The designers of the Diablo Rosso
III targeted riders of sportsbikes and
powerful naked bikes who ride up to
15,000km a year, use their bikes for
all occasions - for bike rallies, track
days and trips away. The tyre is even
designed for those who use their bike
in crappy weather - damp, cold and wet
roads, rain and so on. Making an even
sportier tyre suitable for this wide
range of conditions is all down to
technology - a high energy structure
and special compounds.
If we start with the carcass of the
tyre, its stiffness has been increased for
a more consistent feel. The cord used is
tighter in the front tyre versus the rear
to help give a larger contact patch on
the roadway. The compound used in
the front tyre is 100% Silica, whereas
the rear uses a 70% Silica and Carbon
Black mix. This gives the front and rear
combination a consistent mileage range
and performance throughout their life.
You’ll also notice a new, aggressively
styled tread pattern. The grooves
all combine to give fast warm up,
grip in all conditions and consistent
performance over a long period. I keep
saying ‘consistent’ and this is a big
thing with tyres. If you have a tyre that
“goes-off ” when it gets hot,
or doesn’t warm-up fast
to give you grip, your
safety, or enjoyment
of your motorcycle
will be reduced. With
the Diablo Rosso III,
consistency across the
range of conditions
you might want to
subject it to helps
make your riding
safer and of course
much more fun!
To add to the fun
factor, lean angles wit
the Diablo Rosso III
have been increased
from 45 deg to 52 de
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tyre has been changed
(+2.5% higher) to giv
the increased
lean angle but also to
give a wider footprint
on the ground at all
lean angles.
During the launch I
enough to have a chat with the three
“product testers” who actually put the
tyre through its paces during design
and pre-production. They told me
about the way you can push this tyre
quite hard in adverse conditions
and I certainly found that
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on the track, which was
wet/half-dry from an
overnight storm. I rode
an Aprilia Tuono in
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I was quite surprised
at just how hard I
could push it. Turn
in was light and
precise and rear grip
was good.
For my second
session I jumped
onto a Ducati
Hyperstrada
which was a bit
overwhelmed on the
track. I ground both
the rear brake lever
and gear lever pretty
much off, followed by
a lot of the footpegs. I
guess you could put thisdown to the excellent lean angles and
grip you can achieve with the Diablo
Rosso III.
By the third session the track had
dried out and I grabbed a BMW S
1000 RR, so did a number of ex-
racers attending the launch. I was quite
chuffed to say I only had an ex-500GP
rider a couple of seconds ahead of me
and a bunch of ex-Suzuka 8hr racers
behind me! Despite overwhelming the
front ABS on the BMW in Race mode,
the feel from the Diablo Rosso III
allowed me to not run wide, just crank
it over and get on with turning fast
laps. The rear did get a little squirrelly
in the last couple of laps, but I’d moreTYRELAUNCH