Motorcyclist Magazine’s Ari Henning knew nothing about Pirelli’s Diablo Rosso III ahead of his recent tyre test in the US, but after more than 1,000 miles he’s now pretty well acquainted with them.
In their July & August 2017 edition, he’s been telling readers what he thinks of them so far:
“To get a feel for the Rosso III’s character and capabilities, I set off on a multi-day romp around California. During the following 1,000 plus miles I rode everything from arrow-straight freeways to mountain switchbacks, and throughout it all the Rosso IIIs tracked true and stuck like glue with quick, direct, and linear steering. A pre-dawn departure from Lake Tahoe offered the opportunity to test the tyres’ cold grip, which proved to be excellent. Warm-up is rapid, as confirmed by placing my ungloved hand on the tread after only a few miles of riding. Later that day in the Sierra foothills, the temperature spiked to 100 degrees while the road tightened up on itself, and besides a few squirms over sun-softened tar snakes, the Rosso IIIs never strayed from my intended line. The only condition I wasn’t able to test the tyres in was rain, and ironically it poured at the office one of the days I was away.
After the trip and another 500 miles of commuting, I checked the tread depth as a means of monitoring wear. As usual, the centre of the rear tyre was almost half worn, registering at half it’s original depth. That suggests a lifespan of only about 3,000 miles, at least when used on a powerful bike like Aprilia’s Tuono.
That’s not a lot of mileage, but it occurred to me that maybe the Rosso IIIs kick ass on the track? Many of today’s sport tyres are also designed for occasional track work, but since I didn’t read any Rosso III marketing materials, I couldn’t be sure. Diligent researcher that I am, I suited up for a trackday at Auto Club Speedway.
The Rosso III front worked well and remained stable up to the Tuono’s maximum velocity of about 160mph. It also felt anchored while trail braking and seemed to have good grip. I say “seemed” because there wasn’t a lot of feedback coming from the contact patch. The rear didn’t work well at all. I struggled with edge grip and had to wait to get on the gas until I’d picked the bike up onto the centre of the tyre. Worse yet, the slides I experienced were abrupt and difficult to control. In the end, I turned the Tuono’s traction control up and slowed down.
Several other riders whose opinions I respect reported similar grip issues from the rear at the track, plus odd feedback (or a lack of it) from the front. If knee dragging is on your agenda, you’ll be happier with Pirelli’s Rosso Corsa or Diablo Supercorsa SPs. Yes, both models are more expensive than the new Rosso IIIs but also offer significantly better traction and feedback, with approximately the same lifespan.”
The new Diablo Rosso III is Pirelli’s latest hypersport tyre, and will offer superior performance in the wet when compared with the other options mentioned in Ari’s review, so it’s ideal for the latest nakeds and sportsbikes being used on the road.
You can find out more about the Diablo Rosso III here.
