Pirelli Diablo Rosso III

was born from the racetrack for the road and its strong points are sports handling, a high level of grip and long lasting performance.

Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), 16 May 2016 – Pirelli is proud to present DIABLO ROSSO™ III, the new Supersport tyre of the DIABLO™ tyre family which takes the performance offered by a road tyre to a new level.

DIABLO ROSSO™ III is the direct successor of DIABLO ROSSO™ II but raises the bar of sport riding even higher. It extends the qualities of its predecessor, strengthening its features in terms of handling and grip, with long lasting performance.

Designed and developed with a view to equip the latest generation of powerful road bikes characterised by significant technological equipment and electronic control systems, DIABLO ROSSO™ III is a tyre born from the racetrack for the road because it takes advantage of all the research and know-how acquired by Pirelli in the FIM Superbike World Championship, in the last twelve years of participation in its capacity as Official Tyre Supplier.

The evolution of the Supersport segment Naked bike new registrations have bounced back, showing encouraging signs of growth within this historically high performing sector.

This segment, together with Supersport bikes, is also in continuous evolution: over the last few years have seen great changes in the design and technology applied to motorcycles which, have become more and more powerful, increasingly managed by electronics and equipped with the most advanced safety systems such as traction control.

At the same time the needs of motorcyclists have changed and now riders have become much more demanding. It is no longer sufficient for a tyre to be simply ‘sporty’: the watchword now is versatility because it must guarantee lasting performance and be as good in dry as in wet conditions, together with good mileage.

Precisely for these reasons Pirelli decided to design the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III, a tyre that represents the very latest level of evolution of the DIABLO ROSSO™ range which is perfectly suited to the needs of the motorcycles and today’s motorcyclists; capable of taking performance on the road to a new level.

The DIABLO™ range: a family of number ones

The DIABLO™ brand has always represented Pirelli’s excellence in the world of ‘sporty’ tyres for motorcycles. After its introduction in 2002 in the Supersport segment, the DIABLO™ family rapidly evolved until it was present in many other market segments through as many as 16 tyre models, from Racing to Supersport. The DIABLO™ brand can boast almost fifteen years of experience, technology and wins in the comparative tyre tests from the most authoritative specialist magazines and in races of international value. For more than a decade the most important motorcycle manufacturers have been choosing tyres from the DIABLO™ range as original equipment while the international press considers DIABLO™ products a reference point. Within the DIABLO™ range the DIABLO ROSSO™ brand identifies products dedicated to sporty use on roads and the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III comes out of this important background to continue the story of this successful brand.

The genesis of DIABLO ROSSO™ III

Pirelli has been the Official Tyre Supplier for all classes of the FIM Superbike World Championship since 2004 and last year was confirmed in this role until the end of the 2018 season. Having arrived at the twelfth year, the technical partnership established between Pirelli with the teams and riders of the FIM Superbike World Championship can already boast the record for the longest running control tyre supplier in the history ofmotorsports at an international level. Pirelli has made the Championship for production-derived motorcycles the test bench to develop not only the products used in competition but also many of the tyres used daily by motorcyclists all over the world. Inspired by the philosophy, which has now become a motto of the Italian tyre company, “We sellwhat we race, we race what we sell” Pirelli has managed to bring to fruition all the experience acquired in this championship applying to normal production products for road use some of the patents and materials developed for racing activity.

The entire new DIABLO ROSSO™ III project is the latest result of Pirelli’s long experience in the FIM Superbike World Championship: the design technology on which this new product is based, the materials of the structure and compound mixing process are the same as used for Superbikes.

Strong points of DIABLO ROSSO™ III and advantages for motorcyclists

DIABLO ROSSO™ III is the next step in the evolution of DIABLO ROSSO™ II, which combines all the latest technologies, the most revolutionary materials and the most innovative processes together with the know-how acquired by Pirelli in the Superbike World Championship in these last few years. Pirelli’s engineers have further strengthened all of these elements to provide an unprecedented level of performance for a Supersport tyre.

DIABLO ROSSO™ III greatly improves handling, absolute grip and performance in the wet, to guarantee lasting and consistent performance for the whole lifecycle of the tyre.

DIABLO ROSSO™ III presents new profiles, materials of the latest generation, an innovative structure, new compounds and a tread pattern that is derived directly from that of the DIABLO™ Supercorsa.

The main technical characteristics of the DIABLO ROSSO™ III are:

1. The twin-compound rear tyre with high percentages of silica which provides grip in all conditions giving mileage of reference in the Supersport tyre segment
2. The racing-derived profiles
3. The tread which presents a pattern that is an evolution of the flash symbol already present on the DIABLO™ Supercorse

These characteristics translate into the following advantages offered to motorcyclists by the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III:

1. The handling from the sporting background transmits to the motorcyclist a strong feeling of safety and reliability of the bike. This is made possible by the combined characteristics of profile and structure that are derived directly from the world of Superbike competition where the ability to lean into a bend quickly and with stability through corners is fundamental.
2. The exceptional grip, not only in the dry where historically Pirelli is a reference point for all competitors, but now also in the wet, thanks to the new materials and experience gained by the brand in other segments. Excellent qualities in the dry are no longer sufficient because motorcyclists are now asking for better performance in all weather conditions and with a wider spectrum of operating temperatures.
3. Performance consistency over time because the qualities of the tyre are long-lasting and make it fully usable and available for its whole lifecycle.

The bikes and motorcyclists that DIABLO ROSSO™ III is destined for

The new DIABLO ROSSO™ III can satisfy even the most demanding riders who want a road tyre capable of guaranteeing great handling, an excellent level of grip and high performance constant over time. More specifically, DIABLO ROSSO™ III is dedicated in particular to motorcyclists who love to ride their motorcycle with a sporty andenthusiastic riding style to feel on the road the same emotions that can be felt on the racetrack.

DIABLO ROSSO™ III is destined not only for owners of naked, Supersport motorcycles but also of those of supertourer bikes who use their bike in every context, from winding roads to mountain passes, always looking for high lean angles. These are motorcyclists who use their bike both for short trips into the country lasting a day and for medium/long-range excursions during the weekend with light luggage and, sometimes, also with a passenger, but always looking for high performance.

Finally DIABLO ROSSO™ III does not shy from even the most extreme use: occasional lovers of the racetrack will also be able to appreciate the great handling of a product born and designed for the road but derived from racing.

The DIABLO ROSSO™ III tread pattern: the flash

As can easily be seen, the tread pattern of the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III derives directly from that of the well-known and highly regarded competition tyre DIABLO™ Supercorsa, suitable for road use.

The Pirelli engineers considered it important to maintain the grooves with the typical and distinctive “flash” pattern on the tread because it is recognised as an expression of competitiveness and aggressiveness. The set of grooves represents the best solution possible for obtaining compactness of the tread strip, a good balance between full and empty spaces, and excellent drainage of water.

The orientation of the grooves follows the waves of wear, interrupting the forces that cause it, favouring more uniform consumption and a reduction of the stress to which the compound is subjected. The orientation is also effective from the point of view of dispersal of water which makes the DIABLO ROSSO™ III an extremely safe and high performing tyre also in the wet.

In keeping with the DNA of the DIABLO ROSSO™ II and of all the most recent products introduced on the market by Pirelli, on the shoulder of the tread we can recognise the name of the product alongside which is the “flash” symbol typical of the tread pattern, to reaffirm the family feeling of the latest generation of the DIABLO™ family. As a further link with other Pirelli products, the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III is marked with the “D” of DIABLO™ 0.3 millimetres deep positioned in the centre of the rear tyre.

The DIABLO ROSSO™ III compounds

The new DIABLO ROSSO™ III compounds meet the needs of the new increasingly performing motorcycles and of the motorcyclists of today who want to have tyres that are always versatile and capable of guaranteeing excellent performance on both dry and wet roads combined with good mileage. This is why in the compounds of the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III the Pirelli engineers have played around a lot with the percentages of silica present.

Thanks also to an exclusive and patented mixing process, Pirelli has developed innovative compounds with a high percentage of silica combined with latest generation oils, resins and polymers which improve the cohesion of the elements, so as to achieve an unprecedented level of uniformity.

The rear tyre is dual compound with a large side strip of high-grip compound and a central strip which guarantees the mileage. More specifically the profile is divided in a proportion of 40-20-40 where the side compound, more high performing, covers a total of 80% of the entire tread while the remaining 20% in the central section is made up of a compound functional to stability and mileage.

With this arrangement, the side compound that guarantees the grip comes into play as soon as the leaning phase begins, ensuring excellent adherence and offering the motorcyclist great confidence while leaning into bends. This is made possible by the fact that the compound used on the side has a 100% silica formulation and provides all the grip necessary on both dry and wet roads. The side compound is supported in the substratum by a harder compound which gives the tyre characteristics such as stability and precision in maintaining the trajectory in bends.

The same compound which in the side strips is present only in the substratum emerges instead in the central part covering a width of approximately 45 millimetres of the tread. This compound also has a high percentage of silica (although less than 100%) and has the purpose of ensuring stability at high speeds together with mileage of reference for the Supersport tyre segment.

The front tyre is a single compound with a silica content of 100%. The decision not to apply also to the front the dual-compound solution is based on studies and on the direct experience of the Pirelli engineers who arrived at the conclusion that the single-compound solution on the front is the best choice, as it is the only one capable of offering the motorcyclist good quality feedback together with a high level of stability.

The DIABLO ROSSO™ III profiles

In general the main function of the tyre’s profile is to affect the handling.

In this case too, the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III has inherited much from Pirelli’s experience in the world championship for production-derived motorcycles: its profiles are derived directly from those of the DIABLO™ SUPERCORSA, a tyre used in the Supersport and Superstock classes, although suitable for road use.

The profile of the front tyre is characterised by a multi-radius development which improves handling, offering the motorcyclist immediate leaning into bends and facilitating at the same time rapid changes in direction. Compared with that of the DIABLO ROSSO™ II, the profile is higher in the central part and wider at the sides to provide a larger contact area and a more stable lean.

At the same time the height of the sidewall has been increased by about 3 millimetres to favour greater flexibility of the sidewall in acceleration out of bends, with a great benefit in terms of traction.

The rear tyre follows the same scheme and geometry similar to that of the front, ensuring perfectly balanced and synchronised behaviour of the pair.

The DIABLO ROSSO™ III structure

The radial casing of the new DIABLO ROSSO™ III is very rigid to maintain the profile and enables the compound to grip the asphalt. Very similar to that used in the DIABLO™ Supercorsa, it is made of a high-performance Rayon, capable of conserving its shape during high stress forces generated by acceleration and load.

The density of the belt has also been adjusted to balance rigidity with the absorption properties of the roughness of asphalt, providing a better feeling of contact and reliability.