If you’re not already familiar, meet Daniel Huerta. He’s a man with years of experience and expertise in motorcycle tech. He’s the guy you wish you could see if you feel something coming loose – an unidentifiable jingle, an unwelcome rattle – and he’s the guy who will be at Born Free all weekend as Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys® Expert Mechanic, doctors bag in hand, ready to help you.
He’s a Certified Master Technician who has been at the helm of several Harley Davidson dealerships around California and Arizona, instrumental in promoting his current outfit to platinum status. He likes the challenge of taking on a job notorious for stumping others in his field – he’s an Aquarius, if you’re into that kind of thing – and he especially likes the complexity involved in troubleshooting vintage bikes. But to understand why and how he’s set himself apart from his peers, it’s best to start from the beginning. His first bike was a custom job involving innovation from the start: with the help of his father, the two refurbished a 70’s Shovelhead, turning it into a makeshift turf trike using a Jack Daniels barrel as the rear seat. From there, the course was set, and after graduating from MMI, he’s spent the past few years working at various shops including House of Harley and LaidLaws. You may have seen him in the documentary Harlistas: An American Journey, (trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfHxa_kqL-8) or serving as guest judge at Bad Ride.
What initially drew him into the industry was partially what he gleaned at a young age from his father, the bare bones of puzzling together and breaking down a motorcycle, but it was also the larger encompassing brotherhood of riders that kept him involved. The camaraderie shared by riders experiencing things together, going places together – literally – and sharing positive energy fueled by good vibes. What’s kept him involved? The ability to be an individual WITHIN that like minded community, and that combination of freedom of expression, and freedom of mobility was instilled in him in his youth, and remains a big-time motivator.
“In this industry there’s such a large diversity of things you can do to make a life yours…you can be yourself, you can be expressive, you can be a rebel, you can chose to rebel, you can just have a good time,” Dan says. There’s passion there.
Self expression is important to Daniel, and it’s important to a lot of us. This is why his next move is to go back to his roots, back to California, to focus on his original passion of bringing old school bikes back to life. He’s stoked on the current industry trend of reviving vintage bikes, and of a new, younger generation including more and more women getting into the scene, and he’s sure California is at the heart of it. Born Free fires on all of those cylinders, which is why we’re happy to have snagged Daniel this year! He’ll be on staff all weekend, offering his expertise as part of our BAM program to help out with free breakdown assistance. Head to our booth, or find one of our Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys® reps for more info and to sign up!
