Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa

Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa

CW EVALUATION

Street-legal race rubber

FOUR YEARS AS THE SPEC TIRE-MAKER for World Superbike has paid big

dividends for Pirelli. For hard-charging streetriders and track-day aficiona dos, the evidence is in the performance of the recently released World Supersport-bred Diablo Supercorsa.

There’s a lot going on behind the Diablo’s ever-more-slick-like, DOTapproved tread design. A crisscrosspattern carcass improves distribution of pressure during hard braking and cornering, and the latest compound mix has increased thermal stability for greater, longer-lasting grip.

July’s 2x2 racetrack comparison between the Suzuki GSX-R750 and the Triumph 675 provided the perfect opportunity to sample Pirelli’s gummy new shoes. Both bikes were fitted with identical sizes: 120/70-17 fronts and 180/55-17 rears.

DETAILS Pirelli Tires 100 Pirelli Dr. Rome, GA 30161 800/747-3554 www.us.pirelli.com Price...$279 front, $367 rear Ups A Available in super-soft, soft and medium compounds A Exceeds recommended daily allowance of lean angle Downs ▼ High traction comes at a high cost ▼ One front and two rear sizes

Following the first session at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park, an hour’s ride from Las Vegas, we set the pressures at the recommended hot setting: 25 psi. In subsequent sessions, we were so confident in the grip that we were knee-down by the second corner of our ‘"out” laps.

We were also impressed by the tires’ stability, both at high speeds and under braking, as well as by their turn-in response and excellent feedback. We flogged both bikes all day, and traction was never an issue on either machine.

While we would have liked to experiment with pressures to possibly reduce the ragged wear we encountered up front on both bikes, bottom line was that the Supercorsas left us free to think about the motorcycles, not the tires. □