I've been looking for something to protect the bike's swingarm. I'm particularly worried about low-siding in a slow lefthand hairpin on a trackday and messing up the swingarm. I see Ducati has an official swingarm protector with a titanium slider on (which looks good). I was wondering if anyone has fitted one, or ever had or seen a bike go down on one? The part's expensive and it looks kinda weak, so I'm a bit skeptical as to how useful it'll be? With the cheaper carbon covers you can get, I'm not sure how far they'll side before the 2mm thick carbon is all ground away. I can't see them being that effective in a crash over 20mph or so. View attachment 269474
Fullsix do a very good quality swing arm protector for the Panigale V4 so it might be worthwhile seeing if they do one for the V4SF. Andy
Saw that one, and it does look decent (does exist for the V4SF). How do you think it'll fair in a lowside? I wonder if anyone on here has experience with crashing any of these
The Fullsix insert is fully bonded to the protector unlike the Rizoma insert which is a loose fit in a hole in the protector. The bottom line though, the protection is from a low speed off not a high speed endo. My Panigale came with the Rizoma fitted and I changed it for a Fullsix. I still think that was money well spent. Andy
Sounds good. Is this the one ( the panigale version ) you got? https://conquestracingltd.com/product/fullsix-ducati-streetfighter-v4-carbon-fibre-swingarm-cover/
Aye, that's the one. Pretty sure there’s a picture of it on my bike somewhere in the Panigale section. Andy
I have the DP version on my Panigale. I’d say the titanium insert is a key advantage over the FullSix item, since it’s not going to wear through anything like as quickly as carbon fibre, which offers very little protection and is more for show in my opinion. For example, I managed to wear all the way through a carbon fibre clutch protector and most of the way through the magnesium clutch case in a low speed slide across about 1/2 track width in damp conditions a couple of years ago. edit to add, just read Andy’s post above talking about the FullSix insert. Assuming that’s not just a thicker piece of carbon then they’re probably like for like in terms of protection. The fact that the DP insert is ‘loose’ rather than bonded in place could be seen as an advantage, as I believe it can be bought separately in case of damage just to the slider.
Did you fit the Rizoma protector yourself or was it already fitted ? The thin ‘titanium’ layer is bonded to a plastic insert that is loose in a shaped hole in the carbon. Andy
You’re right it’s not a solid piece of titanium, just a thin sheet glued to a piece of plastic. I recon that combination of materials would still do a better job of resisting abrasion than carbon fibre, but the difference is probably marginal. Best not to low-side and slide down the track in the first place!
Where is the fullsix insert? Is it inside that bump moulded into the carbon fibre? Or is it just that lump in the protector is double or triple thickness?
The fullsix ones do need to be stuck on. Some of the full carbon protectors bolt on to where the rear fender bolts, but ideally they still need sticking down a bit with glue or VHB tape or whatever. The Ducati one bolts on with 2 bolts (one near the chain rubber and one of the rear fender bolts) and according to Ducati, doesn't need glueing
