R&G Steering stop protectors for track riding?

What do you guys think of these steering stop protectors, for track riding?

R&G Steering Stop Protectors - Panigale | LS0005BK

So one of my steering stops is broken off, which seems to be a common problem that can happen even if the bike just falls off the stand, etc. I don't see a new lower triple to be a good investment if these steering stops are really that fragile, but I would like to protect the Ohlins steering damper I've bought (I have the base model and the OEM steering damper broke when I was installing clipons - but it was actually probably broken by the same crash that broke the steering stop). I'm not too concerned about the tank, because it's a track bike and the tank has already been dented / repaired.

Important info on how I found out about these:

A guy had them up at NYST, and he crashed hard. The bike flipped, and among other damage the forks are bent, lower triple trashed, fairing stay / lcd display bracket is cracked. ...and the R&G steering stop actually dented the upper fork tube, a few inches below the upper triple.

So here are the reasons that I'm thinking it might be the lesser of two evils to get the steering stops and risk denting the upper fork tube (vs. I think I might actually break my stabilizer in a mild crash / paddock fall or even a stop-to-stop tank slapper or if someone grabs the bars the wrong way).


a) the dent was in a place in the upper fork tube that might not interfere with functioning of the fork, ( i.e. the upper tube, between the upper and lower triple)

b) in a wreck like that, the forks were toast anyways.

c) you could maybe take a curved piece of steel to make a plate where the fork tube contacts that R&G steering stop to mitigate the chance of denting it.

So net-net, I think it would be better to have them.

Thoughts?

To small impact area imo, I use the Febur units : Fermasterzo Ducati 1199 Panigale

Couldn't find the thread anymore. There was a guy from Switzerland that had this stoppers installed. After a crash on the track his lower fork clamp broke!

BowHunter said:

To small impact area imo, I use the Febur units : Fermasterzo Ducati 1199 Panigale

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response.

I agree with the too small impact area, that's part of the reason I mentioned option "c)" in my response. Maybe find a piece of steel/titanium tubing with the same bend and make a plate for the fork tube, then use some RTV silicone or something to keep it in place like you would with tank sliders? hmm....

The Fermasterzo's look like they'd make that plate unnecessary, but they're also 3x the cost and I can't immediately find a US based source...

Gecko said:

Couldn't find the thread anymore. There was a guy from Switzerland that had this stoppers installed. After a crash on the track his lower fork clamp broke!

Click to expand...

Wish you could find that thread.

Saying that his lower triple broke isn't saying a whole lot without knowing some specifics of the crash i.e. did they break because they were going to break anyways, or did the stoppers transfer energy to them and make them break?

In a crash the energy has to go somewhere. You can't always know how much energy and from what direction. Best you can do is make guesses on what is more likely and try to balance likelihood of breaking vs. expense of replacing different pieces.

I'm scared I'm going to break my steering damper in the paddock. Breaking a lower triple, on the other hand, would require a lot of energy regardless of how it broke....

I saw the thread u are referring to as well. Cannot find it either. I purchased and installed the R&G's. I justified with price along with piece of mind. Jarel swayed my decision on the R&G (there is not a better option vs price in the states...that i could find) with his reply to the guy that broke his lower triple st the lock stop. He basically said same as above...if you hit hard enough...anything will break. The R&G seem (installed) good for most crashes I have been involved with at the track. Not too much is going to stop an or a end over end or a barrel roll at high speed. I would purchase again. Disclaimer : I have not crash tested these. Just my opinion...production engineer (20 yrs) by trade. By no means an expert. Everyone is usually helpful here and I would like to return the favor. Cheers.

I think you are thinking of this thread:

http://ducati1299.com/ducati-1199/21511-r-g-steering-stoppers-good-bad-news.html

It was me..
http://ducati1299.com/ducati-1199/21511-r-g-steering-stoppers-good-bad-news.html

Sutki said:

It was me..
http://ducati1299.com/ducati-1199/21511-r-g-steering-stoppers-good-bad-news.html

Click to expand...

Hmm...I think I am going to get the R&G Stops.

...interesting thing though is that I believe is the same place that the guy's broke who I saw that had them.

Maybe it puts too much stress on the lower triple to have the fork stopped up near the upper triple, where the R&G stops are?

I don't know. It feels like the best place to have a steering stop would be closer to where the stock ones are...although, maybe by putting them where the R&G ones are you are taking less risk with damaging the frame?

Bowhunter do you have a pic of the Febur steering stops on ?