Hardly rode at all this year. The bike sat and apparently suffered for it. Facing poor running and the inability to properly diagnose the computerized fuel injection system, the bike is now in the shop for just the second time in its life.

Already planning on some good regional trips for 2012. Can't wait!

Hope your bikes are all well.

Sorry to hear that, my friend. I've had a few years like that.

I had 30 years like that...just didnt have a bike!

I meant it as sort of a good thing. I may not have ridden much during the last year, but the bike is getting serviced and should be ready to go soon. The bike was not really ridable, and once I'd decided contact the shop, the mechanic came to pick it up just a few hours later. Nice service!

If all goes well I hope to make trips to Idaho and San Francisco next year, plus some more regular local rides.

Crazy to think you've had that bike for almost 12 years now ... in May I will have owned my for 20 ... scary.

Hopefully, 2012 will be a better riding year for all of us...

I second that.

Talked to the head mechanic. Besides giving it a basic tune-up, he found a faulty wire in the wiring harness that was causing the fuel pump to lose power when the handlebar was turned! I'm not surprised, as it seemed like I was chasing ghosts around, always seeming to find the problem, "fix it", then have it pop up again.

I'm very pleased about that - a little worried about the bill, though - and am trying to get a ride out to pick it up. Thank goodness he found that problem. Bring on the new year!

So often it's the 50cent fuse problem ... hopefully he didn't spend too many hours tracking that one down.

Rode the bike home this evening. It's running great and back to normal. Having recently done some service on it myself, I told them to skip certain items, such as replacement of the engine, brake and clutch oil, so I can only blame myself for finding that the clutch is weak, making it hard to find neutral. I can take care of that, easily enough, though.

The wire was actually broken inside the wiring harness. I can't imagine how long it would have taken me to figure that one out. Whatever it would have been - I don't have that kind of time.

I think they took it easy on me, in terms of hours charged. The bill was less than I expected by a fair amount.

I'll renew the registration and keep it on the road through the winter, seeing as how I've got lost time to make up for.