Pirelli Rosso III Review

S1000RR  FORUM

Help Support S1000RR FORUM:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Westy

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 3, 2016
Messages
300
Reaction score
0
Location
Hampshire
Hi all,

This thread has been kicked off to review my recently won a set of Rosso III's off this forum - Im a very lucky lad!
https://s1000rrforum.co.uk/showthre...osso-3-1-Free-Set-to-Review&p=89241#post89241

These are the new rubber replacements for my Sept 16 S1000RR (stock PSI 36f / 42r fitted)
120/70 front
190/55 rear


Great comparison link from Alex below showing a current market comparison of each manufacturers Sports Tyre.
Michelin Tyre Test

I had these fitted at CW Motorcycles on the 24th of May during my first early annual service. It felt lovely having none-square tyres again with the reminder that I needed to be careful for a few miles till they had been more scrubbed in.
thumb_IMG_1527_1024.jpg
thumb_IMG_1528_1024.jpg


First tender steps included a little 30 mile play with my friends Fireblade on the journey unto Henstridge Airfield - the last Wednesday of each month is a drag strip head to head event run down the Airfield.
thumb_IMG_1581_1024.jpg


*Continued next post*

Mods please delete any duplicated photos
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1657.jpg
    IMG_1657.jpg
    1.4 MB
  • IMG_1655.jpg
    IMG_1655.jpg
    1,014.2 KB
Last edited by a moderator:
165 miles followed to ensure I reached Dartford to meet up with friends for my following Euro trip over the Bank Holiday Weekend.

MT10 on Bridgestone S20's
KTM Superduke 1290R on Dunlop Sportsmart's
Street Triple 1050 on Metzler Racetec K3's
S1000RR on Pirelli Rosso III's.
Aside from the Triumph my friends had tyres which compete with the Rosso III's (except being the last model for both S20s and Sportsmarts)

Next entailed 1,300 miles across Europe. Within 800 miles I had utter confidence in the Rosso III's. No chicken strips either side, no issues with TC kicking in despite full throttle in the lower gears.


Photos of the rear grouped in the evening when we arrived in Charleville-Mezieres

IMG_1657.jpg


IMG_1655.jpg


IMG_1660.jpg


IMG_1653.jpg


IMG_1652.jpg



During my break away I even managed to extend a nice run on de-restricted roads to reach the magic 299km/h. Felt so easy and achievable on the s1000; despite the slight aerodynamic worry the BMW Motorrad Tail Pack provided behind my back.

Since owning the bike in Autumn this trip was the first hot weather Id been on the bike for with each day in Europe 32-34C at lunch. It was literally like having tyre warmers on as before riding after a break both the front & rear were roasting!


Below is a 6 min vid of some of the scenery and riding from Europe. Mainly filmed from the Triumph & when I followed the lads (save for the 4m50 on section)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7j0uo1yf4ojvalz/Germany - May 17.mov?dl=0

The bike now stands at 8266 miles since Late September 2016; 1,433 miles on the Rosso III's. No squaring off or tearing despite the high pressures on high PSI.

At this moment very impressed
 
Last edited:
Brilliant review!

I put a set of these on yesterday.... but with the 200 rear.

I phoned and asked BMW if they would recalibrate the TC... they want to charge me for the privilege! Anybody know a midlands based dealer that does it for free? A few in the other thread said their dealer didn't charge...

I wasn't as lucky as you @Westy but I did manage to get mine half price following (literally) twisting a Pirelli employees arm!

I rode mine for 25 miles yesterday tentatively then went home to punch stuff as I was so angry that a fella in a Q3 thought he'd overtake a lorry into my path on a bend - fortunately I was well under the speed limit and had ABS... any other combination would have resulted in a very crappy afternoon indeed.

Looking forward to scrubbing these in - its so nice having the rounded profile - strangely though the profile on the 200 rear actually means noticeably faster in the bends than the 190 Metzler K3.. I'm assuming its the profile?
 
Nice post westy. Thank you for taking the time. Keep us updated on how they wear.
 
I have thrashed these on an R1 in 30degree heat at Almeria for a day - they eventually run out of talent under acceleration but then so does everything. They worked well enough for me to forget about the rubber and just ride the damn thing.
Glad you've been enjoying them. I think they are a safe bet for most of us and the tread design is aesthetically pleasing too :)
 
Afternoon all,

On going update for June and July.



After returning and undertaking the initial post, the Rosso III's were removed.
I replaced the 120/70 and 190/55 with Pirelli Rosso III's 120/70 and 200/55 :wink-new: I was so confident in them.

The commuting has died down due to reaching nearly 10k miles in 10 months so its mainly for fun now.
I have just hit 1,050 miles on the second set of the 200 rear Rosso set and Im still super impressed.

These Rosso III's are providing so much confidence Im not even concerned with thinking about them. Its such a pleasure to ride!
The only way to get TC to kick in is either 2nd gear flat out 44-51 degrees or in 5th again flat out at a high angle in Race mode (not user or slick)
Shows how sticky they are to contain 194 wheel horse power at a high angle!

After riding with two friends, both have bought Rosso IIIs instead of Michelins (GSXR Thou 2010 190/55 rear & a Gen 3 BMW S1000RR 190/55 ) for their road use from seeing my confidence on the bike



End of June 9 month ownership obligatory 9,000 mile photo.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_a2.jpg

Two pictures added after this mornings riding in Hampshire Sat 15th of July
Left hand side 200 section rear Rosso III
1,050 miles
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1355.jpg


Right hand side 200 section rear Rosso III
1,050 miles
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1353.jpg


Todays riding buddy, HP4 Carbon also in Southampton :)

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1352.jpg

@Skel thanks chap, the video was only made on iMovie in a few hours my friends pretty good after doing videos (clean ones!) at Uni on his SJ Action Cam.

@Steadynow how have you found the tyres? What mileage can be expected from front and rear?

@Alex I will be running these or scrubs in August at Snetterton so hopefully will find the same albeit in a colder temp range

@Soofysayer will you be running these Monday 7th at our BMW Track Day?
 
Last edited:
What kind of front end 'feel' are you all getting with the Rosso's? it's the one element I personally don't like so much about M7's as the miles go on.
 
Whats the point of running Rosso III when there is Rosso Corsa II available ? Much better tire imho.

I run it 30-30 or 32-32 while riding the Alps on KTM superduke 1290 R. I would say it has comparable rear torque to s1krr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imIVzXqrgJg
 
Last edited:
Whats the point of running Rosso III when there is Rosso Corsa II available ? Much better tire imho.

I run it 30-30 or 32-32 while riding the Alps on KTM superduke 1290 R. I would say it has comparable rear torque to s1krr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imIVzXqrgJg
The tyres are in separate categories.
'Much better' is such a subjective statement.

- Alex
 
The tyres are in separate categories.
'Much better' is such a subjective statement.

- Alex

Are they by that much ? Watch the video, it's very informative. The only difference to me is the side compound that you begin using only past 50 degrees lean angle.
 
Yes I think the Rossa 2s are better, will fit them when the 3s are done. What pressure do you run them at on your 1000rr ?.
 
do you mean rosso corsa 2 or rosso 2 ?

I don't use rosso corsa 2 on s1krr, only use it on KTM SDR on public roads. Pressures really depend on how much of disposable income I have during a specific time frame.
If I have, then 30-30, otherwise something like 32-36/38.
 
and one thing to add, I don't ride on UK public roads at all.

I prefer to invest in good tires and have some fun in EU or No Limits/MSV, rather than invest in UK police department.
 
Last edited:
do you mean rosso corsa 2 or rosso 2 ?

I don't use rosso corsa 2 on s1krr, only use it on KTM SDR on public roads. Pressures really depend on how much of disposable income I have during a specific time frame.
If I have, then 30-30, otherwise something like 32-36/38.


What pressures are you running on the SDR? Just picked one up with M7RR's found theyre brilliant. Got rid of any strips within 21 miles of running it in! Also what track pressures as Im at Silverstone on 19th with the SDR.


I thought there was a greater difference between Rosso Corsa II and Rosso III's (aside from the tread) might give the Corsa II's a shot next.
 
I was meaning Rossa Corsa 2. Run 34/36 at the moment on the Rossa Corsa 3s, have tried 32/34 but front feels slow on turn in. Thought I would ask on here just to see what others are running and pressures being used on the road.
 
I was meaning Rossa Corsa 2. Run 34/36 at the moment on the Rossa Corsa 3s, have tried 32/34 but front feels slow on turn in. Thought I would ask on here just to see what others are running and pressures being used on the road.

34/36 psi is a good cold pressure setup for road use IMO.
I?ve previously used 36/36 psi, though following @soofsayer ?s recommendation I?ve since dropped the front to 34 psi and am very happy indeed
 
Back
Top