April, summer's nearly here and I celebrate with a track day at Thruxton race track - absolutely stunning, really fast. I was on a borrowed 916 Ducati. James Haydon of British Superbike fame showed me the way round and then we did 5 laps, getting progressively faster. By the 5th lap we were really flying. Most enjoyable and the best bit was being congratulated by James. But the hook was in, I wanted a Ducati!

So I brought a Ducati 748SP - test rode it and fell in love. I paid the man £7000 odd and rode it home. The next day got it out of the garage, started it up (lovely noise), came in to get my helmet and gloves and went back out only to find petrol gushing from under the tank - and the bike still running! I hit the kill switch and jumped back thinking it was about to explode - luckily it didn't. Thinking back I wish it had but on we go … I stripped it down, took the tank off and found one of the hoses had come out of its connector. I later found out that the wrong 'O' ring had been fitted, one slightly too big so the hose did not locate properly. I had new hoses fitted and that was that.

In June we were off to France for a track day at Croix en Ternois, staying at a hotel in Calais, but ten miles from home the regulator rectifier went bang. The others carried on to the ferry but Andy came back with me to his shop, Motovelo in Bolney, Sussex, to fix the Duke. We took a regulator off of a newer 916 and of course it was different. Anyway, we eventually got it going but of course we missed the ferry. After some discussion they let us on the next available crossing and we got to Calais … when my lights packed up! Andy and I were riding around at 10.30 at night, me with no lights, trying to find the hotel. We got really pissed that night I can tell you.

Next day - still no lights and now no rev counter and no temp gauge! But it started so sod it, at least it was daylight. The bike also developed a misfire, but it kept going all day and we were going home the next day so I wasn't prepared to miss out on the fun. Just managed to get it home but by this time it was cutting out every mile or so. Got it back to the shop and there it stayed for the next 2 months. Because they're such nice guys they let me borrow a 916 to play with, which never went wrong how ever much I thrashed it. It used a bit of oil but that was all.

Anyway, back to the 748. Got it back, fully repaired, or so I thought. Sunday, and off for a ride with the chaps after a meet at Box Hill. On the way there it developed a misfire so when I got to the Hill I took the fairing off and poked and prodded about but could not find anything obviously wrong. I decided to carry on and after 4 or 5 miles it seemed to clear. Then suddenly bang!, down to one cylinder. I pulled over to check the bike but nothing ghastly was evident, it just would not pick up on 2 cylinders. Everyone had a look but we could not find a visible reason for the problem. I didn't fancy riding a single cylinder 374cc Ducati around all day so I got on the phone to Motovelo for a recovery. The boys went on their way - selfish buggers!

On the following Monday afternoon I get a phone call from Andy at the shop - "I've got some bad news, one of the timing belt pulleys had sheared off and jammed the belt, stripping the teeth. Also, one of the camshaft bearings had broken up and blocked the oil feed to the head, completely knackering the head camshaft ... ", and so on. I could have cried.

By this time I had fitted loads of goodies to the bike - a pair of Marchesini mag-alloy wheels, a carbon airbox, carbon air tubes, World Superbike rear sets, fast flow air filter, digital gear change lights, lightweight clutch, titanium bolts - you name it, I'd got it! I went mad ... never again. So far I had spent well over 10 grand, prat!! Anyway, this new repair was going to cost about a grand, so like a dickhead I thought "Nothing else can go wrong". And it didn't .. for while.

It took another 2 months to fix - usual story, parts have to come from Italy, etc. Finally got it back and did another trip to France - bloody brilliant, never missed a beat. But the rear cush drive, which is part of the rear sprocket, as any Ducati owner knows, started to destroy itself. The rubbers holding the bolts which hold the sprocket to the hub had gone hard. The bolts stayed in position but the rubber mounting went backwards through the sprocket and hit the hub, wearing away the adjuster. I didn't notice it until after a Sunday ride - the mounting had worn away the hub down to the swingarm, luckily not damaging the arm itself.

So I searched MCN for a secondhand (sorry, pre-owned) item because a new one was over £200! I managed to find one and got the swingarm, hub and bearings for £75 complete - a bargain.

I thought that was that until we did a track evening at Brands Hatch. Perfect until the last session, when an idiot on a Firebucket, going too fast, undertook me at Druids and lost it big time. I was on the brakes and thought I had got away with it when his bike suddenly span back into my path. I had nowhere to go and hit it smack on the bellypan. I took off skywards, still on the bike until it nose-dived into the tarmac. The next thing I remember was hitting the armco with my head, splitting my helmet, but luckily not much damage to me - a rather bruised hip and burns where I slid on the tarmac. But the bike was totalled.

So that was the end of my association with Ducatis, although I would not mind another one day ... I like the punishment.

All the best and keep it upright

Mark

Wave bye bye, Sooty ....