When you buy a new motorbike, you should always strive to have that brand new look because it improves how you experience the motorbike as well as how it looks. Choose from the following polishes that are guaranteed to make your bike the best looking girl on road:

1.     Muc-off Miracle Shine: If you want your motorbike to have that supermodel glossy finish, you need to use this polish. Made from a mixture of unique ingredients, this miracle shine includes polymers, which are the particles used to create a high gloss finish. Use this shine if you want to have a glossy look, if you are taking your motorbike to a bike show for example.

2.     Finish Line Showroom Polish: Get that mega-watt look with this polish. Not only does it make your motorbike look brilliant in the light, it also protects your bike so it works as a double duty sealant and polisher. Choose this polisher if you are looking for value for money.

3.     Holts Motorcycle Chrome and Aluminimum Polish: For industrial efficiency, this is the polish that you should choose. If you use your motorbike every day to take you to work, you need to make sure it looks smart. You can get a lot out of this particular polish without using loads in one go because it is made from a rich blend. In particular, it definitely has value for money because it lessens the amount of oxidisation that chrome and aluminimum endure as the motorbike ages. Another fantastic element of this polish is it also minimises the effect of rust, which can affect how you can even use your motorbike. If you are on a budget, this is the perfect polish to choose for your motorbike.

4.     Autosol Metal Polish: Taking care of the stainless steel and copper parts of your motorbike will no longer be a strain when you choose this polish from Autosol. With a bargain price for such a fantastic product, your stainless steel bike parts will work beautifully as you take your bike out to ride it.

5.     Castrol Bike Polish Motorcycle Cleaner: Castrol is a brand that knows a thing or two about motors. This polish is no different – it protects the paintwork of your motorbike from weather and general wear and tear.

When the first scouting tours took place in 1980 the team was a small one: Coral and Werner Wachter. Since then the team has grown.

I had a look at their Central Europe tours: yummy!

DATES: June, July, August, September
START/FINISH: Munich
DURATION: 10 day vacation, 8 riding days
ROUTE: Total distance 1160-1370 miles (1870- 2200 km).
Daily rides 73 – 175 miles (116- 280 km).
On good asphalt roads.
ACCOMMODATION: Comfortable middle-class hotels with a special Alpine touch.
REST DAY: Bolzano
SPECIAL FEATURES: The route includes all famous mountain passes in the Western Alps.
Alps Riding Training: On this tour we optionally offer a full-day training and safety course.
HIGHLIGHTS: Lucerne, Matterhorn, Lugano, Lakes Maggiore and Como, Lake Garda, Dolomites, roads and passes of the Western Alps

the Alps: the perfect play ground for demanding motorcyclists
5 countries in 8 days – Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Italy
Motorcycle Roads for every taste: narrow and curvy or wide and sweeping
on two wheels we climb the highest and most spectacular mountain passes of Switzerland

More info here.

The good news is that there is software that can process hundreds of pictures at a time – simply add an entire folder, apply the filters and the software will process all the pictures in one shoot. I’m reviewing today BatchPhoto – a fast editing software.

BatchPhoto review

Using batchphoto is a breeze. It has a powerful 3 steps wizard that helps you pass through all the processing steps. The application has 39 graphical filters that can be applied on the photos, and is quite versatile.

Using BatchPhoto

Once you start the application, the wizard will pop-up and let you make the initial settings for the batch of photos. You can select the initial filter to apply (you can add more later). When I came back from the Moldavia Bikers Party in Bacau, so I have around 170 pictures to process, making them smaller size for web usage and applying automatic contrast. Here is how to do it:

BatchPhoto Wizard Step 1

Using the wizard to select the initial filter – resize the pictures for Online usage (click on the picture to see a bigger version):

For this project I selected “shrink photos, resize for uploading online”. Next step is to add the pictures that you want resized. I usually delete all the pictures I don’t want right after downloading them from the camera, so it was quite easy – you can upload an entire folder.

Once all pictures are in place, you should go and select additional filters from the left menu “Add Filters”. You have around 40 filters to apply, from adding a border to each picture, sharpening, blur, to add date and time. I wanted to add a black border 1 pixel to each picture, and also adjust the color levels automatically:

From the same page you can choose how the edited files will be renamed (good idea, so you know which ones are edited and which are not). On the next step you can choose the output folder – either the same as the source or different – recommended so you don’t mix up files.

You are almost done! Click process, and Batchphoto will apply the filters on the pictures and save a new version!

Check for yourself – everything is quite easy, and you can test by downloading Batchphoto trial.

Since then, I got into motorcycles, and guess what: I bought my first books on Honda Motorcycles – learning a little bit about the history, seeing the pictures of the first bikes and their evolution in time.

Not sure if you know, but I own a Honda CB750 Nighthawk, which is the descendant of the famous CB750 launched by Honda in ’69 that changed the way bikes are today. So you can imagine I went directly there and see how the original looked. Also, the Honda story is a nice story about people passion on bikes, and how they developed an empire from nothing (here kicks in my entrepreneurship background).

So here is my latest book I’ve read: 250 full color photos that get you through the entire Honda motorcycle history, with collector pricing and technical specs:

Honda Motorcycles The Ultimate Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Every Honda Motorcycle Ever Built

The book gets even better if you read it with a beer by your side, and it’s a must when bragging about your motorcycle knowledge to your Honda fellow riders!