1260 Multistrada 1260 Frame Bungs Good Or Bad?

Evotech products are pretty good generally but from personal experience I can tell you that the MTS crash bungs won't stop the tank touching the floor if the bike decides to have a lie-down, and the tank cover is a pretty expensive old bit of plastic.

 

Yes, it was a drop at stationary and the engine cases / frame were protected.

 

@Paul Lewis
You're already paying for insurance...use it.
I can see the need for good protection if you're an adventure rider where you have to get back to civilization with your bike in semi-running order.
Otherwise, crash bung, bobbins, sliders or whatever else you call them are plain junk and just another expensive piece of hardware to replace on top of your OEM's in a drop-down.
The absolute worse piece of garbage are axle sliders. People spend tons of money for lighter wheels to reduce un-sprung weigh only to see a bunch of bozos spend a fortune to de-tune their ride with excess weight. Then, they have to remove it to fit the stand for lifting the rear wheel to clean their chain.

I've dropped my Panigale actually twice. Took out a mirror, handlebar, lever, and bent the shifter. But it also fell near my Monster, caught its passenger foot-peg and ripped the pani's pillion seat. The R&G sliders never even touched the ground. Total waste of money. Never again for me. The damage was slightly under my deductible but had the tank been damaged, it would have been a claim.
Notwithstanding, I would get engine/clutch case covers if I had an uninsured dedicated track bike. Not necessarily just for the bike, but for the track also. As a track rider, you have a responsibility to protect your playing environment. I wouldn't want to be the guy that spilled oil all over the tarmac.

 

Can’t speak for bungs as DarR makes some really good points above and I have heard similar stories about flipping...I have them fitted as I have had a bike knocked over in a car park, But having had a high speed off a few years previous with no crash protection, the bike slid and had only minimal damage so I have always wondered what is best.

Agree totally about axle sliders, corrosion magnets as well.

What I would say is for multis and commuting I am now looking at evotech/barkbusters for the handguards. They are cheap and easily replaceable...unless you crack the indicator, then the price goes up a bit.

 

Conflicted on this. I have the Evotech bungs and bar ends fitted to my Multistrada along with the horizontal head guard and rad guard, all quality products.

In a stationary/low speed drop I believe that the bungs offer some protection. Have dropped mine at a standstill once, without panniers, and there was zero damage. However, at regular road speed I do get, given certain conditions, the theory that they can cause frame damage and possibly flip the bike. However, in those situations I think that there are plenty of other things to worry about and they may still help. Going to continue to take my chances.

 

+1 on the Rad guards. Cheap insurance against rocks.
Mixed feelings about the Handguards.
In a way, they do offer some relief from the inherent flawed Ducati engineering design of the OEM where they support the fluid reservoirs.
However, the OEM handguard brackets are actually inexpensive to replace contrary to many other Ducati parts.

 

I just removed the R&G bungs from my Multi (200 DVT) and replaced them with SW-Motech crash bars.

The cheaper style bungs can cause problems on any motorcycle as they are poorly manufactured, but R&G are generally well made and unless you hit a kerb when sliding which could roll a bike, they actually work to slow the slide by wearing down at a known rate in a slide. R&G fixing bolts will also bend which will also absorb lots of impact inertia and help save casings and mounts.

For all that they are far more use in a static drop, like maybe when caught off balance or putting a foot down into a hole you had not seen when you stopped (been there and done that) You can get away in a situation like that with a scuffed bung, instead of needing new panels.

I had not even been on the road with my R&G's fitted but decided to swap to crash bars partly to have somewhere to mount my GoPro and partly as I prefer the look. Again, they are likely good in a static drop and protect the plastics a bit better, but if the bike goes down the road and is damaged anything like bad, frankly I dont want it back anyway.

I was always in two minds which way to go on protection, I guess I made the wrong choice. I still have R&G handlebar bungs and a front axle bung fitted though ( and a rad guard of course)

 

Have had to do two “get me home” duct tape/zip tie repairs cos of hand guards holding the reservoirs.

+1 on the cylinder/rad guards and the quality of evotech stuff in general.

 

In the absence of the EP brackets, a couple of zip ties under the pillion seat is a good idea. I'll add few before leaving this morning. ( It's still AM here).

 

I had R&G Crash Bungs, Lowsided on beautifully smooth asphalt. That piece of crap dug into the road and flipped my bike on its other side to destroy that side too. Double the damage, double the cost. Very pissed off! I will never fit any type of this product again. FWIW, if you are a noob or not confident on the clutch, on an uphill gradient and your liable to "dropping" your bike at pedestrian speeds then I can see a case for these. Otherwise. No way. Save your money and buy Rad guards, oil cooler guards, as said above. Good advice that.

 

I went with the 1200 version of these, https://www.ducati.com/gb/en/accessories/ACC011252. The once I’ve dropped the bike, stood up really well, minimal damage to the bars, no damage to the bike other than the left hand wing mirror which I broke trying to catch the bike. Andy

 

I have dropped / laid down the 1260 once (so far) and I have done the same on previous Multis as well. IME it is always the plastic handguards that go, Duct Tape and Zip Ties have always made it rideable after a drop. I have the rad guards, both oil and water, and recently fitted BarkBuster guards for the bars (other brands are available).
Not a fan of bungs or crash bars, you only have to sit on a multi and look down to see that to protect the bodywork any bung or crash bars needs to be as wide as the tank edges and that is quite a long way out!

 

A useful discussion....I shall avoid fitting the R&G bungs which I had thought of buying after lockdown is over.

 

Well as is often the case on forums like this one, different bike owners have differing opinions on the merits of one thing or another; A good thing too
I've got R&G crash bungs fitted, along with R&G spindle protectors, something I've done pretty much as a matter of course since owning bikes. To date, no spills either low/high speed with my current 1260 (Now I'll wish I hadn't said that....DOH!). However, I did have a relatively slow speed drop, on my previous 2015 Pikes Peak, on a roundabout, where I had to stop really abruptly, causing the engine to stall (Operator error). The incident was caused by a woman driving a Chelsea tractor, who was completely oblivious to my existence, even though I was 3/4 way around the roundabout turning to the right. Thanks entirely to having R&G stuff fitted, even though I couldn't stop the bike from touching down onto the tarmac, no matter how hard I tried and I can assure you I did TRY......... only very minor damage occurred, to the RHS brake lever, nothing else. All body panels were kept clear of the road and I was able to get my right leg out from under the bike, without needing to lift it either, to get the leg free.

Result!
I for one wouldn't ever leave any of my bikes without R&G protection.
It gets my vote.

 

None of these devices will be of any use on track incidents. For that you need your best riding gear, insurance that covers track days, or funds in your savings account to carry out repairs. If you're talking about the bike being flipped then any protector bungs will probably be the only thing you can salvage

 

I do get the issue regarding the higher potential for bike damage when making 'progress' and acknowledge that in all likelihood, greater damage may occur. That said any level of additional protection to me, makes sense, be that for the bike and/or myself.
If I come off my bike at speed, then I anticipate the damage will be pretty severe anyway, with or without!....