Pirelli SCORPION trail II test

Pirelli SCORPION trail II test – We put Pirelli's new all-rounder tire to the test by taking part in the grueling 20.000 bends.

The market speaks clearly: in addition to naked bikes, this is the moment for Sports Tourers and large Enduros.
Intelligent motorcycles, easy to ride, comfortable and above all capable of managing with the same ease in the city, on the motorway and on the state road, but also on winding mountain passes and even on light dirt roads. It is clear, therefore, that motorcycles of this type need adequate tyres, capable of achieving a difficult balance between comfort, durability, grip, stability, drainage on wet surfaces, traction on dirt roads, etc.
And this is precisely the mission of new Pirelli SCORPION trail II. In order to test them properly we were invited by the Pirelli staff to participate in the seventh edition of 20.000 folds, a famous and highly appreciated Gran Fondo competition which took place on the beautiful roads of the Bergamo Alps, the Trentino Dolomites and the Swiss Alps. The race in question is amateur, but certainly not easy to tackle if you are not used to long - very long - distances. In the three days of the race we covered approximately 390km per day, for a total of more than 1100 km. We crossed very narrow mountain passes, with an endless succession of hairpin bends and above all we traveled in all possible and imaginable conditions: sun and scorching asphalt, cold and pouring rain, muddy and bumpy roads, covered with dry leaves or very slippery mountain moss , and also a pinch of off-road.
If the intent of the Pirelli guys was to show us that the new SCORPION trail II they are the true all-rounder tyres, they succeeded brilliantly.
To deal with all this we were entrusted with a Mv Agusta Turismo Veloce, certainly an atypical sport tourer, so nervous and reactive, with a decidedly sportier nature than many of the bikes of the other participants in the race. Needless to say, the most popular was by far there BMW R1200GS.As for tire sizes, our beautiful and nervous Turismo Veloce was mounted on the rear the mighty 190/55 while, at the front, the 120/70. These are the measurements of a real sports bike, but the range of SCORPION trail II However, it is truly complete, particularly at the front where there are different sizes for 17, 18, 19 and even 21 rims.

TIRES

Conceptually, the new product from the Italian company represents a combination of the strengths of two very successful models: the ANGEL GT and the previous SCORPION trails. The former famous (and award-winning) for their excellent mileage, comfort and stability, the latter known for their nature as true dual purpose tyres.
The tread look of the SCORPION trail II is typically off-road, aggressive and beautiful to look at, with the side grooves designed to ensure optimal drainage in case of rain.
The choice of rear compounds is also very interesting: in fact, it was decided to propose a new one the two-mix solution, and this time for all tire sizes in the range (the previous SCORPION trails featured this solution only for some sizes). We therefore have a central section - equal to 20% of the tread - in a harder compound to guarantee greater mileage, while the lateral compound - the remaining 80% of the tread - designed to optimize performance during bending both on dry and wet surfaces .
For the more vain, there is - as with the other top Pirelli models - a small area on the side of the tire where you can insert personalized plates.

OUR IMPRESSIONS DURING THE 20.000 FOLDS

First of all we were surprised by this event. We expected something decidedly peaceful, three days of relaxing walks through the streets and the most beautiful landscapes in Italy... None of this! The competition was very heated from the first evening when the timetables for the first stage were given to us with all the participants who, map and navigator in hand, began studying the routes for the following day. Until late at night. And with the alarm for the next day at 6.00. This was enough for us to understand that (unfortunately or fortunately) everyone at 20.000 folds is serious.
Leaving early in the morning for the first stage, we took just a couple of kilometers at a slow pace to break in the tires and, above all, to make sure that there was still no protective wax on the tread - always do this, I recommend. After that the feeling was almost immediate. Despite the damp and cold road we immediately felt confident on the front end, starting to enter the corners with more and more conviction. After a few kilometres, the feeling at the rear also increased, so much so that we went from the Rain map to Touring - even though the asphalt was still damp - and lowered the traction control from 8 (the maximum) to 4.
Regularity races like this are not easy, on the contrary. While in speed races the "only" thing you have to do is push hard from the start to the checkered flag, in these races you have to do many more things, you have to study the routes to perfection - taking the wrong turn at a crossroads can be fatal for ranking purposes, you have to keep the average speed as constant as possible so as not to arrive early or late at time controls, even refueling is strategically scheduled and done as quickly as possible.
We then often happened to be behind schedule, so we were forced to maintain a more than brisk pace for many, many kilometres. Some competitors knew every single bend, every single curve of the various mountain passes perfectly. For us, however, it was all new. Everyone knows how difficult and risky it is to go fast on roads you've never seen before: you never know if the curve you're taking closes on exit or not. More than once, in fact, we happened to "blindly" enter curves that then suddenly tightened, finding ourselves tackling them at a speed significantly higher than necessary. And this is where, in our opinion, the Pirelli SCORPION trail II they gave their best. In particular the front, which never worried us, allowing us to remedy our trivial mistakes without ever losing grip and without the slightest understeer, both on dry and wet surfaces. Of course, we're not talking about track tyres, but the grip level and lean angles certainly surprised us, especially in the wet.
We would have liked to keep the Turismo Veloce with Pirelli tires for a little longer, especially to check the mileage that has already made the cars famous. ANGEL GT, with which the SCORPION trail II they are closely related.

Unfortunately, however, at the end of the three days of the race we handed the Mv back to the Pirelli staff but, without any doubt, we can say we are deeply satisfied with our ranking and, above all, with the behavior of these SCORPION trail IIs.

by Marco Mauriello