Hi, The Mrs needs some new tyres on her monster 1200 ahead of skills day at the end of the month. She is very happy with the pirelli Diablo Rosso threes currently fitted and wants to replace like for like. Looking at prices yesterday I called a local company and was advised I need the ducati “D” fitment. I thought this was more biased toward heavier sports tourers like my mutley. Is this not the case? Does anyone know exactly what the difference is between the “D” and standard version of the same tyre?
I asked the same question when I replaced my tyres and the answer from pirelli is that the D has stronger side walls, why would a sports type bike need stronger side walls I don't understand but I got my tyres from tinternet and the D versions were cheaper so I just stuck with them.
i find the whole Corsa, Diablo, Rosso, 2/3 thing confusing as fcuk. and only know which bloody tyres are fitted on my Monster by reading the sidewall.
My link above is an interesting read if you are into that sort of thing. Not sure if a similar document is available from other tyre manufacturers. Andy
Interesting info. I am not sure what to make of it if I am honest other than pirelli make variants for ducati. On my old multi I ran with Angel GT’s in a D fitting (rear only?) when I replaced the stock items on the 1260 I could not get GT’s so went for GT 2’s and a D fitment is not available. On the other hand the Diablo corsa 3’s have a D fitting for both front and rear! I will check the OEM rosso 3’s to see if they are are D fitting. It is not particularly clear why the monster requires a stiffer side wall but I am no tyre engineer!
been for a look. Mine are Rosso Corsa 2. Anyway. I like them sop far. But no idea if they are "D" or not.
Guessing it’s a collaboration between Ducati and Pirelli similar to the SP V3 produced for the Panigale V4. Andy
Thing is there is so much choice that it does become confusing. Both in the pirelli range and others. I feel sure any other leading manufacturer of sports bike tyres would have something perfectly ok for on the Monster. To D or not to D. Not a clue.
Wherever available, the "D Spec" stands in between the regular and the "A Spec" in weight. The Diablo Rosso 3 190/55ZR17 is a sport tire. Why would you want an OE "D Spec" as a replacement for the Monster?
Your Dealer is simply defaulting to the OE. You can get a better ROSSO III. The following may be of help to you. Weights (190/55/17) are substantially different between specs. ANGEL GT weighs: A-spec [0304-0210]: 16.4 lbs. D-spec [0302-0923]: 15.3 lbs. ---spec [0302-0705]: 14.5 lbs. SCORPION TRAIL II [0317-0297] weighs 15.2 lbs. ANGEL GT II A-spec [0302-1290] : 17.1 lbs. ---spec [0302-1289] : 15.0 lbs. DIABLO ROSSO III [0306-0524]: 14.9 lbs. DIABLO ROSSO CORSA II [0302-1214]: 14.5 lbs. DIABLO SUPERCORSA SP V2 [0302-0711]: 13.5 lbs. DIABLO SUPERCORSA SP V3 [0302-1295]: 13.2 lbs. A DIABLO ROSSO III D-spec is unavailable in both Canada and the USA. Nobody wants those. I would ask your tire supplier how much does a (190/55) DIABLO ROSSO III D-spec weigh compared with the Non-Spec which should weigh-in at 14.9 lbs. Personally, I would only consider a DIABLO ROSSO III D-spec for Multistrada with pillion for mileage and even then, an ANGEL GT is better for that application. For the Monster, the regular ROSSO III is excellent and light. If your dealer suggested a D Spec as a replacement tire for a Monster, I would get a second opinion from someone a bit more knowledgeable. One that note, here's what MCN's Michael Neeves has to say about tires which starts at 6:15. What's most important about OE tires comes up at around 8:46. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKM6T4JJURE As an aside, a DIABLO ROSSO IV is now available but in limited supply.
Thanks DarR, very interesting info. I did not appreciate the weight difference or the OEM fitment of the same named tyre was different to the non OEM variant - or have I mis understood?
You didn't misunderstand. I'm not sure about the ROSSO III D-spec as I don't know how much it weighs, but the Angel GT D-spec is heavier than the STD Angel GT. Out of curiosity, I would suggest asking your dealer about the weights. IMHO, there's no advantage to the D Spec tyre. In actuality, it may be disadvantageous.
Dealer had no idea on weight, they simply go on the manufacturers listing for particular bike model and year. No other specific knowledge on relative weights only that “D” was the Ducati option. I am included to agree with you re the d spec particularly in respect of the monster fitment. Cheers
