Pirelli Corsa III's - feedback

**AJB01** · 07 Oct 08, 01:45 PM

In case anyone is pondering tyre choice I can recommend these. Had a pair fitted last week and scrubbed them in gently in the dry. Yesterday I had a big trip to do and my BMW let me down courtesy of duff battery (I hope). So the 1098 had to step in as I had left it too late to jump in the car. It was chucking it down with rain and I really don't like sports-bikes much in the rain. However, the Corsa III's were excellent. Seemed to warm up OK even in the wet and I was never short of grip. Speeds were restricted due to the conditions, but even so the bike was much better in the rain than I expected.

**royum** · 07 Oct 08, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJB01

In case anyone is pondering tyre choice I can recommend these. Had a pair fitted last week and scrubbed them in gently in the dry. Yesterday I had a big trip to do and my BMW let me down courtesy of duff battery (I hope). So the 1098 had to step in as I had left it too late to jump in the car. It was chucking it down with rain and I really don't like sports-bikes much in the rain. However, the Corsa III's were excellent. Seemed to warm up OK even in the wet and I was never short of grip. Speeds were restricted due to the conditions, but even so the bike was much better in the rain than I expected.

Fully back this up, I wonder if the 848 feedback of these being poor in the wet is to do with the tyre temperature?

**Couchcommando** · 07 Oct 08, 04:07 PM

Fitted a set for my recent ride to spa for a trackday, after 3 sessions the rear felt like I was on an MX bike. With any throttle out the corner it would spin. I came in to see the problem and on the rear tyre where the 2 compounds meet it was a torn mess. This happened altho not as severe when I ran them on a 900SS for a trackday so for me they are not a recommended tyre. By comparison a friend running bridgestone 016's had perfect wear for similar corner speed.

**royum** · 07 Oct 08, 04:13 PM

I don't think anyone is suggesting they are track day tyres, the reason for the dual compound is for harder wear on the centre of the tyre, if you're after better wear on the edge then rossos are for you surely?

**ducatisteeny** · 07 Oct 08, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by royum

I don't think anyone is suggesting they are track day tyres, the reason for the dual compound is for harder wear on the centre of the tyre, if you're after better wear on the edge then rossos are for you surely?

I'm a bit confused are we talking these:

DESCRIPTION

<LI class=trat>Performance as soon as you need it
<LI class=trat>Confidence on normal roads and top performance on racetrack
<LI class=trat>Improved corner entry while still braking hard
Exploitation of your bike's potential to the utmost

This is from Pirelli's website does it not suggest they are more than suitable for track use or am I a complete doughnut

**ApocalypsE** · 07 Oct 08, 06:03 PM

Just picked up a 748 for trackdays with the same tyres on, i hope to do a trackday with them on in the next fortnight, they are brand new so if i dont approve watch this space, as i will be selling them cheap.

**JerryXt** · 07 Oct 08, 07:23 PM

I've used them for trackdays and I'd say they're ok. The 998 does tend to eat them / spin up and I put them on my commuter after a couple of days, but the 748R was fine on them. If you're not going to use warmers, these are fine. Just pay attention to the wear pattern and set the pressure accordingly.

**royum** · 07 Oct 08, 08:05 PM

So why wouldn't you use the soft compound on the Rossos rather than a two compound tyre designed to give extra life on the mid-section of the tyre, not exactly the bit that gets a lot of wear on a track?
I think I'm obviously missing the point of what a trackday is for, I thought it was to push your bikes performance in a way you can't legally do on the road and as such you'd put on soft rubber not your street tyres?
The track bikes I've seen are usually shod in sticky stuff.

**royum** · 07 Oct 08, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ducatisteeny

This is from Pirelli's website does it not suggest they are more than suitable for track use or am I a complete doughnut

Agreed that they are certainly marketing them that way, just can't believe it having used these tyres for touring and some SC Supercorsas for fun that truly would suit a track day.

**JerryXt** · 07 Oct 08, 08:59 PM

when you're starting out, C3s are a good compromise tyre that you can ride to the track on, hoon around and ride home again. Granted, if you're only using the tyre for the track there are a lot of better alternatives.

Rossos still have a significant road bias and I would be concerned that the tread would move around under load on something with a lot of power. On the road, I'm sure they'd be fine, but not so good on the track.

**Couchcommando** · 08 Oct 08, 07:23 AM

They were endorsed and used in the R6 cup as control tyre by Pirelli. I have found on torquey bikes that they always chew up on the edge where the different compounds join. Of course for the road this isn't an issue but if you want to ride to the odd trackday and use a road bike I wouldn't use these tyres, of course it's all personal preference

**AJB01** · 08 Oct 08, 08:14 AM

To be clear I was only recommending them for road use. For track use I have a set of Pirelli Dragon Supercorsas but on the road especially in the wet, they are hopeless as they only have pretend tread and they don't warm up enough in these wintry conditions so I felt unsafe on the bike.

So on a direct comparison between these two tyres on the road, the Corsa III's win hands down for me as the bike leans and grips much more securely and it gave me no trouble in torrential rain (the limiting factor was visibility, not the tyres).

I nearly fitted a set of Michelin Pilot Power 2CT's as I have a similar set on another bike, but I was persuaded that the Pirelli fitment suits the 1098 better. I have never tried Bridgestone 016's but I had 014's for a while on the other bike and they were really good, so I would expect the 016's to be excellent too. Bridgestones were nearly £70 a pair more expensive than the Pirellis though when I phoned around.

**sima07** · 08 Oct 08, 04:17 PM

i have considerd these tyre myself but friends that use them on their r1's only get 1500-1800 miles out of a rear corsa3. i run michelin pilot power 2ct's normally and got 3000 miles out of a rear on the road and never had one skip or slide with these fitted(apart from in the wet). once the supercorsa's on my 1098 are done i will be putting 2ct's on,cant fault them.

**bikeracer1098** · 13 Oct 08, 11:04 AM

SIMA07
How does your mate only get 1500-1800miles out of the rear tyre on an R1.
I'm currently on my second set of Corsa III on my R1 which has around 170bhp.
The first set lasted 5500miles on the rear with the bike being ridden flat out on a daily basis!!!
These tyres are superb for grip.
The only tyres which I rate higher for sheer grip are the supercorsa evo's on my 1098R!!

**sima07** · 13 Oct 08, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikeracer1098

SIMA07
How does your mate only get 1500-1800miles out of the rear tyre on an R1.
I'm currently on my second set of Corsa III on my R1 which has around 170bhp.
The first set lasted 5500miles on the rear with the bike being ridden flat out on a daily basis!!!
These tyres are superb for grip.
The only tyres which I rate higher for sheer grip are the supercorsa evo's on my 1098R!!

i have 2 friends run them on r1's and they both struggle to get any more than 1800 miles out of a rear 4500-5000 out of a front. havent tried them myself but have run supercorsa's and only get 1000-1200 miles out of these. like yourself we tend to ride flat out all the time.