Bob Dixon

I might be responding in the wrong part of the forum here.....I noticed in the FAQs some stuff about carbon cans melting and cracking. I`m involved in the manufacture of carbon components and can give a reasonably well informed answer to these queries.
1] Melting Cans; carbon will only melt if the temperature of the component in usage significantly rises above the temperature it was cured at during production. A melted carbon can idicates a manufacturer who failed to appreciate the likely operating temperatures and cured the component at too low a temperature

2] Cracking; Carbon, unlike alloy or steel has no 'memory', therefore it can`t fatigue. In use it is possible that a component may be taken to a level where it can exceed the design parameters of the design and it only needs to exceed this once to create a catastrophic failure. If a can has cracked due to vibration it must [at some point] have exceeded the strength of the component. If it's made well enough and remains inside its predicted operating parameter it will last indefinitely.

Carbon is Good Stuff ! but it needs to be used appropriately, many motorcycle accessory manufacturers haven`t got a clue how to use it properly and the customers know even less. OE Ducati carbon is generally quite good, not perfect mind you, but pretty good.
Bob