.

5. Speed + Tight Corners

Many riders underestimate the decreasing-radius turns and elevation changes.

6. Smartphones and GoPros

Too many people ride for content—not safety.

Final Thoughts: Ride Smart, Live to Ride Another Day

The Smoky Mountains are one of the most incredible motorcycle destinations in America. Whether during Smoky Mountain Bike Week or on a random weekday morning, the region delivers some of the best riding of your life.

But remember:

• Respect the roads.

• Don’t ride above your skill level.

• Take breaks.

• Drink water (dehydration causes crashes).

• Watch the weather.

• Keep your head and your pride in check.

Your goal isn’t to “conquer” the Smokies.
Your goal is to experience the mountains and get back home safely.

Ride hard, ride smart, and I’ll see you on the road.

— Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.
The Biker Lawyer
Biker Law Blog – https://bikerlawblog.com
Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez – https://thepersonalinjury.com

The post Riding Your Motorcycle in the Smoky Mountains: What Every Biker Should Know (Especially During Smoky Mountain Bike Week) first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

By Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez
www.bikerlawblog.com

Riding a motorcycle is more than just transportation—it’s a way of life. It’s freedom, exhilaration, brotherhood, and connection to the road and your surroundings in a way that four wheels can never deliver. As a lifelong biker and a personal injury attorney who rides and fights for other riders, I know the value of a good ride. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of the best motorcycle rides in the USA for 2025—routes that deliver unmatched beauty, adrenaline, and two-wheel glory.

Best Motorcycle Rides of 2025

Whether you’re a weekend cruiser or a long-haul legend, these rides should be on your 2025 bucket list.

1. Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1)

Location: California
Length: ~650 miles
Why Ride It: Breathtaking ocean views, dramatic cliffs, winding roads.

There’s a reason this route shows up on almost every “best ride” list. Stretching from San Diego to the northern reaches of California, the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) is pure magic. Start in the sun-soaked city of San Diego and work your way through Los Angeles, Malibu, Big Sur, Monterey, and all the way to the redwood forests of the north.

Pro tip: Try to hit Big Sur during sunrise. The early morning mist over the Pacific is unforgettable. Just be cautious—this road can be technical with tight curves and distracted tourists.

2. Tail of the Dragon (Deals Gap – US 129)

Location: North Carolina / Tennessee border
Length: 11 miles
Why Ride It: 318 curves in 11 miles.

Short but savage, the Tail of the Dragon is a rite of passage for American riders. It’s legendary for a reason. The ride is all about technical skill and control, with blind turns and no intersections. No trucks are allowed, so it’s all motorcycles, sports cars, and adrenaline.

This route is not for beginners, and it demands total focus. But if you want to push your limits and test your riding skills, this is the one.

3. Beartooth Highway (US 212)

Location: Montana / Wyoming
Length: 68 miles
Why Ride It: High-altitude mountain riding at its best.

Beartooth Pass rises to almost 11,000 feet and delivers scenery that will stop you in your tracks—snowcapped peaks, glacial lakes, and alpine meadows. The road snakes between Montana and Wyoming, connecting to Yellowstone National Park.

Riding this in late spring or early summer gives you the best of both worlds: clear roads and cool mountain air. But bring layers—it can snow even in July.

4. Blue Ridge Parkway

Location: Virginia to North Carolina
Length: 469 miles
Why Ride It: Rolling hills, forest tunnels, and scenic pull-offs.

If you’re looking for a relaxing ride with moderate curves and unmatched beauty, the Blue Ridge Parkway is your road. No stoplights, no billboards—just pure riding bliss through Appalachian mountain country. Speed limits are low, but that’s the point. This ride is for cruising, sightseeing, and clearing your mind.

Best time to go: October for the fall foliage. The leaves turn into a blazing sea of orange and red.

5. The Black Hills and Needles Highway

Location: South Dakota
Length: Variable (depends on route)
Why Ride It: Twisting tunnels, granite spires, Mt. Rushmore views.

South Dakota’s Black Hills offer one of the most unique riding experiences in the country. The Needles Highway (SD 87) winds through tunnels carved straight into rock formations, with hairpin turns and narrow passes. Pair this with Iron Mountain Road and Custer State Park, and you’ve got a day of riding that feels like something out of a dream.

It’s no wonder hundreds of thousands of bikers flock to nearby Sturgis each August—this area is tailor-made for motorcycles.

6. Going-to-the-Sun Road

Location: Glacier National Park, Montana
Length: 50 miles
Why Ride It: Jaw-dropping views of glacial valleys and waterfalls.

Open only during the warmer months (typically late June to early October), Going-to-the-Sun Road offers a short but stunning ride through the heart of Glacier National Park. Waterfalls, wildlife, and winding elevation make this one of the most scenic roads in the world.

It’s ideal for cruisers and touring bikes. Stop often, take photos, and remember that this road is a national treasure.

7. Cherohala Skyway

Location: Tennessee / North Carolina
Length: 43 miles
Why Ride It: Smooth sweepers, scenic ridges, and less traffic.

Often overshadowed by its neighbor, Tail of the Dragon, the Cherohala Skyway is a hidden gem. It offers high-speed sweepers with much less congestion. The road climbs to over 5,400 feet and passes through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests (hence the name).

Tip: Combine this ride with the Tail of the Dragon for a full day of high-thrill mountain riding.

8. Coastal Route 1 – Maine to New Hampshire

Location: Northeast Coast
Length: 200+ miles
Why Ride It: Quaint fishing towns, lighthouses, ocean breeze.

The rocky coastline of New England delivers a more laid-back but equally rewarding ride. Lobster shacks, colonial towns, and miles of Atlantic views make this a soul-recharging route. Route 1 is well-paved and accessible, and the small-town vibe is a big change from the usual hustle.

Ride in late spring or early fall to avoid peak tourist season, and enjoy a chilled-out coastal experience.

9. Route 66 (Select Segments)

Location: Illinois to California
Length: 2,448 miles (original route)
Why Ride It: Nostalgia, Americana, and roadside charm.

While the full Route 66 is more of a time capsule than a complete route these days, riding parts of it—especially in Arizona, New Mexico, and California—still captures that classic American road trip feel. Think: neon signs, diners, old motels, and open skies.

Perfect for history buffs and anyone wanting a taste of 20th-century Americana on two wheels.

10. Highway 550 – The Million Dollar Highway

Location: Colorado
Length: 25 miles (between Ouray and Silverton)
Why Ride It: Steep drop-offs, no guardrails, pure adrenaline.

Not for the faint of heart, this stretch of the San Juan Skyway offers breathtaking views and heart-pounding riding. It’s narrow, there are no guardrails, and every turn feels like you’re flying off the edge of the Rockies.

If you’re an experienced rider and want to add a thrill to your 2025 calendar, put this one high on the list.

My Final Thoughts from the Biker Lawyer

These are just ten of the best rides in the United States—but the truth is, every road can be the best road if you’re on two wheels with the wind in your face.

As always, ride safe. Wear protective gear. Maintain your bike. And if you’re ever injured because of someone else’s negligence, know that I’ve got your back—on the road and in the courtroom.

See you out there.🏍️
Norman Gregory Fernandez
Biker Lawyer | Personal Injury Attorney
📍 www.bikerlawblog.com
🌐 www.thepersonalinjury.com

The post The Best Motorcycle Rides in the USA 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.

In the past 10 years or more consumers have begun to rely upon many different types of review and rating sites to determine whether or not to try goods and services. Often times many people only rely upon ratings and reviews in their purchase decisions.

What consumers do not realize is that companies who sell goods and services understand this and, in many instances, will artificially make sure that their reviews are artificially high whether or not they actually give good service or have good products.

Rating sites such as Yelp rely upon laws which shield them from being sued, in order to basically put anonymous reviews or false reviews from anybody and everyone whether positive or negative.

Company such as Yelp make money by charging companies to advertise on their platform.

My experience with Yelp started innocently enough when somebody wrote a positive review about me. One day just for the heck of it I went on there to see if I was on there, and I was surprised to see that I was. I was even more surprised to see that somebody gave me a positive review. Now granted, I provide excellent customer service to my clients and have been doing so for over 21 years. I believe I go above and beyond the call of duty for my clients. The thing gives me the greatest satisfaction is getting a positive result for my clients. So, the fact that I got a positive review wasn’t what surprised me, what surprised me was that I was on Yelp with a positive review. I did not know that people went on there to review attorneys, there are other sites for that.

I decided to claim my profile. Once I claimed my profile, I got other positive reviews. After I got a few other positive reviews, I got one negative review. The one negative review I got, was from a woman, who after looking at the evidence, and talking with her about her case, I decided not to represent her. Of course, her payback was to write all sorts of false and defamatory things about my law firm.

Somewhere around the same time I got a call from a marketing person from Yelp. She had a strong New York accent, and she was very pushy. She assured me that if I paid a certain amount of money per month, and it was not a small amount, that my ads would show up on Yelp all over the place, and it would lead to more business.

Now I have dealt with hundreds of marketing calls over the last 21+ years of being in business. This was the most uncomfortable pushy marketing call I have ever dealt with in my entire life. This woman was so pushy that it was almost like extortion like you better pay or else type of scenario. I kept telling her let me think about it and every time I tried to get off the phone, she would insist on me going to their sign-up page on the website to put my credit card information in. I finally hung up on her.

Lo and behold, the next time I looked at my Yelp page, the only review that was visible was the one false negative review, and all of the positive reviews were gone and buried at the bottom under not recommended by Yelp. Let me repeat that, because I decided not to pay for their advertising, they buried my positive reviews under not recommended by Yelp and now they are only displaying the one negative review. The one negative review they are showing is from a person with a fake name and has done no other reviews on Yelp, who lives in another state, is not the person who she says she is, and does not live where she says she is. The positive reviews that they are not recommending are from real people I know because they were my clients.

I talked to one of my clients who gave me a positive review, and on their Yelp page it appears to them as though the review is displaying. In other words, Yelp is deceiving them by making them think that their review is displaying, but in reality, to the rest of the world the review is not displaying, because I refused to be extorted into paying for advertising.

I went one step further and googled the term “is Yelp a scam.” I would like for you to also google this term. You will see all sorts of results, and videos of people who also suffered the same thing I have, you will see people on Yelp complaining about the same thing, including reviewers who are upset about having wasted their time writing reviews for nothing.

Yelp is claiming they never actually touch the reviews, they claim they have a computerized algorithm that determines whether or not a review is recommended or not. I say BS. My question is, why would a legitimate review site use any kind of an algorithm to recommend a review? The only legit thing I can think of is to maybe censor cussing or other hate type of speech, but to actually not recommend legitimate reviews is a big scam. In my experience all of my positive reviews went away when I refused to advertise.

So, what does this mean to consumers? In my opinion, if you go to Yelp, most likely what you are seeing, are positive reviews from businesses that are paying Yelp. The businesses that are not paying Yelp, will have all or most of the positive reviews hidden, and will show negative reviews. In my opinion, you cannot trust Yelp as far as you can throw them. Yelp exists not to help consumers, but to make money for Yelp. There are far better sites for consumer reviews.

At least for now in my opinion the best consumer rating site is Google. Google reviews require a user to have an account. You can’t just have some anonymous person throwing up fake information to write a negative review. Yes, somebody could make a fake Google account to write a negative review, but it is much more difficult to spoof Google. Secondly, Google is not penalizing businesses who do not advertise with them by not showing their positive reviews. Even if you do not advertise with Google, if somebody gives you a positive review, it will show up on Google. Yelp on the other hand will just bury it and say it’s not recommended.

Who the hell wants to go to a so-called rating site who censors what reviews you get to read? This is what Yelp is doing. In my case they are not showing my reviews because I am not paying them. They will tell you that their algorithm went through some hokey pokey process and that is why they’re not displaying but they used to be displayed before I decided not to advertise with them.

My wife told me maybe I should pay the extortion money and their reviews will show up again. I told her yeah right, I am going to pay to advertise with a company who is displaying one fake negative review right now? No way in hell are they getting a dime from me until they change their business practices to be ethical. If they stop censoring, and display all reviews, and also stop the practice of anonymous reviewers maybe I will reconsider.

There is another insidious thing happening that you should all be aware of, and that is businesses, and attorneys, putting fake positive reviews out there to bolster their reputation. If it is too good to be true, most likely it is. No company or no thing is perfect. In my experience there is no way to please all of the people all of the time about anything.

What is funny, there is one website in particular, that reviews attorneys. And there is a bunch of attorneys on there that have nothing but positive reviews. There are no attorneys that have 2 stars or 3 stars, they all have five-star reviews. Now you and I both know, that there is no way in hell, that these guys all have perfect reviews. There is one joker on there, that has been in business 5 years, that has 128 all positive reviews. If that is not bullshit, I do not know what is. I would bet if it was legal, $1000, that this cherry has not done 128 cases in his 5 years of practice, let alone getting 128 all five-star positive reviews. What this guy has most likely done, has gone on their and gave himself 128 positive reviews, he learned how to game the system. This is completely unethical, and he could lose his law license for it.

There are services out there that will sell you positive reviews for all the different review sites. Listen, I ordered food from an Indian restaurant that had great reviews, and it was the worst food in history. It took them 2 hours to deliver.

I also have watched movies that had great reviews, and it was the worst shit stinker in history.

Reviews are just like anything else, you will not know for sure unless you try it yourself. You have no clue if they’re real or not and you can’t really trust them unless you try yourself.

Now I have gone on Amazon and purchased products, and I have read the reviews there. There sometimes are negative reviews with negative commentary, but it was just because the idiot didn’t know what they were doing with the product.

Trust me when I say you do not want to live your life based upon what everybody else tells you to do and that goes for reviews. In my experience reviews have been wrong most of the time.

Getting back to Yelp, now you know, Yelp is a scam, Google it. On Yelp the positive reviews are being shown from companies who advertise on Yelp. The ones that do not advertise, are having their reviews buried.

Now with respect to my business, for over 21 years I have provided legal services to well over a thousand clients in the state of California. If I did not provide excellent services to my customers, I would be out of business. I let that speak for itself. Caveat Emptor!

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. “The Biker Lawyer”

The post In my opinion Yelp is a complete scam, do not trust it, by Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez 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.

I have been riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles for quite some time, off and on, for over 30 years. My last bike was a 2008, Harley-Davidson Electra glide Ultra – Classic,

I decided to take a look at obtaining a new motorcycle, partly because I wanted to see what new technology was out there.

I finally narrowed down my search to two possible motorcycles, a 2017 Harley-Davidson Ultra – Limited, and an Indian Roadmaster.

In my research, I discovered that the 2017 Harley-Davidson Ultra – Limited had the new Milwaukee 8 motor, which has water-cooled heads, which means it runs months cooler than the current motorcycle that I have, has 11 more cc inches of power than I have now, a redesigned engine mount which lessens vibrations, a redesigned fairing which is said to be more stable, updated hard saddlebags, and an updated head unit with Bluetooth capability.

Frankly, I did not like any of the color schemes that came with the Harley-Davidson Ultra – Limited. With a motor cycle manufacturer such as Harley-Davidson, I would’ve expected more choices, or even custom options.

If I chose to get the Harley-Davidson, it would basically be getting the same motorcycle I have had for the past 12 years, with an updated engine, fairing, stereo, and saddlebag openers.

In my mind, there is no way to justify paying approximately $30,000 for an updated Harley just because of the few things mentioned above.

When I looked at the Indian motorcycles, frankly I was very surprised to see how far they’d come. The Indian motorcycles in this class have a 111 c.c. motor which is called the ThunderStroke. It puts out 119.6 foot-pounds of torque, and has approximately 90 hp. Although it is air cooled like the old Harleys, and heats up like the old Harleys, this engine is a beast, trust me it has some punch, it is fast.

Further, when I looked at the Indian Roadmaster, I saw many built-in features that would cost thousands of dollars to get on a Harley-Davidson as add on extras.

The head unit on the Indian is incredible, it has GPS built in, a much bigger screen, and shows you all engine functions, including a multi-function display, right on the front bike.

Basically, the Indian Roadmaster is a beautiful bike.

Lucky man that I am, when my fiancé found out that I liked the Indian Roadmaster, she decided to buy one, for me to ride, with the only condition that she be the only female I allow the back. Of course, I said yes 🙂 this lady is about to become my wife anyway.

We went to a dealership locally called “Indian Motorcycles of Orange,” (More on them in part two of this article.)  to look at the Indian Roadmaster.

They had in stock, a black Roadmaster, a black and ivory one, and a red one, however, I wanted the green and ivory color Roadmaster.

I told Indian Motorcycle of Orange County that my fiancé was a cash buyer, and we wanted to buy a new motorcycle within a week.

The sales manager told us that he would call around to his other dealer friends, and if anybody had one, he could have it within a couple of days.

I figured that the dealer would be very excited to have a cash deal on their most expensive motorcycle, and that he would have jumped right on it trying to find the motorcycle that we wanted.

I called him the next day, and he told me that he had not had a chance to check yet, but that he would, and that he would get back to me.

3 days later I still had not heard back from him, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I went online and looked at the inventory of all of the local dealerships myself. I discovered that only Spirit Motorcycle of San Jose California had the motorcycle I wanted in stock, the green and ivory motorcycle. Unfortunately, it was 450 miles away.

I called and talked to the owner, Martin, who was very helpful, and we worked the deal out over the phone. Within 2 days, I was on a plane to San Jose to go pick up the bike.

Ironically, the day I was about to leave to go pick up the bike, Indian Motorcycle of Orange called me and left a message, but it was already too late, the deal was already done with Spirit, and I was on my way to San Jose to pick up the Indian Roadmaster.

Had Indian Motorcycle of Orange called me back sooner, they would have gotten the deal.

If you are a motorcycle dealer, I doubt you are so busy that it would take you days to find a unit for a customer, or at least call them back to let them know you are trying. It took me less than 15 minutes to find the motorcycle I wanted.

If you snooze, you lose. More on Indian Motorcycle of Orange below, and in part 2 of this article.

When I got to San Jose, they picked me up at the airport, brought me to the dealership, you can see from the pictures here that this is what I picked up. It is the most beautiful motorcycle I have ever rode I think.

The dealer sent his expert out to teach me everything I needed to know about the motorcycle before I took off on it, I had the service department install infinity Highway pegs on the motorcycle before I left.

This dealership bent over backwards to make sure I was happy. Since I did not bring a helmet with me, I purchased an Indian DOT meanie helmet with the built-in visor for the road.

How many of you have obtained a brand-new motorcycle and then rode it 420 miles plus home :-)?

When I got the bike on the road I discovered that the floorboards seem to sit a little bit higher than the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra-Classic that I have, and because this motorcycle has a rider backrest installed, I could look not lean back as much. It was a riding position I was not yet used to. However, It took all of 5 minutes to get used to it 🙂

Even though this motorcycle has stock exhaust, due to the size of the engine, it still stock makes a loud low noise that lets you know you have one hell of machine between your legs.

I was told that the 1^st 500 miles on this motorcycle is a break in. The 1^st 100 miles you’re not supposed to give it more than ¼ throttle, or keep it at the same speed for too long of time. After 100 miles, no more than one half throttle, and after 400 miles, no more than three quarters throttle.

I broke it in riding it home from San Jose.

The only complaint I had about the motorcycle was that I could not figure out how to get the cruise control working. I stopped and read the manual while taking a break on the road, and discovered it worked just like the Harley-Davidson cruise control. You first turn it on, then hit set, it appeared my cruise control was not working, a little upsetting on a brand new 35k bike, but I was not worried because I have a five-year warranty. Turns out I have a lot to worry about. See my write up on Indian Motorcycle of Orange in part two of this article.

With respect to riding the Indian, here are my impressions. It is one hell of a fast motorcycle. The pickup and go on this stock motorcycle will blow away most of my Harley riding friends who have had serious custom worked on their motorcycles.

The motorcycle does not vibrate like the Harley-Davidson which is actually a pleasure. On the Harley-Davidson when you’re at a stop light, at least with my 2008, the whole damn thing is vibrating like hell. The Indian is smooth as a button.

The handling on the Indian is about the same as on my Harley, except my Electra Glide has a much tighter turning radius than the Indian. The Indian does have fatter tires.

Above all, the Indian is as far as I’m concerned, is a far more advanced motorcycle when it comes to rider amenities.

The stereo is mind blowing, it comes with the 200 W, 4 speakers, Bluetooth enabled, advanced head unit built-in, with a cell phone holder above it, and allows you to plug your cell phone into the motorcycle and charge it.

The Indian also has remote control locking and unlocking of the tour Pak and saddlebags, as well as keyless starting so long as your key fob is close by.

There are way too many other amenities that I have not included. I absolutely love my Indian Roadmaster.

I’m going to write another part 2 article about the horrendous and outrageously priced service I received for my 500-mile service, and my attempt to get the cruise control fixed, at Indian Motorcycle of Orange soon. This is the same local dealership that did not timely call me back when I tried to buy a motorcycle there.

The reason I’m going to write this article is to warn you all of you about this local dealer, who treated me very poorly, and to I strongly recommend my Biker Law Blog readers not to patronize.

A final word of closing for now, I still love Harley-Davidson don’t get me wrong, but I am now an Indian rider, and I think that many of you once you go check it out will also be an Indian rider. This competition is good because now it will force both manufacturers to produce better motorcycles.

By Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, July 2017.

The post I have switched from Harley Davidson Motorcycles to Indian Motorcycles; Part 1 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.

Enclosed Motorcycle trailer with Phase 1 upgrades done

You may remember reading about my enclosed motorcycle trailer project that you can get to by clicking here.

Phase 1 included adding a 2’ by 12’ strip of diamond plate from the length of the trailer all the way down the ramp door and small ramp, which is about 20’ of diamond plate. I also had the floor surface sanded and had multiple coats of Urethane brushed onto the wood to protect it.

I also had a Biker Bar strapless motorcycle towing system installed in the trailer, and a wheel chock. With the Biker Bar strapless towing system, there is no need for straps to hold the motorcycle in, and the wheel chock is not really needed as well. I added it just in case.

You can see the end result of the phase 1 customization in the pictures in this article. When I go to Sturgis, I will film me riding the bike into the trailer and securing it into the Biker Bar strapless towing system. I think it is totally cool. I am actually going to meet the expert on the Biker Bar over in Sturgis at Black Hills Harley.

Inside of enclosed motorcycle trailer after phase 1 upgrades

Phase 2 is about to begin next week. Originally phase 2 was going to encompass me installing cabinets and racks into the trailer. I will not have time to install everything I want for phase 2 before Sturgis. I have also added a diamond plate trailer tongue box to phase 2. This will be installed next week.

The trailer tongue box will allow me to carry all of my straps, motorcycle cleaning supplies, and other things inside of the box without having to put it in the trailer or the motorhome.

If you look at the stock trailer pictures here, you will see all of the room on the trailer tongue that is where to box will be mounted.

Phase 2 also includes mounting a spare trailer tire inside the trailer, however, I will not order the tire until next Monday.

Next week phase 3 of the trailer project will begin as well which is a custom wrap of my law firm advertisement onto the trailer.

Things are coming along well. I will get as much done before I leave for Sturgis in 10 days.

By California Biker Attorney and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © July 20, 2013

The post The birth of a Custom Enclosed Motorcycle Trailer Part 2 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.

Oatman, AZ on the last day of the Laughlin River Run 2013

I attended the Laughlin River Run 2013 this year as I do most years. The Laughlin River Run is billed as the largest motorcycle and biker rally on the west coast.

This year’s motorcycle rally was different than most past years rallies because the turnout appeared to be smaller than past years rallies, motorcycle club patches and soft cuts were not allowed anywhere near the strip, and there were a gaggle of what I call fake biker lawyers with booths set up at the event just waiting and hoping for those in attendance to refer their motorcycle accident cases to them.

I had for the most part a great time at the event. This was the second major motorcycle rally I have attended in many years, where I drove my motorhome to the motorcycle rally and trailered my motorcycle behind on a motorcycle trailer.

In the past when I rode to motorcycle rallies like this, I basically just rode my motorcycle to the event.

I will tell you that I have learned a valuable lesson in why it is better to take an RV and trailer the motorcycle to major motorcycle rallies. I no longer have to pay 0 a night for hotel rooms and hotels that just wait to poach money off of bikers, I put more miles on my motorcycle at the event than I ever have in the past, and there is much more fun happening at the RV parks than the hotels! I no longer have to worry about squeezing a weeks’ worth of toiletries and clothes onto my motorcycle; it all goes into my RV now.

This year I arrived at my RV Park in Bullhead City, AZ on May 24^th, 2013 and proceeded to set up camp. I put up my Star Spangled Banner, California Republic, and POW/MIA flag above my RV, took the motorcycle off of the trailer, unrolled the awning, and we were ready to rock and roll.

The first thing I saw when I rode my motorcycle to the strip which was just across the river from Laughlin, NV, was an electronic sign stating that no this was a no MC Colors event, soft cuts not allowed, and bait motorcycles were being used to catch thieves.

I do not mind going after motorcycle thieves but I certainly did not like the fact that a major event such as this managed to ban all motorcycle patches from the strip. I think it is a violation of the 1^st Amendment right to Freedom of Speech.

Notwithstanding the affront to motorcycle club members, this year’s event was a great time. There were plenty of fine looking ladies all over. Obviously there were guys for all the gals as well. There was the usual full line up of good bands and plenty of booze all over the place.

Those that know me know that I do not drink alcohol or use drugs. I would rather ride than sit around watching a bunch of bikers get shit faced at the bar.

Ride is exactly what I did throughout the entire event. I put on almost 1000 miles during the 6 days I ended up staying in Laughlin/Bullhead City. I found a road that is off the beaten track near Oatman, AZ called the scenic byway. My companion and I literally owned this road on Sunday. You are basically in the middle of the desert with no contact to the outside world for many miles. It was a great and hot ride.

During the ride in the desert I kept thinking I hope nothing happens to my motorcycle because here I would be up shit’s creek without a paddle. I opted to take a more populated route back to the RV on the way home since it was getting dark.

I managed to win over $70 dollars as well on this trip where ordinarily I always lose at the casinos.

On a down note one of my friends was arrested on Friday night /Saturday morning for Disorderly Conduct and another charge. They were transported from Bullhead City to Kingman, AZ to the county jail there. There was a weekend judge on duty. Suffice is to say I got almost no sleep on Friday night / Saturday morning, and I had to go bail them out on Saturday afternoon and give them a ride back to Bullhead City. Saturday night was spend crashed out in my RV recovering from helping my friend out.

Aside from bailing my friend out and losing Saturday night, I had a good time this year at the Laughlin River Run Motorcycle and Biker Rally. I will be going to many rallies this summer including Sturgis, Las Vegas, and Palm Springs.

See you on the road.

By California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer and Biker Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © May 1, 2013

The post The Laughlin River Run 2013, a Good Time for Most first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

From left to right, Paul Sr., Mikie, and Paul Jr. of American Choppers

Well tonight the last episode of American Chopper was aired and after a 10 year run, the show is finally over.

On August 13, 2012 I paid a little visit to Orange County Chopper and you can read a little post about it by clicking here. I will post extensive video on my trip to OCC later on.

The gist of this article is about the American Chopper show.

I will admit, I have watched the show for the past 10 years and have written several articles about it here in the Biker Law Blog. If you want to read my previous articles go to the search box on the top of the right sidebar and type in American Chopper. A list of the articles I have written will appear.

No matter what you or I think about the motorcycles Orange County Chopper and Paul Junior Designs built over the years, you have to admit, these guys out lasted most of the bike builders that I have become familiar with over the past decade. There is a long list of motorcycle builders including Jesse James who basically disappeared, all the while, Orange County Choppers and American Chopper continued plugging along.

I am not sure if the show was cancelled or the players did not want to be on the show anymore, it seems to me that their entire operation revolved around the show. Who knows if Orange County Choppers and Paul Junior Designs will survive without American Chopper? Maybe the Discovery Channel will do some kind of spin-off.

I am going to miss watching these guys build bikes. What is ironic is that I am I am sure all of you have gone though many things over the 10 years that American Chopper had its run.

I think that the years 2000-2010 consisted of one hell of a biker and motorcycle popularity craze, which the bad economy and other factors has ended. I have seen many acquaintances that I have ridden with over the past 10 years die in motorcycle accidents, disappear, or quit riding motorcycles.

So at least to me with American Choppers going away, it also signals an end of an era to me in my personal life and so on.

The good news is that the biker and motorcycle scene is still going very strong, albeit not as strong as years past. I am going to miss watching America Choppers and the dysfunctional family behind it building funky motorcycles. I am sure they made a small fortune over the past 10 years while entertaining us all.

Good by American Choppers.

• If you or a loved one has been involved in a motorcycle accident anywhere in the State of California, call the real California Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x. 1.

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, © December 18, 2012

The post American Chopper, the end of a 10 year Saga 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.