Pirelli Goes Dual-Compound with Diablo Rosso II

November’s EICMA International Motorcycle Show in Milan provided Pirelli with a ‘home town’ venue for the introduction of its latest tyre for supersport and naked bikes, the Diablo Rosso II. The Italian manufacturer’s replacement to the first generation Diablo Rosso is described as being an “ideal evolution” of the original tyre that has inherited its predecessor’s sporty identity while emphasising and improving versatility, wet performance and regularity of wear. The Diablo Rosso II, with its strengths as a supersport road tyre, thus joins the trackday-focused Diablo Rosso Corsa in a premium radial product line-up that Pirelli calls ‘Rosso Generation’.

Pirelli refers to the Diablo Rosso II, developed on the back of technology gained during the tyre maker’s seven years of involvement in the Superbike World Championship, as Rosso Generation’s sportiest and most versatile road-oriented tyre. The tyre maker states it “raises the bar of the Rosso Generation’s sport capabilities in respect to road use and is destined for supersport and naked bikes that demand top performance and riding safety in all types of use, from twisty countryside roads to city traffic and under both wet and dry conditions.”

This second generation Diablo Rosso features a dual compound tread spread between a grip compound on the shoulder (25 per cent) and wet/mileage compound in the centre (75 per cent) of the rear tyre. Grip is further enhanced by EPT (Enhanced Patch Technology), which Pirelli says optimises contact area with the road at all lean angles. This contact patch area maximisation is due in part to an ICS (Integrated Contour Shaping), intended to compliment the handling and power delivery of modern bikes by ideally mapping tyre profiles; the result, says Pirelli, is strong improvements in stability, performance in the wet and safety in corners. The tyre’s FGD (Functional Groove Design) restyled tread pattern contributes to improved wear regularity and offers a land/sea ratio with two per cent more surface contact for greater confidence in the dry and an increased transfer of power to the ground.

The Diablo Rosso II is scheduled for a February 2011 launch and will be available in four 17-inch front wheel fitments and eight 17-inch fitments for the rear wheel. As is the case with the Diablo Rosso Corsa, the new tyre offers scope for personalisation through the application of a Pirelli-endorsed rubber label to the sidewall.