Pirelli Rosso or Strada Anyone?

[hawaiiboy66]

Hey there. I am curious if anyone out there is running Pirelli Diablo Rossos or Stradas, and if so, what do you think? I am in the process of buying new tires and I am quite drawn to either the Rossos or Stradas, as they seem like they give a great combo of grip and tread life. I do commute quite a bit so I need some decent mileage, however I love to get out and dig into corners. I am a former racer so I can still push the envelope, however not as much to slide the tires any longer. Just looking for a good combo of both(I'm not asking for much now am I?!?!) Thanks for your opinions!

[chad951]

I have the Pirelli Diablo Stratas on my 04 Factory and I love them. The grip is obviously not as good as the factory Supercorsa Dragons but they stick pretty darn good once they are warmed up. They seem to warm up very quick as well. I have about 3K on them and they have almost no flat spot showing. My Dragons were gone in less than 3.5K. This was expected though. Your choice should really depend on how you ride the bike and what you expect from your tires. The Stradas are a performance touring tire where the Rossos are more for hard sport riding. The Stradas will save your but in the rain but the Rossos might be a bit shaky once the pavement becomes damp. I never ride in the rain intentionally but I have been caught a time or two in a sudden downpour and the Stradas were very stable. I hope this helps.

[DeBenGuzzi]

helps me, I'm trying to figure out the same thing, most of my riding is on flat level straight roads, takes aprox 1hr to get to the good roads, by the time I get to the good roads my ass needs a break!
shoulda bought a cruiser I know

[velowood]

I keep thinking the Michelin Pilot Road next, but nobody seems to have worn one out yet! These are about $180 for the rear, but if you get 6-8k miles on one, it's definitely worth it. My buddy has 3k on his, but no signs of wear yet. Anyone?

[Nosebleed]

after much Pirelli shopping I just bought a Rosso for my '04. summed up what i was after in terms of life-span and cost, as well as maintaing the brand.

unfortunately we ended up being seperated before i could put any 'real' k's on the tyre. only got a coupla hundy on it.

so really just a on the Rosso, with no real data as to why, i just still still think it was a good idea.

I'll chuck one on when I get through these Rennsports on my new bike.

[hawaiiboy66]

"Your choice should really depend on how you ride the bike and what you expect from your tires. The Stradas are a performance touring tire where the Rossos are more for hard sport riding. The Stradas will save your but in the rain but the Rossos might be a bit shaky once the pavement becomes damp. I never ride in the rain intentionally but I have been caught a time or two in a sudden downpour and the Stradas were very stable. I hope this helps."


I would say that half my miles come from commuting vs fun rides. When I ride for fun I may get close to dragging an occasional knee but not much more. Colorado mountain roads are great riding and there's lots of twisties available so I'll head for those when possible. I don't plan on riding in the rain, but yes, we all get caught in it from time to time. I am new to the Aprilia world and I recently had a YZF1000R with Dunlop D220s and I could get a slide if I pushed things so I suppose I am looking for stickier tires than those but would like more life than 4k if possible. I think this is why the Stadas are catching my attention. Thanks - your response helps quite a bit.