[sportrider - tech] - Pirelli Diablo Rosso III First Look

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Pirelli has introduced the Diablo Rosso III, a new road tire to replace the Diablo Rosso II with improved handling and grip to cope with increasingly powerful bikes that have advanced safety systems such as traction control. The tire benefits from Pirelli's experience as the spec tire supplier in the World Superbike Championship, and features a dual compound rear tire with high silica content, new profiles directly from the Diablo Supercorsa DOT race tire, and a new tread pattern that features more grooves for better wet handling.

According to Pirelli, the Diablo Rosso III is suitable mostly for naked bikes and sport bikes, but is also capable of use on sport touring bikes; the tire is designed for road use but "does not shy away from even the most extreme use" on the racetrack. The new tread patter is directly from the Diablo Supercorsa DOT race tire, but modified to be more suitable for road use, and especially for use in the wet. The rear tire offers a side high-performance compound covering a total of 80 percent of the tread width, leaving just a 20 percent central section of harder compound for stability and improved mileage. The front tire has a single compound.

New profiles for the Diablo Rosso III are derived directly from the Diablo Supercorsa DOT tires used in World Supersport and Superstock classes. The front tire has a multi-radius design for improved handling, which improves turn-in and rapid changes of direction. Compared to the Diablo Rosso II profile, the profile is higher in the central part and wider on the sides; the sidewall height has been increased by 3mm to improve flexibility. The rear tire's profile has been updated in a similar manner.

The Diablo Rosso III will be available in early 2016 in a variety of sizes.


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The full text of Pirelli's press material follows:

Milan, 14 October 2015 – Pirelli is proud to present DIABLO ROSSO™ III, the new supersport tire of the DIABLO™ family that takes street tire performance to a new level.

DIABLO ROSSO™ III is the direct successor of DIABLO ROSSO™ II and raises the bar of sport riding even higher. It extends the qualities of its predecessor, strengthening its features in terms of handling and grip, with long lasting performance.

Designed to equip the latest generation of powerful street bikes with new technology and electronic control systems, the DIABLO ROSSO™ III exploits the learnings from 12 years of racing in the FIM Superbike World Championship as the Official Tire Supplier.

The evolution of the supersport segment
The Naked bike segment has bounced back, showing encouraging signs of growth within this historically high performing sector.

When you look at naked and supersport bikes together we see a continuous evolution, over the last few years - the bikes have become increasingly powerful, equipped with new electronics and advanced safety systems such as traction control.

Simultaneously, motorcyclist needs have changed and riders are now more demanding. A tire now needs to offer more than just great handling: versatility is the key attribute required to guarantee lasting performance, both in dry and wet conditions, and good mileage.

For these reasons, Pirelli designed the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III, a tire boasting the latest level technology and is an evolution of the DIABLO ROSSO™ range. This new tire is perfectly suited to meet the needs of the motorcycles and today’s motorcyclists; taking performance on the road to a new level.

The DIABLO™ range: a family of number ones
The DIABLO™ brand has always represented Pirelli excellence in the world of sport tires for motorcycles. After its introduction in 2002 in the supersport segment, the DIABLO™ family rapidly evolved until it was present in many other market segments, through as many as 16 tire models, from full racing to Supersport. The DIABLO™ brand can boast almost 15 of experience, technology and wins in the comparative tire tests from the most authoritative specialist magazines and in international races at all levels. For more than a decade, many leading motorcycle manufacturers have been choosing DIABLO™ range tires as original equipment, while the international press considers DIABLO™ products a reference point to judge the others. Within the DIABLO™ range, the DIABLO ROSSO™ brand identifies products dedicated to high performance use on roads. The new DIABLO ROSSO™ III continues this pedigree and story of this successful brand.

The genesis of DIABLO ROSSO™ III
Pirelli has been the Official Tire Supplier for all classes of the FIM Superbike World Championship since 2004 and last year has confirmed this role through the 2018 season. Now in its 12th year, the technical partnership established between Pirelli with the teams and riders can boast the record for the longest running control tire supplier in the history of motorsports at an international level. Pirelli has made the Championship for production-based motorcycles the benchmark to develop not only the products used in competition, but also tires used daily by motorcyclists all over the world. Inspired by the philosophy, which has now become a motto of the Italian tire company, “We sell what we race, we race what we sell”, Pirelli has managed to bring to fruition all the experience acquired in this championship, applying normal production products for road use to some of the patents and materials developed for racing activity.

The entire new DIABLO ROSSO™ III project is the latest result of Pirelli's long experience in the FIM Superbike World Championship: the design technology on which this new product is based, the materials of the structure, and compound mixing process are the same as used for Superbikes.

DIABLO ROSSO™ III offers these advantages for motorcyclists
DIABLO ROSSO™ III is the next step in the evolution of DIABLO ROSSO™ II, which combines all the latest technologies, the most revolutionary materials and the most innovative processes together with the know-how acquired by Pirelli in the Superbike World Championship in the last 12 years. The Pirelli engineers have strengthened all these elements to provide an unprecedented level of performance for a Supersport/sportbike tire.

The DIABLO ROSSO™ III greatly improves handling, absolute grip and performance in either dry or wet conditions, and provides lasting and consistent performance for the whole life of the tire.

DIABLO ROSSO™ III uses new profiles, the latest generation materials, an innovative carcass, new compounds and a tread pattern that is derived directly from that of the DIABLO™ Supercorsa DOT race tire.

The main technical characteristics of the DIABLO ROSSO™ III are:

1. The bi compound rear tire uses a new compound that includes high percentages of silica which improves grip in all conditions with the added benefit of giving extra mileage not normally seen in the Supersport/sport bike tire segment
2. The new profile comes directly from the Diablo Supercorsa DOT race tire
3. The tread which uses a pattern that is an evolution of the DIABLO™ Supercorsa DOT race tire but features more tread grooves for better wet handling

All of this leads to the following advantages to motorcyclists by the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III:

1. The excellent handling comes from the race tire DNA and transmits to the motorcyclist a strong feeling of grip and superb feedback on the bike. This is made possible by the combined characteristics of profile and structure that are derived directly from Superbike competition.
2. The exceptional grip, that comes historically with Pirelli is a reference point for all competitors, is even better wet or dry, thanks to the new materials and experience gained by the brand with the Angel GT. Motorcyclists have asked for better performance in all weather conditions, and with a wider spectrum of operating temperatures - and Pirelli delivers with this new product.
3. Providing consistent performance over the tire’s life, ensuring confidence inspiring grip and riding until the last mile.

The bikes and motorcyclists that DIABLO ROSSO™ III is destined for
The new DIABLO ROSSO™ III can satisfy even the most demanding riders who want a sport bike tire capable of guaranteeing great handling, excellent levels of grip, and high performance to the end of tire life. More specifically, DIABLO ROSSO™ III is dedicated in particular to motorcyclists who love to ride their motorcycle quickly and aggressively.

DIABLO ROSSO™ III is destined for owners of standard/naked, supersport motorcycles who ride winding roads to mountain passes, always looking for high lean angles. These are motorcyclists who use their bike both for short trips into the country lasting a day and for medium/long-range excursions during the weekend with light luggage and/or with a passenger; always looking for high performance.

Finally, DIABLO ROSSO™ III does not shy away from even the most extreme use: occasional racetrack lovers will also be able to appreciate the great handling of the tire designed for the road but derived from racing.



The DIABLO ROSSO™ III tread pattern: the flash
As can easily be seen, the tread pattern of the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III comes directly from the highly regarded DIABLO™ Supercorsa, a DOT competition tire, but this street tire is more suitable for road use.

The Pirelli engineers considered it important to maintain the grooves with the typical and distinctive “flash” pattern on the tread because it is recognized as an expression of competitiveness. This new pattern represents the best solution for obtaining compactness of the tread grooves with excellent water drainage.

The grooves orientation follows the waves of wear, interrupting the forces that cause it, with a reduction of the stress to help improve mileage and consistent wear. The orientation is also effective from the point of view of dispersal of water which makes the DIABLO ROSSO™ III a high performing tire in the wet.

The DIABLO ROSSO™ III compounds
The new DIABLO ROSSO™ III compounds meet the needs of motorcyclists of today who want to have tires that are always versatile and capable of excellent performance on both dry and wet roads combined with good mileage. This is why the Pirelli engineers have continuously experimented with the percentages of silica in the compounds of the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III

Pirelli has developed innovative compounds with a high percentage of silica combined with latest generation oils, resins and polymers which provide an unprecedented level of uniformity – thanks to exclusive and patented Pirelli mixing processes.

The rear is bi-compound with a large side segment of high-grip compound and a central compound strip which gives improved mileage when riding straight. This compound application is divided in a proportion of 40-20-40, where the side high performing compound covers a total of 80% of the entire tread, while the remaining 20% in the central section is made up of a compound to give stability and mileage. With this arrangement, the side compound provides the grip as soon as the leaning phase begins, giving the motorcyclist great confidence while leaning into bends. This side compound has a 100% silica formulation and provides grip on both dry and wet roads. The side compound is supported in the substratum by a harder compound which gives handling characteristics such as stability and precision while maintaining the trajectory in bends.

The front tire is a single compound with a silica content of 100%.

Pirelli is unique with its patented steel belted technology. Based on studies and direct experience of the Pirelli engineers, we have found that the single-compound solution on the front is the best choice, as it gives great feedback together with a high level of stability.



The DIABLO ROSSO™ III profiles
The main function of the tire’s profile is to provide optimized handling.

The new DIABLO ROSSO™ III has inherited much from Pirelli's experience in the world championship for production-based motorcycles: its profiles are derived directly from those of the DIABLO™ SUPERCORSA DOT race tires, used in the Supersport and Superstock classes.

The profile of the front tire is characterized by a multi-radius design which improves handling, offering the motorcyclist great turn-in into bends with rapid changes in direction if needed.

Compared with the DIABLO ROSSO™ II, the profile is higher in the central part and wider at the sides to provide a larger contact area and a more stable lean.

At the same time the height of the sidewall has been increased by about 3mm to improve flexibility of the sidewall, increasing grip while accelerating out of corners.

The rear tire follows the same concept and the geometry is similar to the front, ensuring a perfectly balanced and synchronized set of tires.

The DIABLO ROSSO™ III structure
The radial casing of the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III is very rigid to sustain the profile and enables the compound to grip the asphalt. It is very similar to that used in the DIABLO™ Supercorsa DOT race tire, made of a high-performance Rayon capable of retaining its shape during high stress generated by the forces of acceleration and load – for the best ride in the Supersport/sportbike segment.

The density of the belt has also been adjusted to balance rigidity with great bump absorption, providing better feedback to the rider.

Availability and sizes of DIABLO ROSSO™ III
The new DIABLO ROSSO™ III will be available starting from the beginning of 2016 in the following sizes:

FRONT REAR110/70 ZR 17 M/C 54W TL 150/60 ZR 17 M/C 66W TL120/60 ZR 17 M/C (55W) TL 160/60 ZR 17 M/C (69W) TL120/70 ZR 17 M/C (58W) TL 180/55 ZR 17 M/C (73W) TL 180/60 ZR 17 M/C (75W) TL 190/50 ZR 17 M/C (73W) TL 190/55 ZR 17 M/C (75W) TL 200/55 ZR 17 M/C (78W) TL


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