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Motorcycle Views Newsletter for 06/07/2015

By Walter F. Kern

 Motorcycle Views Newsletter

Vol. 9, No. 13, June 7, 2015

Articles of Interest on Motorcycle Views:

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Motorcycle Picture Galleries:

I think everyone likes to show off their motorcycle to others. That's why I started a motorcycle picture gallery in 1999 on the old website (About.com) and continued it here on Motorcycle Views in 2007.

When I started my motorcycle picture gallery, I didn't realize that it would be desirable to break down the pictures into sub-galleries. One of the first sub-galleries was Women on Motorcycles. That was a widely successful picture gallery since it allowed other women who were thinking about learning to ride, an opportunity to see other women motorcycle riders and their motorcycles and read descriptions of the motorcycles firsthand from the women riders. In essence, we were motivating women to learn how to ride a motorcycle.

All the pictures on the site come from visitors. I have submission links to get the motorcycle pictures and motorcycle descriptions to me.

In addition to showing pictures of motorcycles (and the people who ride them), we have a Tattoo Gallery and a gallery of old motorcycle advertisements. These galleries are also listed here.

I have recently expanded these galleries, now numbering 34. I've even provided a thumbnail picture for each gallery and arranged the galleries alphabetically. Click the thumbnail picture to go directly to each gallery. Click here to continue to see all the galleries or just click the picture to the right.

Reflections: User Reviews - Moving Forward

Motorcycle User Reviews

Way back into my days at About.com as the Motorcycles Guide—now called the Motorcycles Expert—I realized that many riders were getting tired of reading expert motorcycle reviews in the motorcycle magazines. One was never quite sure just what the professional tester's motivation was in doing the testing. Were they biased? Were they beholden to the advertisers in the magazine? Why did they pick the model they tested? What about other models?

The Internet was providing ways for users to communicate with each other on motorcycle forums where they could give their personal evaluations of their own motorcycles. The concept of User Reviews was beginning to emerge.

My superiors wanted me to test new motorcycles and give my results in articles on the site. I was getting along in age and also didn't have much desire to get involved in serious testing. I thought a good alternative would be to ask my visitors to write reviews of their own bikes and include a picture of the bike if they so desired.

My Motorcycle User Reviews took off and I got a huge number submitted to me for perhaps five years. I had the most User Reviews of any Guide and it was one of the most popular features on my site.

Needless to say, my superiors were still unconvinced and soon I found that since I wouldn't provide my own tests of new motorcycles, there was pressure for me to leave. This also occurred at a time when the complete staff of Guides was being evaluated and slowly replaced by professional reporters, journalists, or authors of motorcycle books. I left in 2006 and started Motorcycle Views in 2007.

Subsequently, the growth of User Reviews accelerated across the Internet in many forms. So much for being too early with a new idea.

Motorcycle Views continued to publish User Reviews submitted by our visitors. These Motorcycle User Reviews gave actual experiences by the owners of the bikes that you might be wanting to buy.

On August 31, 2008, my wife, Jane, died in an automobile accident. Much of my enthusiasm for this site evaporated as I searched for a new direction for my life after 47 years of marriage. The User Reviews just didn't get done or promoted until early in 2015.

Perhaps, the Internet has moved on to different ways of presenting User Reviews. I don't know. But, I'm willing to see if there is any continued interest in Motorcycle User Reviews. If you want to tell the world about how much you like or dislike your particular make and model, please submit a User Review to me and we'll keep this going.

You are encouraged to submit your own Motorcycle User Reviews. We especially encourage you to evaluate any new motorcycle you have just purchased. Wait a few months to get to know the machine and then write your review. Of course, we also want reviews of older motorcycles to assist people wanting to buy a used bike. Just use our simple submission form to send us your Motorcycle User Review ... Read more, check out existing User Reviews, and submit your own User Review.

Today's Motorcycle Views Poll:

I am running one new Motorcycle Views Poll in the newsletter for each issue.

Here's Poll No. 15: What kind of roads do you like best?

The latest Motorcycle Views Poll also appears on the front page of the Motorcycle Views website.

ALL Motorcycle Views Polls

Today's How-To:

I will be featuring one of my How-Tos for each issue.

How to Shift Gears on a Motorcycle

ALL Motorcycle How-Tos

Motorcycle Picture of the Month:

Motorcycle Picture of the Month - June, 2015 - 2005 BMW R1200RS:
See the June, 2015 Picture of the Month and previous pictures. If you'd like to be considered for Picture of the Month, send me a picture and description of your bike. Submit Picture.

My Book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, is also available as an Audiobook (Audible) Edition on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible. The audiobook edition makes a great Father's Day gift:

My new audiobook makes a great gift for Father's Day.

I mentioned in previous Motorcycle Views newsletters that I would soon have an audiobook edition of my book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales. On April 14, 2015, that became a reality. The audiobook is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.

If you click the book cover (or click here), you can listen to a 5-minute sample of the audiobook and hear all three narrators, including one female voice and me.

Buy for Father's Day. Should you decide to buy and download the audiobook, I'd welcome any Amazon online reviews you might want to write after you have listened to the audiobook.

Remember, this new audiobook edition is also available for download on iTunes. That means you can access it on all your Apple devices including your iPhone and iPad.

Here are the Five Most Popular articles on the Motorcycle Views Site. Take a look:

Latest Motorcycle Pictures:

See the latest received pictures by category.



"This is my 2005 BMW R1200ST ... more. -- K. R. Harris"

My Motorcycle Books - Great for Father's Day Gifts:

I hope you will take a look at my three motorcycle books, available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com. These books make great, inexpensive gifts, especially for Father's Day. In fact, you can purchase all three for less than $25 total. As I mentioned above, you will also be able to download each of the three color Kindle books FREE, IF you buy the corresponding paperback first.

My first book, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle, was first published in 2011 but only as a Kindle edition. It was revised in 2014 and also made available in a paperback edition. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

My second book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, contains a collection of stories that originally were only available on my website. Fifty of these stories were selected, intensively edited, and compiled into the book. I wrote five of the stories. The book is available in both paperback, Kindle, and audiobook (Audible) editions. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com. The Audible edition is also available for immediate download on iTunes and Audible.

My third book, Motorcycle Haiku Poetry, also available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle editions, contains haiku poems about motorcycles.

A surprising number of visitors to my site quickly caught on and enjoyed haiku poetry that had been submitted to me over the years from motorcyclists. Haiku is a simple poem of three lines with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven in the second line. Here's a sample haiku:

Staying Upright

Tank dents, broken peg
Red dirt covering bright chrome
Next time stay upright

—2wheeln

They are easy to write, and most riders like to read them. I coupled each haiku poem with a motorcycle picture and description that tied into the poem itself. I wrote seven of the haiku poems. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

I have reduced the price of my three Kindle editions to $0.0 (FREE) IF you also first purchase the corresponding paperback edition. That way you can always have the book with you if you have a tablet or smartphone with you. None of the paperbacks has color pictures in them owing to the high price of producing a book with color. However, every Kindle edition has color pictures, so the Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle and Motorcycle Haiku Poetry Kindle books are in full color.

Help Grow Motorcycle Views:

The Motorcycle Views Website is here for you. We encourage you to submit a story, picture, poem, salvage yard recommendation, user review of your own bike, tattoo, YouTube video you made of your bike, motorcycle tip, etc. These will be evaluated for inclusion into one of our major features. Send us a submission today and share part of your motorcycling experience with our many readers. Read how to make a submission.

Send In Your Pictures:

We love pictures of your motorcycles. Even better is a picture of you with your bike. We also like descriptions of bikes so tell us all about your bike. What accessories do you have? What special paint job do you have? How long have you been riding? Tell us more. Women riders are especially requested to send their pictures in. Submit a Picture.

Social Media:

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

My Website:

My website, forum, and blog are all available on your PC or MAC and your smartphone or tablet (in a new format).

Be sure to check out the Home Page on Motorcycle Views. It keeps changing daily, now containing links to hundreds of my original articles and features including Makes and Models, Picture Galleries, Motorcycle FAQ, Motorcycle Tips, Motorcycle How-Tos, Rallies, Videos and Movies, and User Reviews.

Walter F. Kern's Author Page on AmazonThanks again for coming along for the ride in this new edition of the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. -- Walter.

For New Subscribers:

Expect newsletters on Sunday afternoon every other week.

Please understand that the Motorcycle Views Newsletter is NOT the Motorcycle Views website. The newsletter provides a few links to content on the Motorcycle Views website. Once you click a link in the newsletter, you'll be getting access to content on the Motorcycle Views site.

If you'd like to view some recent newsletters, just go to the newsletter sign-up page and look below where my three motorcycle books are described for links.

Thanks for signing up for the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. Using this Newsletter, I'll keep you up-to-date with what's going on in the Motorcycle Views Blog, the Motorcycle Views Website, and the Motorcycle Views Forum. The forum has a new look as of February 13, 2015. Take a look. Not sure what a blog is? It's like a daily readout of what I'm thinking about, similar to a diary at times. Most often, I'm using mine right now to tell my visitors what has been added to the Motorcycle Views site.

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

My website, forum, and blog are all available on your PC or MAC and your smartphone or tablet (in a new format).

END OF NEWSLETTER

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2015

2014

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