Pirelli Diablo Corsa III

I replaced my Continental Road Attack with the Pirelli Diablo Corsa III. They are the OEM fitment on the new Ducati StreetFighter. I don't really have anything bad to say about the RA's & I still believe they should be the OEM fitment on the VFR. I am going to start doing track days so I want a tire that is that much sportier. I am fully aware my choice will give up mileage/longevity for performance. I paid $310 delivered from Dennis Kirk.

I followed my long standing practice of actually scrubbing new tires with a brush & hot water before I rode on them. I still took it really easy since they are new tires. I will baby new tires until the initial shine left from the molding process wears off. The only way to do this is to heat the tires up & allow the molding compound to ooze it's way out of the tire.

Anyway, this is simply my initial impression. A more in depth review will follow when I get some real riding on them.

The turn-in is off the chart. The best words I could use are phenominal or magical. It's as if the tires are hard wired to your brain & follow what you are thinking. You can actually see the different compounds in layers going up the side of the tire. I did not come anywhere near the limit of these tires yet but I'm sure they will do just fine.

The tread groves are not as deep & some do not progress to the edge of the tire so I think water shedding will not be this tire's strong suit.

The front looks to have a normal profile. The rear seems to be slightly less than round. (Look at the OEM tire on the 09 Daytona 695 for a comparison of what I'm trying to get across. The Pirelli on the D695 is extremely peaked in the middle & has very severe profile.) They Corsa III's are very stable at speed & do not wander or shake side to side.

I didn't balance the rear since I'm waiting for the balance adapters to arrive from Harbor Freight.

That's all for now, give me about 2 weeks for a full, in depth reveiw.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

MUUUUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

BZ has converted another to the DCIII!

 

Don't worry, soon enough you will get the opurtunity to see how us Jersey guys ride.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

OK, I put 250 miles on my new tires today. Roads travelled included back country farm roads, interstate, primary hiways, secondary hiways, twisties, & stop-n-go in small towns. I am VERY impressed with them. All comparison to follow will reference the Dunlop D204K & the Continental Road Attack. The reason for this is they are the only other tire I've had on my bike.

Turn In
As I said before, turn in is off the chart. On a scale of 1 - 10, they are a 13. The bike transitions into turns with near magical ease.

Side To Side (Switchbacks)
Extremely easy. In fact, I found I could actually scare myself on switchbacks since it felt like the bike would simply keep flying after I settled into the turn.

Feedback
This tire follows the road & feeds all necessary info into the bars for your processing. I think the Continental Road Attack provided nearly the same level of feedback. The Dunlop? Not so much.

On Center Stability
The tire feels slightly nervous or twitchy on center. This is the trade off you're going to get between a sport tire & a sport-touring tire. If you want the tire to be extremely neutral on center, turn in will suffer. I'll gladly accept this minor quibble. The RA was rock-solid stable on center.

Grip
I couldn't run out of grip with this tire if I tried. The bike would be in a smoldering pile of wreckage before I ran out of grip. Guys with the D204K know what I mean when I say I hate a tire that simply gives up on you. The RA had perfectly adequate levels of grip but it's simply not in the same class of tire so I really can't say the RA is a "worse" tire.

Mileage
Simply too early to tell, but it will surely not be more than 4000 on the rear.

Water
Haven't had them in the rain yet. The front has normal tread & siping. The rear has normal super-sport tread. I really don't think this tire will be at the Continental Road Attack level of confidence in the rain. With the RA, rain never bothered me. It was an annoyance & nothing more.

Profile
The front appears to actually be taller than the D204K & the RA. There is a very noticable reduction in the distance between the front tire and the fairing splash panel in front of the oil filter.
The rear has a slightly flat appearance in the middle. Compare the Corsa III to a SuperCorsa to get the image. I looked at the Pilot Power next to a Power 2CT today & the 2CT had the same profile. This leads me to believe the odd profile has to do with the multi-compound construction of the tire.

Overall, I am completely satisfied with this purchase. I willingly trading mileage for performance. If this means a new rear tire every year, I can live with that for the rewards I get from them. Simply put, this tire will transform the VFR. You WILL NOT believe it's the same bike if you still have the OEM pieces of crap on.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

Sounds right!

BZ

 

You Boys can mark me on the list for conversion too. I've had the Conti RA's, and I am running Avon Storms now. They gave me the new tire rush, but are not quiet as good as the RA's. The Avons are, without a question,a notch below the RA's in the rain. So...
As the search goes on for the perfect tire, the DCIII is next on my list.

Mac

 

I've been running the Corsa 3's now for almost 2 years. A friend convinced me to try them out. First on my CBR and then later i mounted a set on my RC51. The tires are quite good. I've never had any complaints about lack of traction, stability or handling. I have not however ridden in the rain with them that i can recall and have not done a track day with them. My riding is fairly aggressive and mostly in the mountains. Thus far on average i get between 2000-2500mi out of a rear and probly 3500 on the fronts. As good as they are i think both the Michelin 2ct and the Bridgestone BT016 are better and can be purchased for about the same money. The Corsa III front is a single compound where both the 2CT and BT016 are dual. All three provide multiple compounds at the rear. Personally i'm going to throw some Bridgestones on when my Corsa 3's are due for replacement.

 

I finally rain tested my Diablo's. They are actually very good in the rain. Not as good as the Continental Road Attack, but they are quite good. The only time the front or rear slid or made me uncomfortable was the time I transitioned from old crappy pavement to asphalt that was literally only 4 hours old. Hitting that at 45 MPH was a tad interesting.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

Gee, it's good to see you finally come to the DC side of things, great write up KC, I couldn't agree more. LOL wet pavement is always sketchy at best.