I'm not a great fan of heavily processed images BUT if you're going to overdo it, overdo it completely!!! (I actually quite like these!!! That'll surprise John if he sees this!)
I'm thinking that by cloning out the background detail (road and the kerb) so that it's just the motorbike and rider and then add a bit more black spacing around it (not too much, though) and I reckon this will make a different idea work better. I think it'll work with the first one, at least.