Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Tires

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by MikeCG23

These tires are great! The bike just wants to corner and lean! Much more stable than the stock IRC's. I was leaning just as much, if not more than the IRC's, the first day they were mounted!

I don't get all the IRC hate, then again the 300 IRCs may be better. at least you didn't start on 12 year old pregen dunlops with 12k miles on them I was shocked when I realized it was the original tire, though it did explain why the bike was a slip n slide for the longest time

[Bones85]

Just installed the rear tire and rode for about 50 miles. Still need the front but I can tell right away that the rear tire is so much better than the IRC/Shinko tires that I'm used to (rode about 15,000 miles on them). It's like riding a brand new bike. As other people mentioned, the tire feels very planted on the road and sticks like glue. These tires are worth every penny and should last 6-7k miles.

[afelotreyu]

SO,

I got these Tires around June (2013) this year as a gift for the bike for reaching its first 20000KM. With no experience in any other kind of tire a side from stock tires, wow they are amazing, I question why did I not invest the money before

140/70 rear
110/70 front

Pros:
The Tires do the job amazing. Sticky all the time, you feel well planted and grips like a champ. Only recall having one or two scare moment when the tires were cold and I started playing with the bike on a dirty parking lot, front tire had a small squid but recovered well and nothing happen .. performance and stability of the bike is not changed or affected by the bigger tires, this tires do an great job.

Cons:
-With any good tire you will lose distance and durability. I now have (Nov 15, 2013) over 12000KMs on the tires. The front is looking good still, used but good. The rear is well used and nearing the wear mark, I don't think I will make the 15000km mark. so I find myself needing to buy new tires as the season starts again next year instead of the old 20000+ km on the stock tires.

Here are some pictures of the tires doing the work at Deals Gap

On wet


On Dry


I have some pictures of the wear after riding on Blue Ridge Parkway but I can't seem to find them, so for now that is my review

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by afelotreyu

some pictures

cool but you should try to get your head lower. all that hang off is useless when your upper body is centered on the bike. sometimes its hard to feel it while on the bike from the forces of cornering so its easiest to be conscious about only one thing that effects your upper body the most... inside elbow bend angle... bend your inside elbow more. and straighten out your outside elbow more.

[afelotreyu]

Originally Posted by alex.s

cool but you should try to get your head lower. all that hang off is useless when your upper body is centered on the bike. sometimes its hard to feel it while on the bike from the forces of cornering so its easiest to be conscious about only one thing that effects your upper body the most... inside elbow bend angle... bend your inside elbow more. and straighten out your outside elbow more.

Thank you I will keep that in mind for my next gap visit and for corners in general. It was my First time down there, so I was riding more upright to keep myself from going faster into the turns. I need more track practice

[Boom King]

Nice update. 12,000 kms on the rear is pretty good for sticky rubber. I definitely prefer them over the IRCs.

[Whiskey]

@akima how did you find these?

Are they any good in typical British weather?

[akima]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

@akima how did you find these?

Are they any good in typical British weather?

The SupaMoto staff (who you may have visited in Cambridge) told me when they suddenly became available in bite size form (suitable for the ninjette!).

They have a fair bit of tread (compared to the BT003s which are pretty popular in here) and I heard some good things about Diablo so I gave them a go.

I think they're fantastic, but I've only got the IRC tyres to compare too. I've never tried anything else. I've used them over 2 winters and felt so much more planted on the road compared to the squirrely IRC tyres. Everyone else in this forum who has switched over to them from the stock IRC has been really happy too.

After the first rear DRII was destroyed by a big piece of metal, I went ahead and bought another DRII for the rear. I don't plan on trying out any other tyres. These suit me just fine.

[tubarney]

Wear on the diablo's in 40C/104F ambient temperature.

[JohnnyBravo]

Yikes 40*C is warm

[mgentz]

What pressure? If you weren't track riding, you may want to go up 1-2 psi.

[rasta]

Great thread . But unfortunately I didn't see any mention of these tires' performance on wet surfaces. It's gotten a little wet around here, and I'd like to know how much confidence I can have in my tires.

[mania]

Originally Posted by rasta

Great thread . But unfortunately I didn't see any mention of these tires' performance on wet surfaces. It's gotten a little wet around here, and I'd like to know how much confidence I can have in my tires.

I have run them in the rain/on the wet roads & they were fine.
I do not get the higher mileages usage some here are reporting though.
But that of course is down to road types riding style etc I think

But I am at 7000+ km/4350 miles now & am close to the wear markers
I probably can get 8000km/5000 miles safely out of it. Front tire is doing fine
Looks like the usual 2 rear to 1 front ratio of wear for performance type tires in my case with these Rosso II's

Great tires though & I am sticking with them ( no pun intended )

[tfkrocks]

Originally Posted by rasta

Great thread . But unfortunately I didn't see any mention of these tires' performance on wet surfaces. It's gotten a little wet around here, and I'd like to know how much confidence I can have in my tires.

I've been commuting in the rain with a DRII front and IRC rear on 680 between Fremont and San Ramon (got all those nice sweeping turns) and haven't had any problems. Granted I'm not pushing limits or anything while commuting.

[rasta]

Originally Posted by tfkrocks

I've been commuting in the rain with a DRII front and IRC rear on 680 between Fremont and San Ramon (got all those nice sweeping turns) and haven't had any problems. Granted I'm not pushing limits or anything while commuting.

That commute must be fun to split!

(Whooa totally just realized DRII means Diablo Rossi II. Unbelievable brain fart, I just went thru 13 pages wondering wtf that meant. )

[Han Solo 1]

Glad to hear about the rain performance. It was between these and the Shinko Podiums for me. A couple of private PM's told me that I'm better off with these, despite the greater expense and less life.

If I can do 2 rears to every 1 front, I'm all right with that.

Pulling the trigger on this in the next couple of weeks. Since I've been with the stock IRC tires on my bike since I bought it, I'm curious to see how different it will feel with these on it.

[akima]

Originally Posted by Han Solo 1

Pulling the trigger on this in the next couple of weeks. Since I've been with the stock IRC tires on my bike since I bought it, I'm curious to see how different it will feel with these on it.

You wont regret it. You'll probably notice the difference straight away!

You might like to put more more air in them than the stock IRCs; they feel a bit saggy otherwise. I run 34PSI rear and 30 PSI front for street riding.

[afelotreyu]

Originally Posted by rasta

Great thread . But unfortunately I didn't see any mention of these tires' performance on wet surfaces. It's gotten a little wet around here, and I'd like to know how much confidence I can have in my tires.

LOVE them on WET..
had to take a trip from Toronto to Montreal last summer, got run by a massive rain storm / wind.. the bike was moving from side to side with the wind but the tires were planted even when I was leaning trying to keep the bike going straight.

also see my last post of them performing on wet at the GAP.

Originally Posted by Han Solo 1

Pulling the trigger on this in the next couple of weeks. Since I've been with the stock IRC tires on my bike since I bought it, I'm curious to see how different it will feel with these on it.

I say take it. The bike will feel a bit high at first, this is normal since the tire shape is a bit different. You will also feel like the bike is a bit harder to balance, again normal due to the shape of the tires when "new". Take them slow for the first few 100KMs as always recommended and as you start taking turns and corners you will start noticing the difference.


I was recommended a new type of tires for this season, I am unsure if I will go for them or not, but will report when is time to replace them.

A

[JosueDG]

So I picked up another pair from an old gent that purchased them for his Triumph Bonneville and did not end up liking them after 100 miles.

Paid $100 for both the front and rear. Only problem is that the front is 120/70-17. From what I read in this thread, it affects the flick-ability since it is a wider profile and may raise the front.

My question is, would lowering the front forks a few mm's get the flick-ability back?

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by JosueDG

So I picked up another pair from an old gent that purchased them for his Triumph Bonneville and did not end up liking them after 100 miles.

Paid $100 for both the front and rear. Only problem is that the front is 120/70-17. From what I read in this thread, it affects the flick-ability since it is a wider profile and may raise the front.

My question is, would lowering the front forks a few mm's get the flick-ability back?

Step 1. Forget what you've read about any shortcomings of the 120/70

Step 2. Mount up your new to you set of tires

Step 3. Enjoy your awesome almost new set of tires at a great deal

Step 4. Ignore your chiken strips

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by afelotreyu

SO,


On wet

)

Your backpack looks like a one eyed monster face.

[akima]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Your backpack looks like a one eyed monster face.

That one-eyed, spine hugging, monster looks like a backpack.

[akima]

Stumbled across this review:

Link to original page on YouTube.

[sharky nrk]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

Here's my rear tire after a weekend of racing plus some street miles, its not a rosso II but it is a 150.

I see you Michelin and raise you a Rosso II - "enduranced" buy MKlein3004 lol

[badiguana]

With respect to running a 120 on the front - Uh, good luck....... Weird things have happened to the rake and trail and anything you might want to do is unpredictable. That tire will never turn as well as a 110 because it's wider. On the other hand, it's probably taller than a 110, so raising the forks in the clamps (lowering the front end) probably will improve turn in. There's a fine line between what you can get away with in terms of lowering the front, and having the wheel tuck suddenly and unexpectedly mid-turn. I explored that fine line a couple of times on my SV 650 a few years ago......nice patches on my leathers. But, have to confess, I would probably try going about 3 mm and see what happens. The best thing to do would be to measure the old tire and the new tire and figure out how much drop from that. I just put BT003's on mine. At first I thought they were crap, but then realized the sidewalls of the OEM bias plys are stiffer and I would probably need more air pressure. I'm running 32 PSI front, 34 rear, right now and they are just stuck down. I seem to be able to do anything I want with these. I need a suspension upgrade to use them to their fullest, but that's how good they are. The OEM tires had no hope of overwhelming the suspension.

[rojoracing53]

^this is what I'm talking about. You guys are thinking about this way to hard. Mounted a 120f and 150r race takeoffs to my stock ninja 250 and won 1 race and podiumed in three others the first time I ever took it to the track. Now I have an R6 front wheel so I continue to use 120 front takeoffs but if I still the stock ninja wheel I'd be doing the same. The limits of the bike and rider are so below what most tires out there can do it laughable to start worrying about grip and handling characteristics of one vs the other.

I'll bet when that 120 is mounted because its being compressed slightly more then the 110 it'll have a steeper profile. Steeper profile means it'll want to tip into corners with less input(faster) so the only drawback is the weight and that's nothing.

[mgentz]

^

[cadd]

For those who ride street ONLY, can you tell the difference between these and the OEM IRC? i normally commute 3-4 days a week on the bike (short 5 mile commutes) and don't ride too aggressively in general.

Do you guys think these will be an overkill for my needs? Do you think the OEM irc are fine for my needs? Or can you tell the difference immediately (even riding at a conservative pace)?

The only reasons why I'm looking to get a new pair of tires:

- OEM IRC are 5 yrs old
- I felt the rear end slide a bit a few times on snake tars if the bike is leaned over

The IRCs look like they have plenty of tread left since the previous owner only put 900 miles on them (in the past 5 yrs! They have around 3,000 miles now).

[akima]

@cadd

I could tell the difference immediately and I'm not even that sensitive to my bike and it's various states of disrepair. I wouldn't put OEM IRCs on my bike as replacement tyres even if they were a quarter of the price of the DRIIs. The DRIIs really stick to the road. I like to touch the sides after I ride to feel the tacky sticky feeling (tyre perv, I know! )

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by akima

I like to touch the sides after I ride to feel the tacky sticky feeling (tyre perv, I know! )

[akima]

Originally Posted by csmith12

BWAHA HA... yep, that's like a boy version of me.

[rojoracing53]

I suggest you swap out you front tire first and enjoy the benefits of extra stability. The rear you can keep on there a bit longer and wear it out a little more. If your putting on 6k or more miles a year go with something other then a Rosso II rear tire as it'll probably wear out quicker then You'd like.

Look into the Michelin pilot street radial. Its a more expensive option but its a great tire that has lasted me now 7k miles and still has a lot of life left. Other here can confirm any tire that can go 7k or more on my bike is a great tire for life.

[akima]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

Look into the Michelin pilot street radial. Its a more expensive option but its a great tire that has lasted me now 7k miles and still has a lot of life left. Other here can confirm any tire that can go 7k or more on my bike is a great tire for life.

How does the Michelin pilot street radial compare with the DRII in terms of grip (wet and dry)?

[rojoracing53]

Well since I'm to slow apparently to ever break loose any tire on the 250 even the IRC I don't think I should comment on how well they grip

All these tires grip fine for even the most spotted rides, it's the unskilled riders who cause a lose of traction. But then you already knew I'd say that

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by akima

How does the Michelin pilot street radial compare with the DRII in terms of grip (wet and dry)?

Ti t for tat for street paces. Rider input will be the deciding factor.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

Well since I'm to slow apparently to ever break loose any tire on the 250 even the IRC I don't think I should comment on how well they grip

All these tires grip fine for even the most spotted rides, it's the unskilled riders who cause a lose of traction. But then you already knew I'd say that

Common mang, you know the deal. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If it makes a rider feel better to run a stickier tire, then so be it. When the skillz catch up with the tires, then they will know on their own and arrive somewhere in the same vicinity as you. Until then, let the "forgiving" aspects of the tires and bike run their course.

[akima]

Thanks @csmith12

[afelotreyu]

Not long ago I installed the pilot streets 2... So far I am happy and they seem to last way longer. Grip is a bit less but hard to notice unless u are skidding the rear tire in purpose at traffic lights. So far I am happy

[Alex]

Just put on a new Diablo Rosso II on the back of our 300. The prior one was through the wear bars at 2,716 miles. Looking forward to trying the Pilot Streets after I burn through this one. The front DRII looks almost new by comparison, and will easily go another 3k or 4k more based on current wear.

[mgentz]

What pressures were you running?