Naked Goldwing glamour pics

I decided to take some nice pictures of my naked Goldwing motorcycle. I was dissatisfied with all the others I had taken for various reasons, namely:

1. I can see me in the reflection off the chrome or paint. If you look at photos by amateur photographers you often see the photographer, their reflection, or their shadow, or maybe even their finger or feet in the photo. I wanted to do better than that.

2. Extraneous material. I don't like seeing other objects in the photo besides my subject matter. Often when taking snapshots you end up with other motorcycles, other riders, signs, ugly pavement, etc. in the photo. I only want what I choose to be in the frame.

For months now I have been on the lookout for a suitable backdrop for the glamour pictures. I saw an old barn with peeling paint that I thought would work well. This was just a part of good planning, I told myself. Yes it was. The only problem was, I didn't plan other aspects of the shoot so well.

I finished up my repairs and polishing on my motorcycle and out the garage door I went with my camera in my pocket, and my destination in mind. I asked for permission to take my pictures by the barn, and rode out to the exact spot I had spotted. Here is where my lack of planning revealed itself.

The ground was so soft that neither the kickstand, nor the center stand would hold the bike up for more than a second before starting to sink into the ground. I have little plastic plates to rest the kickstand on to remedy this situation, but I didn't think to pack one. So I used my billfold. My credit cards may have been bent a little but they still work, so all is well.

My next blunder was when I tried to start my bike. It wouldn't start. Over the winter I had forgotten that my bike has "tired starter syndrome." There are some things that are good to forget over the winter. It is good to forget all your bad golf swing habits. I am a great golfer the first two or three times I golf each year because I have forgotten my bad habits. After that I begin to think too much, try to compensate, and correct, and then my golf game goes belly up. But I digress.

I have read that "tired starter syndrome" is when your bike will start fine in the garage at home. But after you've ridden for awhile you decide to stop and have an ice cream cone. The bike is hot now and when you go to start the bike the starter has no umph.

More lack of planning.

I however am in the proud possession of a 75 Goldwing which had both an electric start and a kick starter. I thought to myself, "I will just use the kick starter," which I had done successfully in the past. The only problem was, I had removed the kickstarter to make some other repairs and I hadn't put it back in it's little home in the bike. More lack of planning.

I thought, "I'll just call my wife on my cell phone. I'm only a couple of miles from home, she can bring me my kickstarter." The only problem was, my cell phone was on the charger in the kitchen. I hate cell phones and use them as little as possible, but sometimes they are a good thing to have.

Fortunately, when I tried my starter again, it fired up and I made it home without further difficulty. So here are my glamour pictures. Except I think they could be better, so I'll be taking more. Next time I will plan better.