Ducati News Today

Today, ducatinewstoday reviews the Pirelli Diablo Rosso the latest street tire from Pirelli by testing them in the North Georgia mountains and on the race track. Are they any good and should you consider them for your Ducati? Read on to find out!

Pirelli Diablo Rosso tires fit into the Hypersport category of Pirelli tires in the range that includes the multi compound Diablo Corsa III and Dragon Supercorsa Pro. The Diablo Rossi is the replacement for the Diablo which Pirelli argues offers 5-10% more contact patch area than the Diablo due to what it called its Enhanced Patch Technology (EPT).

I have long believed that most people put too sticky a tire on their bikes mainly because they buy in to the marketing messages of being like their track heroes. However the reality is that modern tires are so good that a very fast pace can be safely maintained on the road with sport touring tires so for most part riders are simply throwing money away by needlessly mounting the more race oriented offerings.
Since my Ducati Monster S4Rs was at DUCSHOP for some pre-winter Spring servicing that included some dyno time and general setup I took the opportunity to replace the mounted Michelin Pilot Powers with the Pirelli’s. I have always been a fan of the Michelins as they are an excellent all around sporting road tire with more than enough grip to entertain on the track too whilst still providing acceptable wear rates. However the tire on my 5.5″ rear rim Monster was a 190/50-17 sizing which is too wide and I took the opportunity to right size it when the 120/70-17 front and 180/55-17 rear Pirellis were mounted.

On the Road

The immediate sensation from the Pirellis was of their neutral steering. In fact, since I had had a too wide a tire in the past on the rear I hadn’t realized how much I had adapted to the steering idiosyncrasies that come as a consequence. In the first few turns I felt like I was going to fall over because I had become accustomed to feeling the resistance to turn-in of the fat Michelin as it moved onto the broad side of the tire. This had made turning a two stage process. Part one was turn in and stabilize against the resistance and part two was to make another steering effort to roll further over on the tire.

By contrast the Pirellis allowed a totally progressive and quick turn-in without any of the 2 stage process of the Michelins. Even though the Michelin’s were hampered by the too wide rear tire, the profile of the front Pirelli is more round than that of the Michelin. Traction was good with a ride over a road that still contained the little pebbles associated with some ice that had been present days before. The rear instilled confidence as the tire slipped almost only on command and it felt like you could dial up just half a wheel revolution slip from the throttle such was the feedback.

Braking feel was also good although it is difficult to brake very hard on the street to the point where it is really possible to discern real differences between brands of tires. That can wait for the track. Wear rates seemed very low with the tire looking barely scrubbed in after a 150 mile scratch through the mountains promising good wear rates.

On the Track

I took advantage of a US DESMO trackday at Roebling Road to assess the tires at the higher speeds and more controlled environment of the race track.

On the track the tires continued to have the same beautiful, neutral feel and I could assess braking traction which was excellent. Roebling Road has you braking hard at the end of the 160 mph straight into the 100 mph right hander and I could reliably brake late because of the confidence in the breaking area. This was also a helping hand into the 90 degree right hander 2 corners later, where you scrub off a lot of speed and enter very deep.

Once again wear was modest with the rubber balling up nicely but not showing any significant signs of wear. Towards the end of a 20 minute session the rear could be provoked to break into a very gentle and progressive slide exiting turn one in 4th gear that hooked up again nicely simply by slowing the rate of throttle opening.

Crash Testing

Unfortunately my review was cut short due to a crash in the third session that left me with a fractured scapula (shoulder blade). I lost the front end at about a 100 mph in a right hand turn but I want to point out that this wasn’t due to any failing of the tires!! I had been circulating at the front end of the advanced group and just got a little bit too carried away and ended up too wide in a turn and asked too much of the front tire in the dirty zone of the track where traction is reduced.

Nevertheless this experience hasn’t reduced my enthusiasm for the Pirelli Diablo Rosso’s. Assuming the tire wear kept panning out as it looked, these seem to be a great option for a sporting tire that can handle a track day or too and not wear out every 1500 miles! They certainly make a good alternative to the Michelin Pilot Power. And Hey, they’re even Italian!!

There Tires are for you if:

• You are sick of changing tires every few months
• You like neutral steering and strong braking performance
• You ride mostly on the road with the occasional track day thrown in for good measure

Also Consider

• Michelin Pilot Powers

You want to keep looking if:

• You have to have the latest and greatest to show off at Starbucks (Pirelli can sell you these too!)
• You run a lot of tracks days at the sharp end of the advanced group (a stickier tire is probably cheap insurance, ahem)

The review set of tires was supplied by Pirelli North America.

Try These Related Posts:

1. Review: US Desmo Track Day A lot of people never quite get around to the track day thing. Whether it is the cost, the uncertainty of the experience or plain inertia, riding a motorcycle on a closed circuit is a joy left to the minority of motorcycle riders. Even though I am an ex-road racer...
2. Modding the Monster: Part III – Taking it to the Track This is part 3 of a 3 part series looking at improving the performance of my Ducati Monster S4Rs by focussing on changes to the intake / exhaust system and suspension setup. Part I covered the work performed on the bike, which was done by the DUCSHOP (you can find...
3. Ducati Monster S4Rs Review – Forever the Ultimate Monster What happens when you are faced with the realization that your life in actuality no longer resembles your life in your mind (did it ever)? As a lifetime sports bike enthusiast from the days when the GSX-R750 redefined what a sports bike was and a former club level road racer...
4. Review: Ducati Monster S4Rs – Redux From time to time I bring back older, popular posts that some of our more recent readers may never have seen. To be honest it happens mostly when I’m away, like right now! The Ducati Monster S4Rs review was the first ever post on the site back in January 2009....
5. The Ducati 848 is Dead. Long live the New 848EVO Later next month Ducati will begin selling the 848 EVO, a revised and enhanced version of its middleweight Superbike with a number of improvements for the 2011 model year with more power and better brakes, all at the same price. At the heart of the Ducati 848EVO is the Testastretta...