Best Tires For Ducati Monster

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My Ducati Monster is still on its original tires that it came with from the factory, but it’s time for a new set, so what’s the best tire for a Ducati Monster?

There are so many tire variations on the market nowadays. Tires for high mileage, tires for different conditions, and track day tires. But is there one that will suit my riding style and budget? Is it necessary to go with pricier name brands, or will the less expensive brand offer similar characteristics?

The Ducati Monster uses a 120/70 ZR17 front tire and a 180/60 ZR17 rear tire. The ideal tire category for the Ducati Monster is a sport or sport touring class tire. Pirelli is the original tire supplier for the Ducati Monster and fits it with the Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 Tire.

The Ducati Monster is a sporty and agile motorcycle that will provide the rider with great thrills and excitement if equipped with the right tires. Through my research, I have found the best tires for the Ducati Monster. Tires that will provide outstanding grip in all conditions combined with features that will increase mileage and improve safety.

I have been a Ducati motorcycle owner since I received my bike license over two decades ago. I have equipped my bikes with good and mediocre tires, and I believe I have found the select few tires that suit and complement the Ducati's performance.

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What Are The Best Tires For A Ducati Monster Motorcycle

The technology that has been equipped in modern motorcycles has been increased 10 times from the older generation bikes. New leader bikes have more horsepower than ever before, and they are packed with all the driver aids one could wish for. The same can be said for naked bikes such as the Ducati Monster.

This has not gone unnoticed by tire manufacturers, and tires for even the smaller capacity motorcycle need to be really beefed up due to the increase in power and agility. So with the extra power, electronic aids, and overall performance that smaller bikes bring, here are the best tires for the Ducati Monster.

  • These online stores often offer discount savings on featured products, so visit the website regularly to see what deals are on offer.

Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Tires

The Pirelli Diablo II tire is a successor for the outgoing Diablo Rosso tire that has been around since 2008. The Diablo II does not just feature improvements from an already great tire; it has been completely redesigned. Pirelli's goal with the Diablo II was not just to improve road mileage but also to improve grip when the motorcycle is at full lean.

The compounds for both the front and rear tires are brand new. The rear features a TRI-Grip zone made up of two compounds. The center 75% of the tire has a much higher silica concentration for increased wet traction.

But silica has a downside; the higher the silica content, the more a tire will degrade in warm to hot conditions. Pirelli understood this and managed to have the polymers in the silica and rubber to bond better together, improving the tire's overall performance.

The shoulder of the tire, which is 12.5% of the contact patch, is constructed with a fine carbon black matrix compound similar to racing slicks. This offers increased grip when the bike is at maximum lean, and the transition between the two grip areas is not noticeable. The Pirelli Diablo Rosso II front tire remains a high silica single compound.

The tread pattern on the Diablo Rosso II may have some resemblance to the older tire, but this is very deceptive. The land-sea ratio (tread amount) has been reduced; the front tire has been reduced by 1.9% to have only 10.5% tread coverage. The rear tire has been reduced by a single percent to 8% tread coverage. With less tread, there is automatically more surface area to provide extra grip in the dry.

If you are wondering how the reduction in the tread affects grip and handling in the wet, let me inform you? Thanks to the new compounds, it is much better than the older tire. Pirelli has slightly changed the groove and sips on the tire to dissipate the water more effectively, so the loss of the tread has no impact on wet performance.

Pirelli claims that the Diablo Rosso II tires will increase mileage by 10% over its competitors. They claim a minimum mileage of 8000 miles on the front and 6000 miles on the rear.

Consumer Survey For The Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Tires

The Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Tires survey was conducted by Revzilla, with feedback from their existing customer base.

Overall the Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Tires provide great grip for sporty riding and excellent wet traction abilities. Thus making is very well suited to the Ducati Monster.

The Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Tires are available online at:

  • Revzilla.com with free shipping for $159.75 for a front tire and $329.95 for a rear tire.
  • Cyclegear.com with free shipping for $213.58 for a front tire and $360.84 for a rear tire.

Michelin Power RS Tire

The Michelin Power RS was launched as the replacement for the Power 3 and the SuperSport Evo tires. This would mean that the Power RS would be able to provide excellent grip on typical day-to-day riding and make it a very suitable tire for the odd track day.

Michelin even went as far as to claim that the new tire is 3.5 seconds quicker around Spain's Cartagena circuit than the outgoing tires.

A sports rider will be looking for a tire with brilliant dry grip, great agility, and good stability. The Power RS offers just that! Michelin introduced ACT+ (Adaptive Casting Technology Plus) to the manufacturing and design of the Power RS.

This means a softer center crown while still having a stiff enough sidewall on the tire. So acceleration in a straight line will have no speed wobble. When cornering, the sidewall will not buckle in on itself.

The Michelin Power RS utilizes a duel compound for the front and rear tires. The front has an all silica front center crown consisting of 68% of the tire for traction in wet conditions and reduced wear from hard braking. The shoulder makes up 16% and is made from an all carbon black compound for enhanced grip during hard cornering.

The rear is similar to the front duel compound style with a 54% center crown with lots of silica. The shoulder making up 23% per side of the tire, has the magical carbon black for added traction when putting your knee down all the way. The larger center crown aids acceleration from the get-go with wear kept to a minimum.

The interior construction of the Power RS has changed considerably over its predecessors. Michelin has tuned the tread during the casting process by varying the thickness. This was done to optimize the contact patch for acceleration and high-speed cornering.

So for the average sports rider, all the parameters have been met. The tire performs well beyond what the manufacturer states. The ride is smooth, and feedback from the road is precise. Braking is better than that of Continental Sport Attack 3, so it is excellent in the wet and dry.

Consumer Survey For Michelin Power RS Tire

The survey for the Michelin Power RS Tire was conducted by Revzilla, with feedback from their existing customer base.

Overall the Michelin Power RS Tire is amongst the best bang for the buck tires for the Ducati Monster. The tire will improve the sportiness of the bike in all conditions, and they are suitable for the occasional track day. The Power RS will be my first choice!

The Michelin Power RS Tires are available online at:

  • Revzilla.com with free shipping for $189.95 for a front tire and $314.95 for a rear tire.
  • Cyclegear.com with free shipping for $189.95 for a front tire and $314.95 for a rear tire

Metzeler Sportec M9 RR Tires

The Metzeler Sportec M9 RR Tires were explicitly designed with motorcycle electronics and aids in mind. The M9 RR also takes all the strength from its predecessor, the M7 RR, and improves on them. But at the end of the day, a motorcycle tire must have a reasonable wear rate, good grip, tread to push water out the way, and be able to grip around fast corners. This is all done with the Metzeler Sportec M9RR.

The M9 RR is a full silica compound tire. This enables quicker warm-up tires and exceptional wet weather grip. The old style of full silica tires was not the best when they were run at high work temperatures.

Metzeler solved this issue with their Continuous mixing compound. This compound blends the resins thoroughly in the final mixing stages, creating a stable mixture that can withstand extreme heat and still provide top-tier performance.

The front and rear Metzeler Sportec M9 RR tires are dual compound construction. The center of the tire is firmer for more wear resistance, and the shoulders are softer for increased grip while cornering. The main difference between the front and the rear is the thickness of the soft compound.

The front tire's soft shoulder is the full thickness of the tire, and the rear uses a "cap and base" construction. This "cap and base" construction is a soft edge compound laid over a harder compound, thus assisting the tire in maintaining its thermal stability under load.

The grooves on the Sportec M9 RR have the same π (Pi) symbol shape as the M7 RR. This groove style offers better stability and quicker warm-up characteristics while dispersing water efficiently. The groove technology was tested on the Isle of Man road course during its development, and this shows.

The grooves stop at a 30° lean angle (as many riders will not lean past this in the wet) and become a slick for the extreme leans in the dry.

The interior of the Sportec M9 RR received some improvement too. The rayon cords have been stiffened by 6% and spaced further apart than the M7 RR. This vastly improved the damping capability while maintaining brilliant responsiveness under braking and hard riding.

Consumer Survey For Metzeler Sportec M9 RR Tires

The survey for the Metzeler Sportec M9 RR Tires was conducted by Revzilla, with feedback from their existing customer base.

Overall the Metzeler Sportec M9 RR Tires are some of the best rubber that can be put on a Ducati Monster. The tire is aesthetically pleasing and provides all the essentials needed to take the bike to its limits while maintaining a reasonable safety margin.

The Metzeler Sportec M9 RR Tires are available online at:

  • Revzilla.com with free shipping for $187.06 for a front tire and $325.78 for a rear tire.
  • Cyclegear.com with free shipping for $187.06 for a front tire and $325.78 for a rear tire

Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S22 Tires

The Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S22 is the replacement for the brilliant S21. Bridgestone managed to make improvements on a very good tire, so this should mean that the new S22 should be in a class all of its own, and I agree!

The majority of the improvements on the S22 are for wet conditions. The sea and land ratio has been increased, resulting in slightly larger tread grooves on the tire, making it easier to move water out of the way. Slight changes have been done to the angle of the grooves so that it is more symmetrical to the rotation to aid in stability.

Bridgestone wanted more grip and steering quickness without compromising on the wear on the S22. The multi-compound that is used on the front tire is harder in the center for wear resistance, and the softer rubber on the shoulders increases cornering grip and speed. The new compound was designed to operate over an extensive temperature range, including winter riding abilities.

The S22 rear tire has a center crown constructed with high silica content for wet conditions and improved mileage. Bridgestone managed to shrink the silica molecules down so that 25% more of them will contact the road surface. The shoulder of the Battlax has two sections, the first is a soft rubber with tread, and the second is slick. This will improve cornering in wet conditions, and in the dry, the lean angle can be higher.

The S22 is a tire that is willing to drive on anything and has ample grip. The ride is comfortable with a very predictable stance. Cornering with the S22 is great fun, and the grip just does not let go, thanks to the multi compounds in it. The steering is quick and predictable, and the braking distance is reduced in all conditions.

Consumer Survey For The Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S22 Tire

The survey for the Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S22 Tire was conducted by Revzilla, with feedback from their existing customer base.

Overall the Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S22 Tire is well suited to the sportiness of the Ducati Monster. A large amount of wet and dry grip will inspire confidence in even the most novice rider. With that said, the S22 is great for touring and track days.

The Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S22 Tire is available online at:

  • Revzilla.com with free shipping for $157.33 for a front tire and $312.47 for a rear tire.
  • Cyclegear.com with free shipping for $157.33 for a front tire and $312.47 for a rear tire

Dunlop Q4 Sportmax Tires

The Dunlop Q4 Sportmax tire is a track day street legal tire that offers terrific grip and good durability. Dunlop has put a great deal of research and development into the Q series tires. So far, this series of tires has had no shortage when it comes to gripping the road surface.

The manufacturer wanted to have a road-legal tire that would have less wear than the earlier tires. The Dunlop Sportmax Q4 ticks all these boxes. It offers the best grip on the track and everyday city riding, even in very wet conditions.

The most noticeable element of the Sportmax Q4 is the hugely aggressive tread profile. The lack of grooves makes it look more like a full racing slick than a road-legal motorcycle tire. The tread is only on the center of the tire, and the shoulders have been left smooth for ultimate cornering grip. This tire's land and sea ratio is seriously off the chart with a 35mm contact patch on the rear.

The construction of the Sportmax Q4 is done the same way that Dunlop produces their racing slicks, guaranteeing a fast, grippy tire. The rear uses Jointless Tread Technology. This allows the tread to be carved into the tire carcass in a single continuous strip.

This way of manufacturing the tire aids in stability under acceleration and gives a larger contact patch during braking. Carbon fiber is used in the sidewalls construction. This becomes beneficial when the motorcycle is pushed to extreme lean angles on track, allowing just the right amount of flex for stability.

The Dunlop Sportmax tire is a single compound tire that does not use any silica. Instead, the magic ingredient is pure carbon black and Dunlop's secret polymers.

The Dunlop Sportmax Q4 tire provided exceptional levels of grip. The tire sends a lot of feedback to the rider, letting them know when the limit is. When it comes to braking, the Q4 performs like expected with so much grip. The big question is how the tire will perform in the wet condition, and the answer is reasonable.

It provides traction, and the tread manages to expel the water. Still, the rider must bear in mind that there is limited tread, and pushing in wet conditions can be slippery.

Consumer Survey For The Dunlop Q4 Sportmax Tire

The survey for the Dunlop Q4 Sportmax tire was conducted by Revzilla, with feedback from their existing customer base.

Overall the Dunlop Q4 Sportmax tire will turn the Ducati Monster into a track day masterpiece while allowing the rider to push the grip levels on the back twisty country roads.

The Dunlop Q4 Sportmax tire is available online at:

  • Revzilla.com with free shipping for $238.95 for a front tire and $425.95 for a rear tire.
  • Cyclegear.com with free shipping for $238.95 for a front tire and $425.95 for a rear tire

Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 Tires

The Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 Tires are direct competitors to the Dunlop Q4 Sportmax. Both are track day and road legal tires that offer immense grip. These are the third variant in the Supercorsa series. Each tire in the series has its own set of ideal conditions they will perform best in, and the SP V3 will be ideally suited for the Ducati Monster.

The Supercorsa SP V3 is standard equipment on the Ducati Panigale V4, so the motorcycle brand has put its stamp of endorsement on these grippy tires. A new "flash" shaped tread design embraces this tire, and it has received a mix of pure racing compounds (Carbon Black) for the ultimate in performance.

The front tire is made with a single compound, and the rear is a dual compound. Both have Pirelli's High Modulus fiber carcass to prevent the tire from buckling under loads such as acceleration and hard braking. The tire has a brand new multi-radius profile with a larger contact patch when compared to the SP V1 and V2.

With the extra grip that the V3 offer, braking is greatly improved, and stopping distance is reduced. The tires send just the right amount of feedback to the rider, so they will know how far the limit is, but they will continue to maintain grip.

The wet traction with the V3 is average, so remember that there is limited tread to disperse water. If this is kept in mind, there should be no unexpected events when riding in the rain.

Consumer Survey For The Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 Tires

The survey for the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 Tires was conducted by Revzilla, with feedback from their existing customer base.

Overall the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 Tires will bring loads of grip to the sporty Ducati Monster. Take them to a track day and push the grip levels on the fast sweeping turns, and it will make you feel like a champion.

The Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 Tire is available online at:

  • Revzilla.com with free shipping for $277.43 for a front tire and $447.84 for a rear tire.
  • Cyclegear.com with free shipping for $277.43 for a front tire and $447.84 for a rear tire

Pirelli Angel GT II Tires

The Pirelli Angel GT II is the slightly upgraded version of the Angel GT. The most noticeable difference is the two center lines on the GT II. Pirelli wanted to manufacture a tire that would check all the boxes sport riders would want: high mileage, sporty handling, long-lasting grip, and good all-weather ability.

The carcass of the Angel GT II has a variable cord end count over the tire section. A high silica compound and a new tread pattern that is based on the World Superbike intermediate race tires. If it works for a race bike, it should be great for a street bike. Pirelli state that the Angel GT II will work harmoniously with all the electronic aids that are standard on bikes nowadays and still give the rider maximum thrills.

The GT II rear tire consists of a harder compound to aid in straight line stability over long distances, and the shoulders have a softer compound for faster, more controlled cornering.

The Angel GT II can be compared to the excellent Metzeler Roadtec series tire in wet conditions; they are that good in the wet. The GT II will inspire confidence in all riders, so put your faith in the tires and let them do the hard work. You will not be disappointed.

The Pirelli Angel GT II Tire is more focused on traveling at speed over long distances while still providing safety and comfort for the rider. But this is not to say that these tires will not be suitable for a track day or grippy enough to throw the Ducati around on some twisties. Pirelli has really made a great all round tire with the GT II.

Consumer Survey For The Pirelli Angel GT II Tires

The survey for the Pirelli Angel GT II Tires was conducted by Revzilla, with feedback from their existing customer base.

Overall, the Pirelli Angel GT II is an exceptional tire that excels in all conditions and will provide great millage. The GT II tire will assist with the stability of the bike as it is being thrown around at high speed on the track or on back roads. The tire supplies ample grip, so trust them and enjoy the ride.

The Pirelli Angel GT II Tires are available online at:

  • Revzilla.com with free shipping for $211.99 for a front tire and $311.84 for a rear tire.
  • Cyclegear.com with free shipping for $211.95 for a front tire and $311.95 for a rear tire.

Dunlop Sportmax GPR300 Tires

Dunlop Sportmax GPR300 Tire offers the best riding experience on a budget. The tires have some great innovations that assist in the overall feel of the ride. Dunlop managed to create a tire that offers excellent mileage, brilliant handling, and grip that will not let you down.

The GPR300 has a new rubber compound that offers a much more stable feel and will supply maximum grip after just a few revolutions. Dunlop uses their Jointless Band (JBL) technology with a newly designed belt for consistent, smooth performance in all conditions.

The GPR300 has deep and wide sips to remove surface water while riding, and the high silica compound consistently finds traction. The tires feel agile, responsive and have sharp handling in the wet and dry.

Confidence in the tire will appear after just a minute of riding with them. The GPR300 is a single compound tire that does not weave at high speeds, turns in predictable, and holds the line better than its rivals.

Consumer Survey For The Dunlop Sportmax GPR300 Tire

The survey for the Dunlop Sportmax GPR300 Tire was conducted by Revzilla, with feedback from their existing customer base.

Overall the Dunlop Sportmax GPR300 tire is ideally suited to the touring ability of the Ducati Monster. The Sportmax may be a budget motorcycle tire but offers class-leading characteristics only found on high-end brands.

The Dunlop Sportmax GPR300 Tire is available online at:

  • Revzilla.com with free shipping for $94.95 for a front tire and $173.95 for a rear tire.
  • Cyclegear.com with free shipping for $94.95 for a front tire and $173.95 for a rear tire