NHTSA Complaint #11647628 — 2023 DUCATI DESERT X

A few blocks before arriving home after work last night, my bike started smoking and when I got home the plastic heat shield on the rear header pipe was on fire. The rear header pipe seems to be broken and dropped causing a major exhaust leak. This is the second time it has happened to me. First time was october 2023, around 10k miles. That time it melted the rear brake reservoir and the fire was more difficult to put out. Both instances were different riding conditions and ambient temperatures. I know of another person this has happened to twice as well, but she lives in Denmark (exact same bike though). And I have a coworker with the same bike that has recently started sounding louder than it was and may have a similar exhaust leak developing. In my attached photo you can see the oxygen sensor is not at the center of the hole in the heat shield, but it used to be, and there is a hole just up from that where the fire was.