Panigale Down for good

Saw this post on another forum. Poor bike. Ripped to shreds.

"http://www.s1000rrforum.com/forum/s1000rr-lounge/15676-why-i-have-s1rr-not-panigale.html"

Literally there is nothing left of the bike, but the rider is ok.

Not to rain on your parade but this is old news. That crash happened several months ago just as Pani's were starting to ship Leave it to a bimmer forum to post old Panigale news They should be more concerned with their connecting rod issues

+1

That was a racer in South Africa, crashed at 150mph and the bike flipped several times, NO bike is going to survive that crash! ....... have been re-posting that crash over and over again all year as "evidence" that the Panigale is a fragile little flower that will break in half if it falls over in a parking lot. I've even seen just the photo of the smashed bike posted without the preceeding shots showing how the crash happened, and statements made about how this was a low-speed STREET bike crash and the Panigale dismantled itself. The BMW and Aprilia forums can be pretty comical when they're talking about Ducati..... But since the info is out there, people read it and automatically believe it. I've had several people in the showroom this year looking at the Panigale and saying "Yeah, but I heard they fall apart if they fall over". "Heard", means I read it on an internet forum. Some people have even refrained from buying a Panigale because they were concerned about it's crashworthiness. The internets are great and all, but sometimes there's a downside in perpetuating myths, it's virtually impossible to stop it.

The interesting thing about with this get-off is what's NOT talked about; the swingarm connecting points. There had to be some serious forces involved here to snap the swingarm? The fact that it gave way before the engine casing mounting points is a testament to the strength of the casing.

Good point, a swingarm is a lot cheaper than a set of engine cases for sure!

Can't remember the forum offhand, but I do recall a seeing a post from someone close to that team in SA in reply to one such such thread. He noted that same bike was rebuilt and back on track the next weekend. So much for down for good!

Send any bike flipping off course at 100mph+ and you're going to tear lots of peripheral stuff up or off; fairings, bars, pegs, subframe, etc. With a Panigale there's not much left but the motor, so there you are. That bike ended up with the engine, monocoque (i.e. frame, since that's all the frame it has), tank, whole front end, radiators, & exhaust intact.

Thing that makes it look so dramatic is the rear end being gone; otherwise it's just another bike wreck at the track. That swingarm is a high-ticket item for sure, but I'd say anything with a single sided AL or MG swingarm would snap there if you whack it at the right angle. I think the thing actually is designed to shed parts in a crash to protect the engine. When I first saw the front shock mount in pics, I thought it was seriously flimsy-looking. Then I thought about what it would entail if you tore the shock mounting hole out of the side of the engine, and that little triangular mounting bracket and unsupported front shoulder bolt started making a lot more sense.

+1 I think you're right that Ducati undoubtedly paid attention to what would happen in a crash when they designed the bike that they're hoping to win multiple World Superbike championships on! It would make a lot of sense for the things bolted to the engine to break off rather than making them so strong that they engine cases would break first. My old 848 (version 1) went cartwheeling off the track at high speed and bent the swingarm, which was no better than having the swingarm break in half, it still needed to be replaced! $$$

Lowsided mine a month ago and all I can say is that I've never seen a bike crash that well! Broken shift lever, scraped bar end, clutch lever and footpeg. Minor srcatch on the left side fairing that was completely removed by a little buffing, no damage at all to either the forks or the swingarm. Everyone who saw the crash was in disbelief, the bike slid down the track for about a hundred feet

fireman1251 said:

Lowsided mine a month ago and all I can say is that I've never seen a bike crash that well! Broken shift lever, scraped bar end, clutch lever and footpeg. Minor srcatch on the left side fairing that was completely removed by a little buffing, no damage at all to either the forks or the swingarm. Everyone who saw the crash was in disbelief, the bike slid down the track for about a hundred feet

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That's impossible, I heard if the Panigale goes down on the left side that the exposed shock absorber will break off and the bike bursts into flames.......

Once you own a Bimmer you get to know everything...we chumps keep dwelling in ignorance

fireman1251 said:

Lowsided mine a month ago and all I can say is that I've never seen a bike crash that well! Broken shift lever, scraped bar end, clutch lever and footpeg. Minor srcatch on the left side fairing that was completely removed by a little buffing, no damage at all to either the forks or the swingarm. Everyone who saw the crash was in disbelief, the bike slid down the track for about a hundred feet

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I don't know.. when I picked up mine back in May.. someone had dropped a Tricolore and it was sitting in the shop. Dude dropped it at a pretty good clip and it looked amazingly still in good shape.

Having seen now a couple dropped Panigales, I am a beliver that it indeed does handle a crash suprisingly well.

So you are telling me that if you push your motorcycle at high speeds, it may break into pieces? Holy ...., please, please, Ducati, tell your customers that their high performance motorcycle may disassemble itself at high speeds. What a piece of .... motorcycle. /Sarcasm

Physics isn't for just anyone is it?

In cars we call them crumple zones...LOL

jarelj said:

That's impossible, I heard if the Panigale goes down on the left side that the exposed shock absorber will break off and the bike bursts into flames.......

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I lowsided mine with about 75 mph and fell on the left. Had 10000 Euro in damage. Parts are very expensive. Left handle bar broke off, snapped off gear shift lever and many skidded parts. Tank had a big dent. Had a DP swingarm cover but had damage on the swingarm. Nothing wrong with the rear shock. Ordered a new 2013 without extra costs.

We will see!!

Well guys, we will see this season, I could post some pics of our R1 dumped at 220kms at the heyshed Philip islands, we have a pair of 1199s this season and I don't think they bend any worse than other makes... One of the 2011 pro stock riders dumped his zx10 end over end at hidden valley at about 270kms and destroyed it....

They bend when u crash them, it's life, I have seen the forks ripped off of a BMW...

Doesn't matter how many times you crash a Pani, it'll still never be as ugly as the BMW.....

Marcoma said:

Doesn't matter how many times you crash a Pani, it'll still never be as ugly as the BMW.....

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+1

.... But if you crash the BMW it could get better looking. Just saying ....

^

Panigale1199S said:

I lowsided mine with about 75 mph and fell on the left. Had 10000 Euro in damage. Parts are very expensive. Left handle bar broke off, snapped off gear shift lever and many skidded parts. Tank had a big dent. Had a DP swingarm cover but had damage on the swingarm. Nothing wrong with the rear shock. Ordered a new 2013 without extra costs.

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Did you have any other protection, as in sliders? Just curious what out there actually works.