I took my bike for an MOT and dyno run at the brilliant Southern Cross Motorcycles in Kilburn yesterday.
It passed the MOT and put out 157.9 BHP at the wheel on the Fuchs dyno…That’s without any mods added to the bike yet
I asked about my tyres…Standard Pirelli Diablos because they seem to slide all too easy in my opinion…I was told that I have the hardest compound of the three types of Diablo and that maybe I should think about swapping to the softer Corsa Diablo III intermediates.
My past tyre choice (on the 600 mind) was the Bridgestone BT-014s which I found pretty good for the road and ok for the track…The guys told me that the Pirelli’s I have are even harder than those.
I’m not sure now. Is it just me? It’s just that even in slightly damp conditions the rear will step out at the least amount of provocation…I don’t go WOT and think that I’ll get traction, but maybe I just need more throttle finesse…Hmmm
Any advice from people that have actually used these tyres…Remember that these are the basic Diablos, not the Corsa III or the Super Corsa.
It comes down to Cost vs Performance. I have Pirelli DC’s which are soft, but don’t last very long on a litre bike. They’re squaring off so handling is going out the window and with it, confidence. Personally I don’t mind, and sometimes quite like the tyre spinning up. Next time I’ll go for a harder tyre I think.
I used to run Metzeler Racetecs on my K4 750 and those were INCREDIBLE. Easily the best tyre I’ve ever used, but they were very expensive at £250 a pair fitted. The 750 was much easier on them, I don’t think they’d last two minutes on the thou.
Have you checked your tyre pressures are not too high(or very low) i always run 36/36 rather than 36/42 never have any grip issues apart from before the tyres are warm or in the wet.Diablos are cracking tyres,but i do prefer diablo corsas.
Had a couple set Dab’s on the SV1000S and they were loads of fun. IMO, this must be more about riding style and not tyre (taking into account that I’m not a good rider or anything like that - just putting up thoughts in a site). Maybe your style is more race track and so you need more of a race tyre? For me I don’t mind the standard Dab’s and have loads of mates who have never had problems.
Maybe spend the money and put Dragons on and see if there is a large difference
It’s like my mate says…What is the difference in price between performance tyres and the bike’s bodywork?
Might even go back to Bridgestone’s as on the road even in winter I never had problems with 014s…Sliding was progressive and wear rate was pretty decent.
So this is a different league as I’m now on a 1000 cc bike, not a 600, and I know there is a lot to be said about mental attitude affecting the ride, but this is just annoying because it’s something in the back of my mind whenever it’s a bit damp out and I know despite the huge increase in power that I have now, the ride shouldn’t be like this. These tyres are great in dry conditions.
Jay you’re right that sliding the rear is fun, but for me the difference is when you know that the tyres are trying to tell you that you’re reaching the limits of traction (good), and the tyres letting go of the road, catching again and the bike almost sending your ar*se out of the seat (bad)
Perhaps I’m riding too aggressively…I don’t wack the throttle open though…That’s what’s even more annoying
I’m going in for some days road ride training with my old DAS instructor who is now someone I call a mate (after 3 years and a lot of miles).
