REVIEW: Pirelli Diablo Rosso III

Hi All,

After some deliberation, decided to go ahead with the Rosso III's on Friday (AND also decided to get the 190/55 Rear instead).

The ride home was just about 15 mins but I could immediately feel the difference between the squared off PR4's and the new R3's. OK, maybe it was the excitement of new tyres. :)

So Saturday - took the bike to the Melbourne Moto Expo and the ride was all highway riding but it was an opportunity to scrub them in a little bit. Expanding my experience from the previous day - they felt more comfortable.

And Sunday, I was free so joined in a group ride and must admit - they felt amazing. The literally stuck to the ground. Being Melbourne, our group experienced all weathers on the Sunday ride. There was no torrential rain but got drizzled on a few times and some roads were damp from the previous night.

The route was a good mixture of tight corners, sweeping bends, straights, average road conditions (back country roads), a bit of gravel, debris and the usual stuff and I must admit, the Rosso's took everything in it's stride. I did take it a bit easy in the morning as they were still new and not probably scrubbed but never did I feel any 'oh shit' moments during the day.

As my confidence grew, I had no qualms about opening up a the throttle a bit more and soaking in the exhilaration - that is what riding is all about!!

By no means I'm a track rider or a very experienced rider BUT I did enjoy the Sunday ride (All in all was around 350 Kms) and the confidence inspiring Rosso 3's.

Please note that this is an Initial review and I'll keep updating this thread as I go along.

Thanks guys.
 
Having had these for a few months now (previously on the Ross IIs) I have nothing bad to say about the Rosso IIIs. They hug the road really well, and perform in cool conditions as well. They are a little harder in the middle than the Rosso IIs so should last a little longer (I got over 8000km out of the IIs before the rubber was gone through - i.e should have replaced them earlier). These are a sport tire, not a sport tourer, so you will get better feel, but less mileage. I wouldn't have an issue putting another pair on again.
 
Australian review here: Pirelli Diablo Rosso III Tyre Review - Bike Review

A few words from the Review:

I ask myself every time something new comes out, how can they ever improve on that? But they always seem to, and tyres are a prime example, especially the Pirelli Diablo Rosso III.

I was given the opportunity to test the new Pirelli Diablo Rosso III tyres aboard the brilliant and blindingly fast Aprilia Tuono 1100RR, so I really couldn’t say no. The new Rosso III tyres are aimed at sports and naked bikes as well as hyperbike and tourers but are also well capable of the odd track day.

With rain the night before and looming again in the distance, some of the shady road sections were still a bit on the damp side, so it was going to make for an interesting day in the saddle.

Tyres are weird things, for someone like me that rides a lot of different bikes, it’s something that I generally take for granted, mainly because I’m lucky that some expert mechanic has put new tyres on the bike before I ride it and set the pressures to suit.

I normally don’t even look at the tyres until I stop for a coffee to see how they’re faring, but if something doesn’t feel right with the tyres, I know straight away. For me the mark of a good sportsbike tyre is how quickly it warms up, grips and more importantly, the way it feels on the bike – there’s nothing worse than having no confidence in your tyres.

The Diablo Rosso III’s fitted to the bike are brand new and like any new tyre, need a few km to scrub in. Thankfully my Tuono has traction control and it was getting a bit of a workout as I was deliberately spinning the rear to have a bit of fun in the damp conditions, but it took no time at all the get some heat into the tyres and find grip – pretty impressive…

With the sun out and the corners drying it was time to have a play, I love the way the Diablo Rosso III’s feel in a straight line, it gives the bike a stable, well balanced, neutral feel and good rolling bump absorption. Leaning into a corner the Tuono rolls nicely onto its side, you can feel all the effort those clever Pirelli people have put into these tyres, it’s such a great profile for fast road riding, giving me plenty of feedback from the road as to what’s happening beneath me.

Driving out of the turn I can really wind up the gas and the rear tyre hooks-up well and gets the power down to the ground with plenty of side grip on offer, remaining planted and with no hint of squirming around, no doubt helped by the tuned structure of the tyre’s sidewall. Changing direction is easy with the race bred profile of the Rosso III’s and the Touno make it easier still with the wide bars and light weight.

Unfortunately, I never got a chance to ride in the full wet, but Pirelli claim the Diablo Rosso III’s have excellent wet weather grip due the high silica content compound and tread pattern, I can tell you though that they warmed up really quick on the cold damp morning.

It would also have been nice to take the tyres to the track, however, the feedback I got from my road ride tells me that they would make a great track tyre as well as a good all round sports tyre…

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For FULL Review: Click H E R E
 
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All right..a little update.

Had the opportunity to join in a 350 + kms ride with a bunch of like minded individuals and so far I'm pretty happy with their performance. .

There was gravel involved in certain sections and they performed well. Didn't feel them squirm or slip too much.

First half of the ride involved some well travelled roads but first time on these tyres. I felt I was comfortable (more confident too..) leaning more this time around.

Loving them so far.

:D
 
3500+km and even wear across the tire, no flat band. Very happy with them! They still provide awesome grip and confidence. I will have no issue replacing like for like.
 
I was surprised at the mileage i got out of mine...4000 miles on the rear is extremely good for me...my best was a sport touring tire that i got 4300 on...
I have the 190/55 and had to shim my rear hugger up higher because of the taller profile...it IS taller than a regular 190/55.
 
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