Woodbury Moto Media
Concerning AI
It is my express hope that the following words won’t bore you to tears, for to me the very idea of ingesting another bowl of techo/flakes holds about the same appeal as a trip to the dentist. Still, like those regular check-ups there’s important business at hand, at least relating to this website. Predictably, and because of my personal analytics we first set the scene. This website isn’t a business, it’s an archive. There are no adverts, embeds, pop-ups or redirects – it lives off the grid and relies solely on volume and content to appear in search results. Its existence centers around a small group of busy professionals, with yours truly serving as the chief compiler. It has, and hopefully will continue as a useful source for road ready special interest, standard and classic superbikes, circa 1960-2000. Accuracy being the primary focus of any archive, the goal is to provide truthful, researched history and background to the many fascinating events of that time, with my personality tossed in for free. As it relates to what I consider motorcycling’s golden era, our primary goal is earning and keeping trust by giving full effort with transparency.
There is no shortage of enthusiasm for the photographs published on this page, and I can say without hesitation that producing images dominates my desk time. That being the case, I found the allure of Artificial Intelligence irresistible in terms of photo editing, but share many of the concerns people have about both the adaptation and effect of this technology. At the time of this writing (June 2026) there are only a few AI edits published here, and my original plan was to inform the reader by labeling them somehow. I’ve changed my tune on that, choosing instead to caption or mark only highly altered images for clarity. Mixing free and paid subscription services (the latter with archives) my conclusion is AI can make a great photograph spectacular, and a poor photo usable, given you take the time to communicate exactly what you want. And don’t. Credit the programmers for making it increasingly intuitive, storing the user’s preferences and offering some remarkable suggestions, but it won’t do the thinking for you. Yet? Suffering through DataCenter-driven brownouts or society being utterly dependent upon some digi-god seems a poor trade off for the ability to mash up old Bol d’Or photos, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
(Three examples of successful AI editing. The goal? Maintain a maximum percentage of originality. Sent to WMM by the current owner, this photograph of Red 40 is made nicer without the duct tape windshield repair, while the Canada only KZ 1000J3 SS started as a pixelated, low res thumbnail. Many attempts and supporting uploads were needed to maintain accuracy. T140 Royal looks dandy too, thanks to lots of post-AI work by the human editor)
Running the subject past some friends and colleagues, the mixed bag of replies wasn’t surprising. In summary, those with reservations tend to embrace the real and reject the fake, but if you’re looking at an image on your computer monitor it’s a digitized copy. Yet, at the same time, if I didn’t hold the same exact views, there would be no need for this editorial. Compared to what many are feeding into an ever-growing number of AI programs this work in remedial, but even so, artistic license is sometimes taken to add a colorful twist for layout and background purposes. In regards to what we use, I’m still a novice and not in a position to make recommendations. Suffice to say WMM’s editing tools remain a mixture of widely available web platforms and dedicated editing programs, some decades old. Based solely on my personal strengths and weaknesses as an editor and builder I can report that not much time is saved feeding pixels into the AI blender, but things are changing fast. Depending on what it is used for, instructions for the requested enhancements are given in detailed terms. Hesitant in the past to publish heavily modified images in a model review (for example) our coverage deepens with the ability to include damaged, low rez or poorly photographed originals of importance.
The original and its AI edit shown for comparison:
(Progressing from exacting imaging on ThunkerChild, nighttime scene modification for Helmut Dähne’s BMW racer to a complete washing of the Crossbow Guzzi shows a clear range of results. Images with wholesale changes best suited for social media, entertainment, or background purposes)
Sharing the same disdain for AI’s over-processed, often cartoonish renderings, considerable time has been invested (and sometimes wasted) in writing prompts. No judgement implied, but those seeking quick shortcuts or building documents are not using the technology the same way I am. That said, there no question that many others are far more skilled than I. Making a point, for me, on a purely journalistic level the ability to share important, but previously ‘unpublishable’ images makes it worth the investment. Just recently I communicated to my AI subscription about the writing of this AI-based editorial, and it asked me to consider adding this editing summary of the fogged Crossbow Spada Special: ‘AI excels when guided by domain expertise. Rather than inventing a scene, it was directed to preserve the exact mechanical and graphic details of the Crossbow Spada while replacing an ordinary indoor snapshot with a realistic workshop environment. The final image required numerous iterative refinements—adjusting lighting, paint reflections, workshop environment and composition—to achieve a result that remains faithful to the original motorcycle.’
There’s a lot of fear and uncertainty when it comes to Artifical Intelligence, but as always, the real danger holds a distinctly human element. Gaining wisdom from its mountain of massive electrons, when AI states that mental engagement is a critical element for success, you should believe it. Eloquent as it seems to be, Woodbury Moto Media’s style guide does not, and will never publish AI text posing as a human journalist, be it on this website or our social media. Period. Given the fact that false imagery can lead to the same type of problems, highly altered ‘lifestyle’ photos (again, like the Crossbow) will either be identified in the captions, file name, or both. Being many different things to many different people, future possibilities include AI-based site building and/or redesign, which will come as more good news to the dozens of website builders flooding my Inbox with offers. Maybe that’s AI too? Who knows, but what is known can be stated with absolute confidence: what you see here comes from real motorcycle people who work with their heads and hands. Photo by photo, word by word. Always human. Nolan Woodbury
(The author’s 1982 BMW R100RS, Yosemite National Park, May 1988. Camera: Pentax 35mm)