SportBiKeZ

Tires are the intermediary between a fastest lap and a trip to the gravel pit. And with Japan, Italy, England, Germany and now even the U.S. producing 1000cc-plus motorcycles that crank out upwards of 130 horses to the rear wheel, the time has come for a new generation street tire that can handle those mega-power outputs and the associated loads that accompany putting that much power to the pavement.

Tire development is all about compromise. Make a tire too sticky and we’ll burn them up in a few hundred miles. Make a tire too hard and we’ll get the mileage we desire but sacrifice grip and warm-time. Integrate numerous tread cuts and it displaces water but compromises our coveted contact patch. We could continue or dissertation on compromise, but Pirelli believes that it’s found the right middle ground with a tire that can meet the needs of both 21st century man and machine.

Tire development is all about compromise. Make a tire too sticky and we’ll burn them up in a few hundred miles. Make a tire too hard and we’ll get the mileage we desire but sacrifice grip and warm-time. Integrate numerous tread cuts and it displaces water but compromises our coveted contact patch. We could continue or dissertation on compromise, but Pirelli believes that it’s found the right middle ground with a tire that can meet the needs of both 21st century man and machine.

The Pirelli squad mounted up a set of Diablo Rosso tires (120/70-ZR17 front and 180/55-ZR17 rear) on our 2007 Honda CBR600RR. With the tire pressure set (36 psi front, 42 psi rear), we hit the streets of Ventura County. Once under way, it became immediately clear that the tires do not offer the greatest feel. Throughout the street ride we felt disconnected from the road below. However, steering was extremely neutral and side-to-side direction changes were no better or worse than the OEM Bridgestones that were previously fitted. The lack of feel from the rubber made it difficult for us to really push hard through the curvy, mountain route that Pirelli had laid out for us. The few times we were able to man up and actually work the tires, they performed flawlessly without a hint of instability or lack of traction. In fact, adhesion levels felt very consistent. During our photo shoot, a few times we locked up the rear wheel to speed up the turn-around process, sliding the bike around 180-degrees. The rear rubber consistently slid, making us look like we actually knew what we were doing. Normally our CBR600RR delivers a relatively plush ride on the street for a 600cc sportbike. But with the Rosso underneath us, that smooth ride was compromised. The CBR’s tires normally work in unison with the suspension to help soak up some of the irregularities and bumps in the pavement, but the Rosso tires have a stiffness to them that translated every bump and pavement ripple directly through the bike.

Tags: tires, performance, wheel, motorcycle, pirelli