Ducati Sporting Club UK - HM Playing Silly Buggers...

My HM started playing up this morning, naughty little git!

Did my usual routine of riding to the petrol station less than a mile up the road and filling her up for the day. Yes, it only lasts the 76 mile round trip to work, so I have to fill up every day.

Normally it's a pain to restart after filling - probably because it's decided to just come off the choke (ok, so the FI equivalent!) but the bike isn't warm enough, so you usually have to stab the starter and catch it on the throttle too.

However, this morning after filling I switch on and get the engine light, so it won't start.

No worries - it's happened before - so I switch off and on again. Bugger ... same thing.

A few flicks and it finally goes out so I can start the bike and ride to work. Then I'm thinking that it would be awfully inconvenient if it lets me down half-way round the M25, or leaves me stranded at work... but I make it there ok.

Then tonight after leaving the office, I switch it on ... bugger. Engine light.
Switch off, switch on. Engine light. Bugger. Switch off, switch on. Engine light. Bugger. Switch off, switch on. Engine light. Bugger. etc. Bugger.

So I start having a feel around the connectors, but nothing is obviously amiss. Then I'm thinking and have a flash of inspiration ...

I stick my fingers down the side of the ignition cover and hook them under to feel ... a wire. The transponder wire. The wire that should go to the ring that sits deep in the ignition cover to read the code from the key, but has now dropped down!

I stuff the wire and ring back up as far as I could, switch on and bingo!

The bloody antenna for the key had come loose and dropped down so it wasn't close enough to the key to read it.

Now if only I could work out what kind of constant motion may have caused it to come loose ... like the front wheel going up and coming down a lot ... hmmm ...