Motorcyle and Biker Ride Reports and General Info

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and California Biker Lawyer Website

Deadliest Catch star Phil Harris, died on Tuesday after suffering a stroke while captaining his Cornelia Marie crab fishing vessel late last month.

Film crews were present and filming for the TV series when Phil Harris suffered the stroke. It is unsure if the incident will be edited out of the TV series.

Discovery Channel and Deadliest Catch executive producer Thom Beers are currently discussing plans for a tribute to Harris.

Harris suffered the stroke while the Cornelia Marie was docked on St. Paul Island in Alaska and off-loading on January 29.

The 53-year-old was airlifted to Anchorage where he underwent 12 hours of surgery the following day and was then put in a medically induced coma to reduce brain swelling, but had exited the coma and begun to show signs of recovery early last week.

Beers acknowledged that despite his death, Harris -- who had been part of Deadliest Catch since its first season -- will still be featured in the shows sixth season which began filming last November.

"He'll be a big part of the season and the series, “But this is a huge loss to the series."

However whether the Cornelia Marie -- which resumed opilio crab fishing with relief captain Derek Ray following Harris' stroke -- will remain part of Deadliest Catch going forward is currently undecided, according to Beers.

"The fate and the future of the Cornelia Marie and crew (are) up in the air. I'm flying up to meet with his sons and figure out what to do going forward."

Harris had captained the Cornelia Marie, which he co-owned with Cornelia Marie Devlin, for 19 years and been in the fishing industry for 33 years. However Beers said the captain's relationship with his sons Josh and Jake, who had joined the vessel's crew in recent years, is what he'll remember about him.

"What was fascinating for me was seeing this big rough-and-tumble guy reunited with his sons through work."

"He had to adjust to all of a sudden being a dad again. It was fun to see the trials and tribulations of raising these two boys in a work environment."

Phil Harris was also an avid Biker and not only road a custom motorcycle, but he also had a Harley Davidson. He liked to ride all of the time, especially when the weather was right and he was not on his fishing boat.

Go with God Phil Harris.

You can check out more at the Cornelia Marie website by clicking here.

California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and Biker Lawyer

I went to a party during the holidays where we were supposed to bring a picture of us when we were younger, and everyone would try to guess who was in the picture.

This party prompted me to look at some of my old pictures which I have not seen in years.

While looking through some of the old pictures, I came across this one which is me circa 1984; about 26 years ago, during a time when PC's were just coming out, there was no such thing as the Internet as it is known today, and there was no such thing as scanners.

I was approximately 20 years old in the picture. This picture was taken long before I went to Law School; hell it was before I even went to college. This picture brought back lots of memories when I saw it that is why I am sharing it with you.

This picture was taken in my single apartment in Palo Alto, California (Northern California, Bay Area) by my old lady at the time. The apartment sure looks small in the picture, but we had some great times there. They say everything looks smaller with time.

Notice the vintage black light Harley Davidson poster on the wall in the background.

Well I scanned the picture in and I am now sharing it with you.

During this time, I had an old H.D. Iron Head motorcycle. The only way to get the darn motorcycle started was to basically run with it, jump on it, and pop the clutch. One time while trying to pop the clutch in a parking lot, I popped the clutch before I jumped on, the motorcycle started, and it got away from me. It started to ride by itself in circles in the parking lot in first gear. It literally ran in circles for about 5 minutes before it crashed into the fence. I was not able to jump on because it was going too fast.

Imagine a motorcycle in the San Francisco Bay Area that you had to run and pop the clutch to start! This was a freaking nightmare in some locations where you might be on a one way street facing uphill on one of San Francisco’s famous hilly streets.

Suffices is to say I got rid of the Iron Head shortly after the picture was taken, and bought a Kawasaki 750 which was a much more reliable motorcycle at the time.

Man oh man did I have a great time during the 80’s (90’s too)

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

** 2-11-10 Update - I watched the last American Chopper show and it sucked. There was no mention of the series being cancelled which leads me to believe that the series was cancelled by TLC without any advanced warning or planning. Otherwise they would have done some kind of end of series show.

One of my commenters, "Pirate" is right, this show bit the big one. He mentioned that the economy probably has a lot to do with the downturn in custom motorcycles, and even the Easy Rider show in his area. One of my other commentators "Guru" does not understand why motorcycles are not promoted more as a cheap way to save gas and commute.

Anyway I think that TLC did a disservice to watchers like me. They did not even respect us enough to do a final series show. I think that the Teutul's disrespected us as well by thinking we would continue to watch a series where Paul Jr. and Mikey moped around town designing dog parks, and doing lame comedy routines while their audience wanted to see custom motorcycles being made.

Anyway that is it; I wonder if we will see any other motorcycle type of shows on cable?

Well the TV series American Chopper is suddenly coming to an end; the last show is this Thursday at 9:00pm EST on the Learning Channel.

Many of you may have read the article I wrote about the Teutul family lawsuit here.

I became aware of the fact that the show was ending when I saw a commercial on TLC announcing that the very last show would be this Thursday. I thought it was kind of odd that Paul Jr. was the one announcing the end of the show on the commercial since he was fired by his dad, (see below) and his is being sued by his dad.

I am sure that most of you know that American Chopper is or should I say, was, a very popular show on TLC about the Teutul family and their building custom motorcycles at Orange County Choppers in New York. The show also showcased some heavy duty family fighting.

I firmly believe it was TV shows like American Chopper, Biker Build-off, Motorcycle Mania, etc., that fueled the Yuppie motorcycle craze of the early 2000’s. Love the shows or hate them, they drove motorcycles into the mainstream, and made them more popular than ever.

Now it is almost impossible to find any of the reality based motorcycle shows that were running throughout the early 2000’s.

I myself was a regular watcher of America Chopper, and had it set to record on my digital video recorder automatically. I did not watch it for drama; I watched it because I thought the custom motorcycle build part of the show was pretty cool. I also watched other motorcycle reality TV shows when they were on. I believe that American Chopper is the last of the genre.

Some people may have thought that the show was BS, but in my humble opinion, it was a good watch, something better than let’s say watching some BS game show.

I have been riding motor powered mini-bikes and motorcycles since my dad put me on one at the age of 4 in 1967. I remember having to kick start (or push start) my motorcycles in the 1970’s, and early 80’s. I have been riding well before the yuppie craze started with motorcycles in the 2000’s.

Nonetheless I have nothing against yuppies. I believe the more people on motorcycles, the better. Anyway, getting back to American Choppers, I wonder if this will spell the end for Orange County Choppers. Who knows? Anyway, I will be watching on Thursday as I am sure will all of you, to see what happens, and bid a farewell to a show that gave me enjoyment.

Now I leave you with a clip of the reality that apparently tore the Teutul family apart, Paul Jr.’s firing. Maybe now these guys can pull their heads out of their asses and be a family again.

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

Many of our registered users have been seeing spam comments coming from various vendors such as Ugg Boots, Term Papers, etc.

The spam comments read something like “I enjoyed this post,” while putting in a link to their website to increase their incoming links to better their search engine rankings or so they think.

The Biker Law Blog runs on a B2evolution engine that has robust anti-spam and security measures to ensure that this kind of crap does not go on.

In the past I have had to implement moderation of blog comments because robot spammers were inundating the Biker Law Blog with BS comments. I used Captcha in the past, which is a system that requires you to input numbers and letters on a picture to verify that you are a human. The Captcha system made it more difficult for users to post comments, but it was almost 100% effective in blocking the spammers.

With the latest upgrade to our Blog software, Super Guru Ed, programmer extraordinaire implemented a security system with requires you to read a question, and give a proper response before you can post a comment or send a message. It appears that we now either have a few persons out there that do nothing more but post spam comments to Blogs, or they created a robot to bypass the security system.

I have their analytics and have banned these perpetrators, and reported them to the central B2evolution spam list to be banned by all B2evolution blogs. This was a heavy duty thing for me to do, but enough is enough. I got sick and tired of deleting their spam comments every day or every other day, and I am sure our readers also got sick of seeing their spam comments.

Now for legitimate commenter’s

Look we have a huge registered user community on the Biker Law Blog, as well as a huge visitor base. We are getting well over 100k unique hits every month, with about 85,000 hits in the past 15 days alone.

We will approve all legitimate comments, even if you post a commercial URL in your contact info when you do your comment. Hell sometimes I review products, or users have links to other great products, go ahead and post away. What I am looking for is information or comments that add value to the Biker Law Blog community.

We value all of your legitimate comments and opinions!

The readers of the Biker Law Blog do not want to read outright advertisements or BS spam comments just to get you incoming links to your site.

Let’s keep our shit together Cheech, and keep the comments flowing.

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

*** January 29, 2010 Update - Tomorrow is the big day. My thoughts; Am I crazy for doing this? :) stay tuned.

Well this is my first article of the year 2010. You may have been wondering why I have not posted anything lately; well it has been a hectic month, oh and by the way, I am getting married to my long time fiancé on January 30, 2010. (So long as she signs the 20 something page Prenuptial Agreement:))

First off this has been one hell of a busy month for me as soon as the New Year started.

My law firm handles many types of legal matters. I myself focus on Personal Injury and Family Law matters. My partners and associates handle other types of legal matters. Since the New Year the shit has hit the fan with work; I guess this is a good thing. I am preparing for a major motorcycle accident trial in Northern California, as I also help my other personal injury clients, and family law clients.

As fate would have it, all of this is happening on the month of my wedding. Geez Louise, I had no clue that getting married could be such a friggen nightmare with all of the planning and expenses. I will get to all of this below.

With respect to my bride to be Elizabeth, she is a real dang trooper I will tell you that. She stayed with me through probably one of the longest engagements in history, 9 years.

Heck, we have had our share of problems, and even broke up a few times, for some very short period’s time over the years. In the end, we just could not stay away from each other. We just had to be with each other. Don't ask me to explain because I can't.

How We Met

I met Elizabeth back in early 2001. I used to work out at Bally’s Gym in Chatsworth, CA many times per week. I was what you would call a serious gym rat. When I went to the gym I was very serious about my workouts, and tried to avoid talking to people, because it would interfere with my workouts. For this reason, I would go to the gym late at night about two hours before it closed at around 10:00pm during the week.

At the beginning of my weight lifting day workouts, I used to walk on the treadmill for 5 minutes in the cardio room 3 days per week. On my non weight lifting workout days, I would walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes per day 3 days per week.

While I was walking on the treadmill sometime in the year 2000 or 2001 one day, I noticed a good looking brunette in the mirror, sitting on a recumbent bike machine, peddling slowly, reading a magazine behind me. Since the treadmills were in front of the machine she was on, I saw her by looking at her through the mirror.

It seemed like every day that I went to the gym, I saw this good looking brunette gal sitting on the recumbent bike machine, peddling slowly, reading magazines. She was in my eye as the old saying goes. I noticed that she seemed to know everyone at the gym, many gals and guys would stop by her and talk to her.

I cannot explain it but one day while I was looking at her in the mirror, I knew that we would be together. Mind you, at this point I had never even talked to her, let alone said hello to her. I just knew we were going to be together. Talk about fate; anyway.

One day I got off of the treadmill, and said hello to her as I walked by her. This went on for sometime, day by day. We would just say hello to each other.

Eventually, we started having small conversations. Turns out she is a French Babe, etc. (for those that know me, it is an inside joke :)) I started to really like Elizabeth. At some point I could not wait to see her in the gym. I finally built up the nerve to ask her if she wanted to go out on a date. The rest is history.


Our First Date

When I asked Elizabeth to go out with me on a date, I told her that we would ride my motorcycle to a club in Hollywood. To my surprise she said yes. It takes a special kind of woman to get on the back of a motorcycle. I myself was always petrified to be a passenger on the back of a motorcycle. As it turns out, Elizabeth is a natural. Anyway, getting back to our first date………

When I picked her up for our first date, she looked very nice indeed. She had on some high heel boots, and a nice outfit. She jumped on the back of my motorcycle like she belonged there.

We rode my motorcycle from Chatsworth to Hollywood, CA. During the ride I accidentally brushed my hand up against her leg while she was sitting behind me on the motorcycle. (At least that is what I told her)

When we got to the Rainbow in Hollywood, we shared our first kiss pretty much right after she got off the motorcycle. (I always told her after that date that she was a wild woman!) We had one hell of a fun first date, but I must say that I took my time courting Elizabeth. I was a perfect gentleman with her. That is probably why we are still together after all of this time.

By the way, the day after our first date I discovered that Elizabeth had melted her boots on my brand new Cobra Slash Cut Pipes on the motorcycle. I was sick to my stomach. I spent hours trying get the melted rubber off of the chrome. It never came off.

As it turns out, she had spent hundreds of dollars on those new boots just for our first date. I guess she was looking forward to going out just as much as I was.

Our Engagement Period

Elizabeth has stuck with me through hell and back over the past 9 years. As you can read in many articles on here, she has faithfully stayed by my side and on the back of my motorcycle when most women would say “hell no.” She has ridden on the back of my various motorcycles well over a couple of hundred thousand miles over the years. She has worn my property patch, and been right in the thick of the motorcycle club world even though she is a normie; a normie meaning no experience with the motorcycle world until she met me.

Heck, I remember one time; Elizabeth had some kind of surgery. She was in pain. My brothers were doing the “Halfway Run” up to Fresno, CA. She was supposed to ride in the chase van with one of my brothers, instead, at the first gas stop; she jumped out and got on the back of my motorcycle. She absolutely could not stand not being on the back of my motorcycle. She is that kind of woman. Loyal no matter what.

I have put her through her paces. I would estimate that hundreds if not thousands of bikers and motorcyclist over the past nine years have met Elizabeth as she rode with me to all types of events and biker social settings. Who can forget the time she panicked when we went up on the scissor crane at the Hollister Rally. (She literally freaked out)

When most of my brothers are riding by themselves because their old ladies wanted to stay home, Elizabeth was always behind me on my bike. Anyone who rides with me knows we ride as a team.

She has ridden with me through freezing cold, rain, blistering heat, for thousands and thousands of miles. She is a true shotgun rider and a trooper.

She was even by my side one time when my club was surrounded by another club at the Las Vegas Biker Fest in 2004. She was smart enough to get out of the middle of the circle. The club that surrounded us ending up becoming good friends of mine and we had a late dinner right after the incident. (Luckily one of my brothers put his hand out for a handshake but this is a whole other story)

Elizabeth has been that diamond gal that every man hopes to meet in his life. She is the angel on my shoulder when I want to do something stupid. She gives me encouragement, advice, and pushes me to be my best. The least I can do is marry her right?

As I sit here typing this article, I can literally think of what seems like unlimited times she has been there for me. When I was sick she was there for me, when I had some internet stalkers and whacko’s threatening me, she was there for me, when I expanded my law practice she was there for me. What more can a man want?

Now she is in law school herself. I think we would make a good husband and wife attorney team!

The Pending Marriage

My friends, brothers, and family who know me know that I am not a flashy type of guy. I would be satisfied with a simple wedding in Las Vegas with a few close friends and family.

I do not know what has happened, but my wedding has turned into the Barnum and Bailey circus. Hell, we have the fancy ceremony and reception location, all of the dang planning involved in that. Invitations, photographers, DJ, Officiant, Dress, Tuxedos, cake, guest list, diamond rings, flowers, this and that, even a dam cake topper and serving set.

This is going to probably be one of the fanciest dang weddings of 2010. Our guest list is huge.

Guess who has to pay for all of this?

Hell I told Elizabeth, “I could buy a new top of the line Harley Davidson Touring Motorcycle for cash with what this damm wedding is going to cost me." "I should just get the Harley."

Then again, looking at her pictures above, I think she is worth it :)

So what can I say in 16 days, 6 hours, and 52 minutes as of the writing of this article, I will tie the knot; Mazeltov.

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

I thought I would get your attention. As you all know this is the Biker Law Blog, and I usually discuss all things motorcycle here since I am a California Biker Lawyer.

Well, many of you know I also do all types of Bicycle accident cases in the State of California as well. You did not think that Biker only meant motorcycles did you?

I ran across this wild story about a guy who invented an electric robot to pedal a bicycle instead of powering it from the sprocket like most mopeds or powered bicycles.

Take a look at the above picture. That thing on the back seat is the Robot Joules, which is the actual electric engine on the bicycle. It looks kind of crazy but that thing can pedal the bicycle to about 30 miles per hour.

Below is a link to the article in Popular Science and a video of the Robot in Action. I sure would like to ride down the street with this thing!

The inventor has the robot tuned down to a manageable 90 rotations per minute, however the robot is capable of peddling as fast as a world class bicycle rider.

This thing is awesome. I would love to take this thing on the bike path in Venice Beach. I know this thing would draw lots of attention, especially from the beautiful gals. :)

I Check out the Popular Science article below.

Click here to go to the article and details about this Robot in Popular Science.

By California Bicycle Accident Attorney and Lawyer, Esq., © 2009

As I type this article I am thinking about the many motorcycle accident victims, the motorcycle passenger accident victims, the car accident victims, the truck accident victims, the slip and fall victims, and other personal injury victims whom I represent all over the State of California.

The life of a personal injury attorney is not easy, especially when you care about your clients.

I just got back from Redding, California where the deposition of one of my motorcycle accident clients took place. His life has been utterly devastated by a rear ender motorcycle accident. As a fellow biker I truly feel for him. I saw the tears well up in his eyes as he described how the motorcycle accident ruined his life in the deposition.

In the San Francisco airport on the way home, I spoke to the brother in law of a man who was killed while riding his Honda Goldwing, when a woman decided to turn right in front of him. His family is devastated. All he was doing was riding his motorcycle.

As I got in my car at the Los Angeles International Airport, I was informed by my staff that we finalized a very large settlement for a client who suffered massive injuries when a cager turned in front of his motorcycle in the San Fernando Valley.

While sitting in traffic on the way home after hours, I consoled a client who was massively injured in another motorcycle accident in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In my firm the above is the tip of the iceberg and only describes a little about what I do on a daily basis.

My job and my career as a personal injury attorney is to help those who are injured, and those whose family members have suffered a wrongful death. I help people on a daily basis.

While most people celebrate the holiday’s and are oblivious to the suffering of some, there are many out there who are not so fortunate.

I would like to send prayers out to all of my personal injury clients during this holiday season. This may sound corny, but I feel your pain, I suffer with you, I will endeavor to see that you get the very best medical attention; I will do everything in my power to get you the compensation you deserve. You are not alone.

Happy Holidays from the Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates

The consummate Biker Song of all time! I do not know about you, but this song sure does get my dander up for a ride!

California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and Biker Lawyer

*** 11/14/09 Update - Since I posted this video, embedding has been disabled. You will need to press the watch on youtube link within the button to watch the video. That sucks!

Here is a video from the movie Easy Rider. Every biker that I know of will be able to relate to this video. We all may ride different types of motorcycles. However in the end, this is what it is all about.

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

From the Biker Law Blog, I would like to wish all of our nation’s veterans a happy Veterans Day.

Veterans Day is a day to honor all of those of who have served in our nations armed forces. Thank you all veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the Coast Guard.

I myself served in the Air Force and then the California Air National Guard.

I was recently at an event in another State where there was a Marine official function going on. I saw our proud marines all dolled up in their dress uniforms with their medals on. They looked real young. I got a bit choked up as I thanked them for their service. It appeared to me that all of these young men are veterans of the current war going on.

There is a war going on right now; young men and women are fighting and dying for our freedom as I type this.

This is a day to honor our nation’s veterans and our nation’s heroes.

May god be with you, and god bless America.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

Actor Brad Pitt, who was involved in a motorcycle accident this past week in Los Angeles, California was reportedly wrecked at a red light by a stalking paparazzi.

The New York Daily News originally reported that the movie star was "hit by paparazzo while riding motorcycle in Los Angeles", quoting TMZ as the source.

According to the report, "the bike was thrust forward into another car, causing him to lose his balance."

Shortly after reports went viral, spreading across media outlets everywhere, TMZ.com posted a correction to the story, saying on their site they had more "factual" news after seeing the wreck video.

"We just spoke to someone who has seen video of the incident - and we're told absolutely no one else was involved in the accident."

Furthermore, they wrote "We're told Brad tried to maneuver his bike between a parked car and a car stopped at a red light, and his handlebars clipped the parked car," the site explains. "He lost control and fell over."

Adding, still, the star's health goes undisturbed. "Everything is fine," the report adds.

California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and Biker Lawyer

*** 11/12/09 Update, Swine flu has sickened about 22 million Americans since April and killed nearly 4,000, including 540 children, say startling federal estimates released Thursday. Get a shot if you can!

*** 10-25-09 Update. All of the mild flu like symptons from the shot are gone after 1 day. This shot is no big deal. I hope it works!

My fiancé and I woke up early this morning, October 24, 2009 to go to Granada Hills, California to get our Swine Flu shots. After waiting for about an hour and a half, we were vaccinated. So far the vaccine feels just like the normal flu shot vaccine, it makes you feel a little bit like crap. It sure is better than getting the full blown Swine Flu I will tell you that.

This morning as we were leaving to go get the Swine Flu shot, I heard the announcement that President Obama had declared a nation wide emergency with respect to the Swine Flu. In my 46 years on this earth, I have never heard a President of the United States of America declare a national emergency for any illness. This declaration made my resolve to get the Swine Flue shot more firm. If the President is declaring a national emergency, he must know something we don’t. I would highly suggest that all you of reading this go out and get your Swine Flu shot!

With respect to how my fiancé and I were able to get some of the first doses that have become available in the nation; it is real simple; The County of Los Angeles in the State of California really came through for us and many thousands of people so far.

I first heard yesterday that The County of Los Angeles had received about a million of the rare Swine Flu vaccines, and were making them available for free at many different locations in Los Angeles County. Here is a link to where you can go in Los Angeles County to get your Swine Flu Shots, Click Here.

When we got to the Granada Hills Park where County employees were dolling out the Swine Flu Shots, and the Swine Flu Nasal Vaccines, there was a big line, but probably not as long as a Disneyland ride. There were old people, young people, pregnant women, children, you name it.

I cannot say enough great things about the employees of the County of Los Angeles. They were courteous, empathetic, helpful, polite, professional, and saving angels during this flu pandemic. They could have been rude, cold, and uncaring. Instead, they seemed to know that what they were doing would save lives. They took pregnant ladies, old people, and people unable to stand in line to the front to get their shots, and they served all of us Angelinos with a smile.

Therefore to you employees of Los Angeles County, you all get my Biker Law Blog top Medal for your service today.

Now with respect to the actual shot itself, as of the writing of the article, it has been about 10 or so hours since I got the shot. I do feel a little like crap, but I feel the same way after a normal flu shot.

We all know that there will not be enough shots to go around this year so I strongly suggest that you go out and get a Swine Flu shot as soon as possible. The only way to kill out a virus such as this is to deny it hosts. The H1N1 Swine Flu virus is a new virus that has never been seen on earth before. This means that none of us have ever had to fight off this bug before. It means we have no immunity to it.

You may have heard that the virus affects the young, pregnant women, and people with chronic illnesses more than others, but guess what; no one told the virus that. I don’t think the virus will be checking ID’s to see if you are in the high risk group; everyone is at risk.

Do the right thing; get the shot for you and your loved ones. If I end up getting sick I will let you all know; hopefully!

By California Biker Attorney and California Motorcycle accident Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, © 2009

I recently read an article by Steve Parker of the Huffington Post which painted a bleak picture of Harley Davidson’s current, present, and future financial situation.

He cited an October 15, 2009 press release which stated:

"Worldwide retail sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles declined 21.3 percent in the third quarter compared to last year's third quarter, an improvement from the 30.1 percent decline in this year's second quarter. An 84.1 percent decline in net income and an 84.5 percent decline in diluted earnings per share from the year-ago quarter reflected lower motorcycle shipments and the effects of the economy on retail and wholesale loan performance at Harley-Davidson Financial Services."

He also discusses Harley Davidson’s shut down of the East Troy, WI factory where Buell sport bikes are manufactured putting 180 people out of work. This adds to the 1,100 factory workers that Harley Davidson laid off in January 2009.

He also discusses the fact that Harley Davidson purchased Agusta Motorcycles of Italy for $109 million dollars in 2008 before the depression hit. Augusta also builds Cagiva motorcycles. Now Harley Davidson is looking to sell Augusta.

Steve’s article is downright disparaging of bikers and motorcyclist such as me who buy and ride Harley Davidson’s. He makes an analogy comparing Harley Davidson’s to Hummer’s, by stating (in his words not mine)

“Harley-Davidsons, like Hummers, are overpriced, overweight and overwrought. Buyers who wanted a Harley would accept nothing less, though, similar to Hummer buyers, and with fast and easy cash pouring through the economy starting in the 1980s and continuing through the end of 2008, the bikes sold in record numbers.

The company even established a modern image while still considered ruffian and gangster-like, something H-D does little to downplay in its advertising or even on its website.

Many recent owners probably would never have bought a H-D if "bigger is better" vehicles didn't become a symbol of success in those phony mortgage-backed security years.

Is a Harley-Davidson nothing but a two-wheel Hummer? And is that necessarily a bad thing”

I think Steve is over reaching and full of crap in this regard. I myself do not ride a Harley Davidson for status. I love my Electra Glide and there is no comparable motorcycle like it on the market. A Honda Goldwing does not have enough leg room, and the other big touring bikes do not compare. Anyway, I am getting off subject here.

Steve goes on to cite the fact that the Love Ride was cancelled this year as a basis for his article which paints a bleak future for Harley Davidson.

He states that “But as it has for Hummer and other American motoring products including Plymouth and Saturn, the economy seems ready to come down on Harley-Davidson.”

Although there are some disparaging remarks about bikers and motorcyclist in Steve Parker’s article, it is a good read and raises some serious issues to contemplate with respect to whether Harley Davidson will survive the current depression.

You can read his article at The Huffington Post by clicking here.

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

U.S. motorcycle maker Harley Davidson reported a smaller-than-expected profit Thursday, sending its shares lower in premarket trading, as the economy's slow recovery weighed on bike sales.

The company plans to discontinue its Buell product line and sell its MV Agusta unit, essentially exiting the sport bike market. It expects to book $125 million in one-time costs associated with the moves.

The company plans to discontinue its Buell product line and sell its MV Agusta unit, essentially exiting the sport bike market. It expects to book $125 million in one-time costs associated with the moves.

Harley-Davidson's third-quarter profit tumbled 84 percent to $26.5 million, or 11 cents a share, from $166.5 million, or 71 cents, a year earlier. Sales fell 21 percent to $1.12 billion.

Analysts, on average, expected the Milwaukee-based company to report a profit of 21 cents a share on sales of $1.1 billion.

Retail sales of new Harleys skidded 21.3 percent during the quarter. In the United States, the company's biggest market, retail sales of the company's bikes fell 24.3 percent from the year-earlier period.

The company's finance unit, meanwhile, reported an operating loss of $31.5 million as a result of higher provisions for credit losses in both the retail and wholesale portfolios as well as increased interest expense.

Its shares were down 3.4 percent at $25.36 in premarket trading.

Harley Davidson has been through tough times before. They have been around a long time. I am sure that Harley Davidson will make it through these tough economic times as well.

By California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer and Biker Attorney

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

California Biker Attorney and California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

The single largest one day motorcycle event in the country, the Love Ride has been cancelled this year due to lack of funds.

This year would have been the 26th consecutive year that the Love Ride was held. The organizers of the event state that the event raised money for over a dozen charities including the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Special Olympics of Southern California, and Children’s Hospitals of Los Angeles.

The founder of the event Oliver Shokouh, the owner of Glendale Harley Davidson stated that it was a gut wrenching decision for him. He stated that this has absolutely nothing to do with the Love Ride staff, volunteers or organizers. He stated that everyone has worked hard for the past 25 years. He stated that their problem boiled down to the economy, and that the Love Ride is a victim of the recession. He stated that after a careful analysis over the past few months, they realized that ticket sales were not enough to offset costs; there was no money left over to help with the kids, the reason for the Love Ride.

As I found at about this cancellation on Wednesday evening, October 7, 2009, the first thing I thought about was that the Love Ride had grown too big for its britches, meaning, that the ticket prices were to much, and the event lost its luster.

In past years the event was held in December during the Christmas season. Tens of thousands of bikers would meet in Glendale in the morning, in front of Glendale Harley Davidson, listen to a concert, and then ride to Castaic where all of the vendors were camped out. There would be food and a good concert. The even raised a million dollars for charity.

Last year they changed the event to be in October from December; probably a bad move. Reno Street Vibrations was just a few weeks ago, Las Vegas Bikerfest was just last week, the Palm Springs Biker Rally is just around the corner, and well you get the picture. Secondly, instead of riding from Glendale to Castaic, they changed the event to the Los Angeles County fairgrounds. Basically the Love Ride went from a grass roots event to raise money for charity, to a huge monster at the Los Angeles County fairgrounds.

In my opinion, the Love Ride can and should come back, and it will, if they go back to their roots. Bring back the event in December; don’t pay big name performers to appear, hell garage bands will do, lower the price of tickets back to a reasonable level, let’s say $35.00 or $40.00 for couples, $25.00 or $30.00 for singles, and people will come back.

This is the way I see it.

Above you will see a picture of me at Love Ride 17, right in the front of the stage listening to Steppenwolf. It was a great day.

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

I installed these grips on my Harley Davidson Electra Glide back in May of 2007. I am just now finally getting around to writing my review over two years later. It has been two years of great riding, and the grips are no worse for wear.

First off I have used Kuryakyn Premium ISO Grips on various motorcycles that I have owned for the last decade. I have used these grips not only on my Harley Davidson Electra Glide, but also on some Japanese cruisers I have owned as well.

As far as I am concerned, there is no other more comfortable and good looking grip on the market from any company, and for any motorcycle. No, I am not a paid spokesman for Kuryakyn. These grips to me are a mandatory upgrade.

I have used stock grips, Buffalo grips, and other types of grips. Nothing compares to the Kuryakyn ISO grips. They are wider than most stock grips which make them easier to hang on to, and the rubber pads on the grips really help out on long runs. With respect to aesthetics, they look awesome.

I have seen some guys with totally chrome grips. All I can say is that they must not ride far. Without good soft grips your hands will be going numb and hurting in no time at all. The Buffalo grips literally chewed my hands up, even with gloves on.

With respect to installation of these grips, I am only going to discuss the installation on my Harley Davidson Electra Glide in this article.

I am a biker lawyer and a motorcycle accident attorney here in California. I am no mechanic by any means. If you read through the Biker Law Blog, you can see that I am a proficient bolt on accessory type of guy to a certain extent, but I sure am no wrench head. What I am trying to say is that if I can do the install, anyone should be able to do the install.

I ordered and installed the Kuryakyn Premium ISO Grips for the Harley Davidson with the dual throttle cable controls, part number 6212. There are also Kuryakyn Premium ISO Grips for metric bikes, and the new Harley Davidson wire guided (electronic) system. Click here to see the grips that I ordered.

Rather than re-write the installation instructions for these babies, you can read them by clicking here now.

Now I must admit the installation of these babies was much worse than the installation of the Kuryakyn Premium ISO Grips on my metric cruisers. On the Harley Davidson, you first have to loosen the throttle cable, the throttle housing is kind of a bitch to open enough to get the two throttle cables out, and there are brass ferrule’s which connect the end of the throttle cables into the housing which are a real bitch to work with. I dropped one and almost could not find it.

After you get everything together, you have to remove your air cleaner to adjust the throttle cable.

On top of everything else, you have to pull open the brake lever a bit, and put a shim into the slot on the back of the lever that opens otherwise you can do damage to the switch inside.

I will tell you one thing, I was so excited to get these things installed, that I did not fully realize how difficult the installation would be on a Harley Davidson as opposed to the metric cruisers.

Unless you are a mechanic, I strongly suggest that for this installation, you take the motorcycle to a Harley Davidson dealer, or a 3rd party Harley Davidson mechanic, and let them do the install. It took me quite a bit of time, whereas a trained mechanic could probably get these things on in a half hour or less.

Suffice is to say, I got the grips on. I did however have a hard time adjusting the throttle. I even got to a point where the throttle return was not adjusted correctly and the throttle started sticking. I have long since fixed the problem.

If you are using the fly by wire setup on the 2008 and 2009 Harley Davidson models, don't worry, the installation is super simple because you don’t have to worry about any cables. Click here to see a video of how simple they are to install.

The throttle boss is a device that connects towards the end of the grip and allows you to either use your fingers or palm to throttle up rather than constantly having to hold the grip. You can see what it looks like in the top picture above. It is the piece at the end of the grip that sticks out. I have been riding with the throttle boss for so long now that I probably would have to get used to a motorcycle without it.

I give these grips a huge thumbs up! I recommend them for anyone that wants a comfortable ride, and good looks to boot.

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

You may have noticed that the last couple of articles on here have dealt with horrendous motorcycle accidents and crashes. Unlike most of you; my dealing with motorcycle accidents on a daily basis as a biker lawyer and motorcycle accident attorney takes its toll on me mentally, meaning sometimes I think of my clients and their accidents while I ride my Harley Davidson Electra Glide. It is kind of like a mind fuck.

However, after a few miles the bad thoughts leave my mind and I enjoy the ride. Handling motorcycle accident cases throughout California makes me extra careful when I ride, but that is a story for another article.

Lately I have been caught up with both my parents having serious medical issues, my fiancé starting law school, and then herself having a potential serious medical issue pop up, and of course working my clients cases here at the firm. I have not had as much time to ride this summer as I usually do.

However, over the last couple of weeks, I have managed to squeeze in a couple of really decent rides. Last weekend, I jumped on my Harley and rode from Chatsworth, to Palmdale, and then to Lompoc, CA to participate in a Karate Tournament with Grandmaster Vic LeRoux in Lompoc, CA. It was one hell of a long one day turn-around ride, and a great ride if you know what I mean.

The Lompoc run is a great run. Lompoc is above Santa Barbara near Vandenberg A.F.B. off of Highway 1. The only problem with this run that is that lately the traffic has been real bad south of Santa Barbara. They are doing construction or something. I have had to split lanes every time I have done this run all summer on the 101. It really kind of sucks, especially when a big rig truck driver purposefully cuts over so that you cannot pass him in the split. I discussed what happened in an article I wrote below.

Last night; Saturday night, I rode with my fiancé to Hollywood to attend a benefit for a friend in need of surgery. Although it was not a long ride, it was a fun ride, except for being followed by a Los Angeles Sheriffs cruiser for about a mile and a half on Santa Monica Blvd. Hell here I am a law abiding attorney, nothing at all to worry about if I am stopped, I am clean and sober, no tickets at all on my record, and this Sheriffs cruiser is following me for no reason at all other than the fact that I am a biker on a Harley Davidson in Hollywood at 2:00am. I wanted to pull over and just ask him “what the fuck,” but obviously I am not that stupid.

On the way to Hollywood, I ate crow a few times to get out of the way of asshole tailgaters who got way to close to me from behind. Unlike some, my ego is not so big as to put my ass on the line and stay in front of a tailgater who is behind me, just because I have the right of way. In any car v. motorcycle scenario, the motorcycle loses. Yes, I was pissed, but I let the car drive by after I switched lanes, took a couple of deep breaths, and everything was good.

My fiancé and I cruised my old stomping grounds in Hollywood. I lived in Hollywood for about 10 years, including my entire time in law school. I must say that there seems to be many more clubs and much more foot traffic on Hollywood Blvd. then there used to be. I think they have cleaned it up quite nicely.

We ended the night or I should say morning at the world famous Jerry’s Delicatessen on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City. There is nothing like Matzo Ball soup and coffee to end a great evening on. If you want to see celebrities, this is the place to go.

Unlike non bikers, we bikers and motorcyclist have a secret that the rest of the world only dreams about; we have our motorcycles to give us therapy. When shit hits the fan in our lives, all we have to do is jump on our trusty motorcycles and take a ride. I am not talking about posers who jump on their bike to ride a few blocks to a bar, or to ride a few miles to hang out at some event and pose, I am talking about really riding.

Riding a motorcycle at least for me, is one of the most pleasurable things I have in my life. I only wish that god will continue to give me great health and faculties so that I can continue to ride motorcycles for the rest of my life.

At the top of this article you can see a video I took with my fiance's phone at the Roxy Theater on Saturday night on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, California. Unfortunately the audio got jacked up by the phone. You can however see that it was a great time!

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

Yes you heard that right. On Saturday there was a massive accident involving almost 30 motorcycles on the I-5 in the State of Oregon. I read about this accident just before I was about to ride my motorcycle to Lompoc, California for a Karate tournament.

The injured bikers were members of a motorcycle club who were riding together in standard two column (side by side) or “coffin” formation.

From the news reports that I have read and watched, it appears that one or two SUV’s in front of the motorcyclist either intentionally hit their brakes with no traffic in front of the SUV, or suddenly hit their brakes because of slowing traffic in front of them.

This caused a chain reaction pile up accident, or domino effect as the bikers apparently had no time to stop or get out of the way.

Many of the bikers were injured, and two were critically injured and were airlifted out.

From the news reports that I read, there were motorcycles scattered all over the freeway.

I have ridden in many packs of motorcycles, and what happened in this accident is everyone’s nightmare scenario. If the witness reports turn out to be true, and the SUV intentionally hit its brakes, then this would be attempted murder as far as I am concerned.

Some of you may be thinking that stuff like this does not happen, well it does. I had a client report to me today that a car load of what looked to him like street gang thugs, tried to hit him in the head with a baseball bat as he was riding his motorcycle in Los Angeles a few days ago. They were in a truck.

Hell, as I was riding yesterday, splitting lanes just before Santa Barbara going north on the 101, some asshole big rig truck driver must have saw me riding up, and purposefully moved his rig left to close off the center lane just so I could not pass. Had I been next to him, he would have taken me out. Other motorist saw what he did because they honked and one guy flipped off the big rig truck driver. It took me about 30 seconds before I could finally pass the guy. He was glaring at me as I looked up at his rig. What was this asshole thinking?

For some reason, some motorist do not think that bikers and motorcyclist have the right to ride on the roads, as everyone else, and they seem to get off on trying to take us out.

Now I do not know why the SUV’s braked in the case of the 30 motorcycle vehicle accident which is the subject of this article and op. ed. , but if it was on purpose to cause an accident, the drivers should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

What can be done to ensure safety while riding your motorcycle in a pack like this? The main thing that can be done is to ensure that the Road Captain, or the one leading the ride, makes sure that there is enough distance between the pack, and traffic in front of the pack to stop in case the vehicles in front suddenly stop. I wrote an article on group riding which you can read by clicking here now. My main rule is that the lead riders should not under any circumstances tailgate cars or other vehicles in front of the pack. There needs to be ample room. I have been in packs where the Road Captain was tailgating, and I just sat there waiting for the car to hit their brakes. I hate to be in the middle of a pack, I would rather be in the front, or rear, preferably the rear!

In a tight pack, everyone must use hand signals so that the people in back know what is going on to prevent just this type of scenario.

I am not saying that this accident could have been prevented, especially if the SUV purposefully hit the brakes to cause this accident, but there are things that can be done to make rides safer for riders in a group.

If you want to read a story about this accident that does not seem to be biased about the club members in this accident you may click here now to read it and watch a video about the accident.

May god be with the injured bikers and motorcyclist who were involved in this accident, and their family members. Bikers and Motorcyclist are human beings and deserve respect just like anyone else.

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

Just when you thought the infamous cash for clunkers program was dead, Indian Motorcycle has just announced their own version of the cash for clunkers program. Indian will offer $3,000 for your old clunker when you trade-in an old bike towards a new 2009 Indian Chief.

What is the catch? The trade in must be street legal, 100cc or larger motorcycle in running and ride-able condition; NO mopeds, scooters, or dirt bikes are eligible. Trade-in must have a clear title.

This program cannot be used in conjunction with any other program. Indian Motorcycle reserves the right to alter or terminate this program at anytime at their sole discretion and without notice.

All I can say about this program is wow! Imagine getting $3,000.00 for your old motorcycle on a new Indian Chief!

Head to the nearest Indian dealer and check out the Chief.

By Biker Lawyer and Motorcycle Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, © 2009

One June 13, 2009, one week before my 46th birthday, my fiancé drove me to my house to pick up my Harley Davidson Electra Glide so that I could ride it to our new home. Well, I decided to take a major detour so to say…… You know how it is :)

I heard that the Angeles Crest Highway to Wrightwood, which has been closed for basically the past 4-5 years was recently repaired and finally reopened.

This is one of my favorite runs of all time, and it is local. I thought that with the budget crisis in California, and the severity of how the road was washed out during storms many moons ago, that there was a possibility of never being able to do this run again in my lifetime. I have heard people spouting off about roads with twisties; well let them ride the Angeles Crest and tell me what they think!

I shot the below first person perspective video with my cell phone camera, a Samsung Memoir, in one hand, and holding on to the throttle with the other. I do not ever recommend anyone ever trying this or doing this at home. Although I am a motorcycle accident attorney and a biker lawyer, I have been riding motorcycles for over 30 years and let’s just say that I think I am a decent rider.

The beginning of the video shows some video of the staging area, a traditional stop before Newcomb’s Ranch, Newcomb’s Ranch, my secret spot at 8,000 feet above sea level, and then some kick ass first person riding footage. The end of the movie is kind of a surprise.

Tell me what you think!

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

Growing up here in Southern California, especially in the San Fernando Valley, and living many years in Hollywood, I could not help but being in the middle of the celebrity scene as a kid and as an adult. I am not going to sit here and talk about who I know, who I have hung out with, or who I have partied with. Let’s just say I am from here, and I grew up here. I have been right in the middle of the action so to say.

With that being said, it has been one hell of a shitty week for me, and fans all over the nation and the globe because this week we have lost 3 icons in the entertainment industry; Michael Jackson, Farrah Facett, and Ed McMahon. You can read things about each of them all over the Internet written by entertainment industry experts.

You may wonder why I am posting an article about three celebrities who have died, and that are seemingly unrelated to motorcycles or bikers here on the Biker Law Blog; it is simple, each of these three celebrities have touched me in some way in my life, and I offer my forum to pay tribute to each of them.

Michael Jackson, controversial as he was, was one hell of a singer and entertainer who transcended race. I remember as a kid listening to the Jackson 5, and his other musical hits later on. Yes I am into Rock & Roll, but I am also in to other music as well. Lot’s of entertainers try to emulate Michael Jackson, but let’s face it; no one has or will come close! CLICK HERE TO SEE AND HEAR MICHAEL JACKSON; ONE HELL OF AN ENTERTAINER.

Farrah Fawcett, well all I can say about her is that I was in love with her from the first moment I saw her poster. She was absolutely fine. I remember all of the San Fernando Valley Girls (Valley Girls) feathering their hair trying to emulate her. As a matter of fact, all of us dudes were doing the same thing in the 70’s. Hell my ex wife still feathers her hair the same way. Farrah was one hell of a female specimen who again has been emulated but will never be duplicated.

Ed McMahon was one funny dude. As a kid I grew up watching the Tonight Show. Obviously Johnny Carson was funny as hell, but Ed McMahon cracked me up. He was the unique sidekick that basically formed the other half of the tonight show. He was and is revered by millions.

It has been one horrible week here in Southern California. May our celebrities go with god.

By Motorcycle Accident Attorney and Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez

Well here I am again, another birthday, I am now 46 years old. I must admit, it seems like the birthdays come much faster now than they used to. I guess I can finally accept the fact that I am getting old.

I have heard the bullshit about how the new 40 is the old 30, and the new 50 is the old 40. I have also heard the bullshit about "you are as only old as how you feel."

Bottom line, I ain’t what I used to be at 30, and there is no getting my youth back. I do feel great, but I am still getting older, and no bullshit saying is going to change that, so I am going to make the best of it, I have no choice right.

Hell, I am probably in much better shape than most 46 year old men. I am clean and sober. I gained some weight when I quit smoking over a year and a half ago, which I have since lost. I am now down to the same weight that I was when I played High School Football at Chatsworth High School. I work out six days a week and do 50 minutes of cardio each of the six days. On the seventh day of rest I still walk 30 minutes. I also practice martial arts and do Tai Chi as well. God willing, my body will hold up, and I will continue to be able to work out, because working out makes me feel great and is a great stress reliever.

Looking back at the past, I am not going to bullshit you; I would change a lot if I could. Many people say they would not change a thing in their past because it is what made them who they are today. I think they are BS’ing themselves. In the end there is no going back and changing your past. All you can do is try to learn from your past mistakes so that you do not repeat them, and move on.

I have had one hell of a life so far. I grew up much faster than most people. You can read a little about my past by reading what I wrote on my 45 birthday by clicking here.

This past year has been excellent. God has been real good to me. There have been some rough spots, but all in all it has been a good year. I know the economy sucks and many people are hurting. My business has suffered as well this year. Happiness is much more then just money, it is your relationships with people that count.

As I contemplate beyond today, all I can say is that the future looks good. I am going to try to make each day that I have on earth day count for something. What really gets me off is helping people; that is why I became an attorney in the first place. God willing, I hope to help many people this year.

It is now June 20, 2009. I was born at 9:21pm, 46 years ago tonight. Another birthday has come and gone. I am hoping to have one hell of a good ride tomorrow with friends.

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

Today, Memorial Day, is a holiday wherein we Americans pay tribute to those who what fallen in the service of the United States of America.

Today is more than a paid holiday off of work; it is more than a day to drink beer and have a picnic; it is more than a shopping day for sales at your local mall; it is supposed to be a solemn day of tribute and remembrance of those who have given their lives in the service of the United States of America.

As I write this in the year 2009, young Americans are still at war and fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, may god bless them and keep them safe.

I know it is very easy to worry about the economy, home foreclosures, raising gas prices, love, job, or lack thereof, you favorite TV show, the NBA playoffs, etc. However, remember this, young Americans, the best and the brightest, are now at this time on this very day, giving their all for all of our freedom.

Take a moment today to pray for them, take some time today to give silence as tribute to them, and above all, look at something beautiful today for them, those blessed souls who gave their lives for us, for they can no longer see.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2009