Pirelli Diablo Rosso 4 on a Gen5 ZX10R

When I bought my Super-Green-Speed-Machine it came with mismatched tyres, you can read about that here...

In July 2024 I finally got around to putting matching rubber on, and by 'I got around to it' .. what I actually mean is I got Matt the fitter to do it. And what an excellent job he did, look at his happy little face, so elated to be working on a Kawasaki...

Originally I had planned to put some Bridgestone Battlax S23 sports tyres onto the bike but I have 2 reasons why I didnt.

1. The bike has Pirelli stickers on it... which wouldn't force me into having Pirellis but it certainly is something to consider.
2. Pirelli offered me free tyres to test.

Yeah I put that in bold writing, I've nothing to hide!

Does that mean I'm not allowed to say anything bad about them? Heck no, if they're bad I'd say so. In fact, want me to say some bad things about Pirelli products? I'll do it!! I'm not scared.

• Pirelli Angel GT2 has unattractive tread pattern.
• Pirelli MX tyres are not great value compared to rival products.
• And if I can venture into the sister company Metzeler, the Karoo 3 is scary to ride on the roads with.
  (now replaced by the much better Metzeler Karoo 4)
  

So there ya go, I'll tell you straight. I cannot be bought.
(disclaimer, I might be able to be bought, email with me with bribes please)

And now the main event... the Diablo Rosso 4 review. 
I have tested a few tyres in my time but I'm nowhere near Rossi enough to use or feel the subtle feedback when approaching the very limit of tyres, but here's what I can tell you.

Sunny & warm open roads. 
The proper environment for sports bikes with sport tyres... I'm not able to tell you what about super duper fast speeds, that's not legal and I wouldn't encourage that sort of thing.
(disclaimer, I probably would encourage that sort of thing)

While I really truly honestly Officer have not tested these at fast speeds, I have unleashed the 200bhp fury onto these tyres and .......... no dramas. Really. No spins, no slides, the bike just propelled right up to 60mph faster than you can say 'zooooooooooooom'.
Pirelli like their handling to be sharp and precise, and predictably and not helpful for my review, they do exactly this.  The tyre is has a nice tall profile which means the bike will turn quickly and go where you point it, and then it grips, and then you grin. Nice tyre, good tyre!  

Wet and cold open roads. 
The right place but not the right weather for a sports tyre. Even through the cold and the puddles I had no issues or concerns from the tyres. This is riding at legal speeds on A-roads, no need to slow down and pootle along. 

Freezing cold commuting. 
To be brutually honest, I confess that most of my bike riding is to work and back, life gets in the way it seems. But this does give me another area to feedback on the tyre

When it comes to 200bhp commuting involving filtering / lane splitting, the main requirement I have of the tyre is stability.

Bumping over cats eyes, crossing white lines, skirting along the over banding between lanes I want those tyres to track straight and true, not wobble off to the side and damage wing mirrors... and yet again, the tyre does the job I need it to.

What I can't tell you. 
Life span, I don't know just yet.
Track use. Not a clue, sorry! 

But what I do know is that the Pirelli Diablo Rosso 4 really do the job. They are everything the Diablo Rosso 3 were and more.  If you have a high powered bike and want a tyre you can trust to keep that power in check then these are one of the very best options.