Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128353
The Ta rga Florio pit g a ra ges: Many a fam ous ra cer has been serviced in these hi stori c garages. and warm up quicker than tires from just a few years ago , too. Advanced computer design , compounding, and new construction methods and production methods have created a sort of tire revolution . Tires such as the new Diablo Strada grip as good as Pirelli's own race tires did five years ago . Pirelli's goa ls with the Diab lo Strada were to provide excellent mileage, long-distance comfort, racelike hand ling, excellent wet-weather grip , quick warm up and excellent dry grip. The tread pattern's land/sea ratio (t he ratio between th e tread pattern and rubber that contacts the road) is des igned to dispe rse water away from the tire at any lean angle. The tire's O-degree ste e l belts keep the tire from deforming even with a heavy load and a passenger, kee ping the contact patch con sistent at any lean angle. The profile of the tire is more reminiscent of a race tire, so the handling should be more predictable at a quicker pace. So how do you test a sporttouring tire? First , you need to find the tire 's limitations. To be honest, on my first of two days around the Targa Florio riding be hind the Pirelli test rider, I never found it. The pace was fast for sport-touring type riding, but the tire never did anyth ing w rong. It never slid, it felt stable at all lean angles, it wasn't prone to stan ding up unde r braking, a nd it was very pred ictable . I rea llydidn' t have any complai nts , and just for good measure , a co uAn advertisement for an Alfa Romeo anniversary event on the Targa Florio. 28 DECEMBER 8, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS pie of rain showers threw in the wet ele ment. The temperatures in the mountains were chilly at time s and yet the tires warmed up qu ickly, even in the wet - good for rider confidence. Something bothered me, however, as I never really figured out how much abuse the tire cou ld take . The following day I was lucky enough to get a second afternoon on the Targa Florio , but this time it was without a test rider escort - it was time to misbehave . Having done four laps of the 45-mile course the day before, I knew what to expect. The Targa Florio is extremely bumpy in places, goes off-camber when you least expect it, and has dips, drop-offs and places w here the bike gets momentarily airbo rne. There are hairpins, sweepers and long straightaways, so a little of everything. It's no wonder this is a popular Pire lli test rout e. I spent the second day on a Ducat i ST4S (O hlins rear suspension and 996cc Desmoquattro engine), which was a perfect bike for the Targa Florio. A small band of us attacked the route with intent. Now I could now try to find the tire's limits, w hich I did in more ways than one. Running a quicker pace than the day before , I was able to get the tires to break loose on more than one occasion, but I was very impressed with how hard I had to push to do it. I was riding at a fast sportbike pace, far beyond the pace tha t I think mo st sport-to uring riders will go. The most impressive element to me was the stabi lity from the fro nt tire under braking. I got the Ducati's ABS completely frazz led and had t he fro nt ho pping under bra king fo r some of the hairpins, but t he tire didn't seem to mind a bit , providing amp le traction a nd feedback. Side grip was very impressive as well, offering lots of warning before 40t h Annive rsary sliding, then doing so in a smooth and predictable manner. The Diablo Strada is available in t he follow ing sizes: I IO /BOZRIB, 120/70ZR 17 and 120/ 60ZR I7 fo r the front ; a nd 150/ 70Z R17, 160/60Z R17, 170/60ZR 17 and IBO 55Z RI7 for t he rea r. There has / also been a request by the U.S. importer to make a 190/50ZR I7, so that may come in the near future. When all was said and done , the Diablo Strada impressed, to say the least. Not only was grip exce llent for a tire in this category, but the tire showed very little in the way of wear, looking brand new after two full days of abuse . T he Strada isn't just for sport-touring bikes, as it wou ld be a great choice for sportbike owners who want more mileage from their tires or for owners of standards and naked bikes. Th is tire can definitely play more than one role , just as the Diablo Corsa track tires have done on our test bikes over the past year; they were great on the track and still pro vided excellent grip on the street for mon ths thereafter. eN