About

 “All parts should go together without forcing. You must remember that the parts you are reassembling were disassembled by you. Therefore, if you can’t get them together again, there must be a reason. By all means, do not use hammer.” — IBM maintenance manual, 1975

About BanditFiles

My name is Nick, that's my bike, welcome to BanditFiles.

In 2010 my wife and I rode our 10-year-old Suzuki street bikes to Alaska for our honeymoon.  I started BanditFiles in order to log our trip and share it with friends and family.

Eventually I decided I'd start writing about maintenance, commuting, and other motorcycle-related topics of interest in addition to logging road trips.

About Me

Woodside back in days of Firstgear and black helmets

I'm a pretty normal guy except for being an American who went without a car for 15 years.  I moved to the California Bay Area in 1992 and got rid of my car due to the expense and hassle of car ownership in the City.  There was no ZipCar back then so for nine years I got around on foot and public transportation.  Eventually I got tired of riding the bus, but parking being what it is in the City I didn't want to get another car.  At the time could barely afford rent on a tenderloin studio so my options were limited.

I've been interested in mechanical things since high school and had a few junky old cars as a teenager, but was never allowed to get a bike while I lived with my folks.  While I was in college I couldn't afford one, and struggled with temp jobs and night classes for a few years after I graduated.  Eventually a friend of mine let me sit on his new Honda Shadow ACE and I couldn't hold out any longer.  I signed up for the MSF course the next day.  Thus began my obsession with motorcycles and my attempt to integrate them into my life in a way that was both fun and practical.

Since then I've had four bikes:

• 2001 Honda Shadow Spirit 750
• 2001 Honda Shadow Sabre 1100
• 2003 Yamaha FZ1
• 2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200

Of those four I still own the last two.  Both bikes are starting to accumulate miles thanks to a 60-mile round-trip commute which I do daily year-round.  Additionally my wife has an SV650 which she occasionally lets me ride and work on.

My mom started riding shortly after I did and now owns two SV650s.  She's done a few track days and I helped her with a run at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2009 where she clocked just over 115 MPH on her first time out.  She's now approaching 130k miles on her first SV650.  It's great that we have this in common and can spend time together as a family doing something fun.

Mom at the Salt Flats

2009 BUB Speed Trials

When I'm not riding or wrenching I'm a fitness nut. A few years ago I started cycling which I found to be almost as addictive as motorcycling, so I may throw in an occasional cycling-related post.

My road bike

I also enjoy swimming laps with my wife, who is a much better swimmer, jogging with our dog Zoe, who is a much better runner, and weights 3 or 4 mornings a week before work.  By day (and often nights and weekends) I do a little work for the government .