Bridgestone BT-016 or Pirelli Diablo Rosso?

[corey]

any exp. with diablo corsa III? i've been calling these my next tires for some time now.

[Desmo Demon]

any exp. with diablo corsa III? i've been calling these my next tires for some time now.

When they first came out, Pirelli ran a special where you bought a rear, sent in the receipt, and you got a front tire for $25. I ran a set of them on my 748 and my wife ran them on her R1. For normal street riding, I didn't notice any difference than a regular Diablo. The mileage was about the same, they handled well in the dry and the wet, and for all I knew while sitting on the bike, they were the same as the Diablos. If you did a side-by-side comparison on the trrack, I'm sure you'd notice a difference, but on the street, I didn't notice any difference, and if I would have, it sure would not have justified the huge difference in cost.

I remember when the Corsa III was first introduced. They advertised it originally as a dual-compound, three-zone tire, but when they finally were released, the rear was the only tire that was dual-compound, as the front was essentially an SC2 "medium" race compound with a few extras included in an effort to get a little more mileage out of them.

I'd say that, unless you are one of the fastest guys in your block and has the capability to be on the race track and potentially winning in circuits such as WERA, you're just throwing your money away for "bragging rights" that you are running Corsa III tires. Some of the fastest guys I know on the street drag knees and hard parts, and leave blackies coming out of curves, and for a while they were running just regular Pirelli Diablos. They've currently switched to the new Bridgestones....BT-016?.....whichever ones just came out as the "latest-and-greatist", and they are really happy with those.

I'm sure there are some others in here who may be able to give more detailed info on the Corsa III tires, though.

[txduc]

I've been running Diablo Rossos and love them.  Prior to that I was running M1's I liked them until I switched to the Rosso.  The Rossos stick better (no chicken strips front or rear and drag the cans) and provide better mileage (4k vs 2k).  I've also heard great things about the M3 so I may try them in the future.

[yoreese]

I'm leaning toward the Pilot Road 2's they sound great!

[LA]

I have a friend who had a set of Pilot Road 2's on the track and he said they rule.?? Sounds good to me.  My bike eats the regular 2cts.  Still damn good tyres.

LA

[Smokescreen]

Living on the Crest (Angeles Crest) I saw a set of Corsa IIIs disappear in 2000 miles, the same with the new BT-016s.  I wore out the Pilot Road 2CTs in just over 3000 miles.  They were showing belt on either side, but there was still plenty of rubber in the center.  Now I'm on Sportmax GPs and I expect they'll last about as long as the Pilot Powers I had on my previous bike.

If you are going mostly straight, forget about ultra high performance tyres.  You'll have square tyres in no time, and a lighter pocket book to show for it. 
Corsa IIIs = twistys
BT-016 = twistys
Sportmax GP = twistys

Diablo = variable
Pilot Power = variable/twisty
Pilot Road 2CT = variable

The Pilot Road 2CTs are probably your best choice.  And to give an idea of ability of the tyres, I rode knee down on the 2CTs without ever a slide.  They aren't as comfortable/stable with that kinda lean angle as the Pilot Powers (by far my favorite heavy lean tyre) as they are more willing to change course on a whim, whereas the PPs are dead set to hold their line and you change course with extra pressure on your slider.  However, if you aren't doing a lot of this, the Pilot Road 2CTs won't fail you.  Not even on the occasional track day.  Although if I were taking my bike to the track I wouldn't use them.  I'd be concerned about push when the tyres overheat.  Not an issue if you aren't dragging parts all the time though.  So don't waste your hard earned duckets.

[corey]

Just for reference, since this thread is turning out to be pretty damn informative, i thought I'd gather some pricing info.
All from Cycle Gear, as they seem to be pretty well priced:

MICHELIN Pilot Power Street Motorcycle Tires (#57275)
Front: $129.99
Rear (160): $154.99
Rear (180): $169.99

MICHELIN Pilot Road 2(CT) Street Motorcycle Tires (#149094)
Front (120/60): $152.99
Front (120/70): $162.99
Rear (160): $190.99
Rear (180): $200.99

BRIDGESTONE BT-016 Street Motorcycle Tires (#265678)
Front: $124.99
Rear (160): $149.99
Rear (180): $164.99

PIRELLI Diablo Rosso Street Motorcycle Tires (#207408)
Front: $139.99
Rear (160): $166.99
Rear (180): $182.99

[Jetbrett]

Great thread.   My stock Bridgestone's are toast after 10,000 mi and I'm shopping for replacements and could use some help too. 

Although I commute most days on my M695, there are some pretty good twisty areason the way that I regularly enjoy.  Being in Western Washington, riding in the rain is a given.   I also plan on attending the Lee Parks school and a track school this year (maybe another track day added in?).   

Beyond what has been posted, can anyone recommend a good tire for my ridding style?  I'm leaning toward Diablo Ross's, but have seen mixed reviews on these and have heard that they can be pretty harsh to the point of a loss of feed back.  I'm also thinking about Pilot Road 2's, but am wondering if these might not serve me well at the track or during aggressive riding.   

[DEVO!]

Wow you got 10k out of the bridgestones!
Ok I have on my 3rd set of tires on my 695, I commute daily rain or shine, the diablos were my second set and were very good all around IMO they stuck a little better than the stones and the feedback was better also they do not follow the rain grooves on the freeway. The rear went out around 7K. I now have continental road attacks and they seem to suit me better than the other 2 sets. Good in the rain and they feel very stable leaned over I only have about 500 miles on them but I am very happy so far.

[EEL]

Sport Rider did a comparision of tires. Pilot Power 2CT won, BT16's and Rosso's came in close second  / 3rd.

BUT if you looked at price / performance ratio BT16's were cheapest and had almost equal performance to the Pilot Powers.

Other note was that they notices B16's had significant wear on the edges of the rear tires due to the ultra soft compounds they use near the side walls.

This was more of a track test though.


Just FYI

[corey]

Great thread.   My stock Bridgestone's are toast after 10,000 mi and I'm shopping for replacements and could use some help too. 

Although I commute most days on my M695, there are some pretty good twisty areason the way that I regularly enjoy.  Being in Western Washington, riding in the rain is a given.   I also plan on attending the Lee Parks school and a track school this year (maybe another track day added in?).   

Beyond what has been posted, can anyone recommend a good tire for my ridding style?  I'm leaning toward Diablo Ross's, but have seen mixed reviews on these and have heard that they can be pretty harsh to the point of a loss of feed back.  I'm also thinking about Pilot Road 2's, but am wondering if these might not serve me well at the track or during aggressive riding.   

Sounds like you and I are in the exact same boat.
I was thinking Michelin Pilot Road 2CT's, mostly for the wear characteristics... but the initial cost is VERY intimidating.
After talking with quite a few people, I'm going with the old standard: Michelin Pilot Powers (NON-2CT).
I know a few guys that got great mileage out of them, and say they are the best all-around tires they've ever ridden on.
Okay for commuting, Great for road riding, and PERFECT for the twisties. Just a great street tire.
Price is right too.

-Cor