As reported on:
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/showthread.php?t=59015 "Something odd happened, and I thought I'd share;
Some time ago, my wife was riding her FE, and she pulled away from a stop to a sudden grinding and chaffing sound. She pulled over and we found that the carbon fiber strut connecting the under-hanging rear brake caliper to the
engine had snapped and the caliper had rotated around with the disc. The stub of the cf strut jammed into the disk... yada yada. Not a pretty picture.
The carbon fiber was a very cool part on the bike when she obtained it. It replaced the stock aluminum one and had identical end fittings. The break was about mid way in the cf. The end fittings did not fail.
On close examination of the part, and a review of the road we were on, my theory was that the cf did not pull apart, but rather compressed and then exploded. I believe before she noted the sound, my wife was holding the bike on an uphill grade at a stop light. Lets call it about 15 degrees. I think she held the bike with the rear brake. It appears that when doing so, the only thing preventing the caliper from rotating backward with the disc is the strut. Remember that the caliper is not otherwise attached to the frame except at the pivot point at the axle. We know that cf is unidirectional, and I guess if she let the bike slip a bit and then clamped on the brake, the cf strut compressed and failed.
Has anyone else this part on their SP or FE? Any one else heard of such a thing?"
I nearly bought one a well to convert to USD caliper - glad I'm sticking with old school Alloy now.
Cheers - F.