Well following on from my trip down here to sunny Spain with my pants on fire (c.Jeremy Clarkson 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008), I was looking forward to fitting the race exhaust, partly so as not to hear the engine sounding like a spin dryer full of cutlery and partly cos I've been told it's not as hot without a 600 degree catalytic converter 2" below your arse.

It went well, taking off the bellypan side fairings tank tailpiece and exhaust.

My friend Pepe who's a car mechanic and bike nut with a GSXR1000K5 and a track R6 agreed to help me as he was salivating to see the Desmo with her clothes off.

We unplugged the lambda sensor under the tank, took out the catalyser and standard silencer and fitted the new stuff. I changed the ECU for the race one, no messing about with Power Commanders here. It was going really well.

We refitted the tank, plugged in the fuel lines and electrical connector and hit the starter button ready for a MotoGP bike roar to fill my garage. But all we heard was the endless churning of the starter motor. We rechecked all the connections and fuel lines, everything seemed fine, but the fuel pump didn't seem to be running when we turned the ignition on.

A call to Steve at Moto Rapido indicated that we hadn't done anything wrong, he suggested refitting the original ECU just to check if the race one was faulty. We did that and it still wouldn't start.

Just as we thought we were going to have to take it to Ducati Sevilla and let someone who knew what he was doing have a look at it, Pepe spotted the problem. There are 2 connectors under the tank both identical, one for the lambda sensor and one for the fuel pump feed. Guess which one the tank was plugged into? Doh!

With power to the fuel pump it started up first time and sounded fantastic although deafening inside the garage.

By this time the boys from the local bike club had turned up for an ogle at the naked beastie, so we got the rest of the body work back on, the mirrors and rear light unit are the most fiddly, and repaired to Bar Esquina for lots of beer and to watch MotoGP qualifying from a very wet Brno. It looks a lot better without the cat and sounds outrageous. Everyone in the village is going to know every time I go for a ride, and I live a kilometre outside the village!

So the next morning the lads turn up; Julio on his CBR6, JuanDiego with the VFR Vtec with noisy pipe, Xavier with his Deauville and Fernando with the 07 blade. Fill up and off on the fast back road to San Jose del Valle. I know this road well and it's a good start except for the Guardia Civil car we follow out of the village, but I overtake him as he's going slow and he doesn't seem bothered by the roar from the Desmo's race pipe.

Straight away I can tell it's a different beast, no wall of heat welling up from under the seat, removing the cat has done the trick.It's a bit flatter at the bottom end but fitter in the midrange and above and the noise is fantastic.

We get to Del Valle and JuanDiego tells me I'm leaving black lines on the road exiting the corners. The Bridgestones are very soft, I hope they'll be able to cope with hot Jerez tarmac. The next road, to Alcala is tighter but again no problems with the heat, the bike is lovely to ride, then we get on the really twisty road through the hills to Puerto de Galiz, the local biker meeting spot. The steering is spot on and the engine is beautifully responsive. Although it's a slow road, again no heat problems. Breakfast at Puerto de Galiz, a bit of bike bullshit with the other bikers there and home to watch MotoGP.

As I pull into the village with 83km on the clock, the fuel light comes on. I'd been wishing I'd fitted the race exhaust before the long ride down to Spain but on reflection the extra fuel used and the noise would have been a problem. The bike is now perfect, but next month seems a long way off before I can try it at Jerez.