Category Archives: Adventures and Travels

Pirelli took it a step further with the II designation, redesigning the tires to better suit road-focused adventure touring bikes. As a touring / sport-touring tire, the Trail II offers ample confidence-inspiring grip and predictability. This is not surprising since the Trail IIs are derived from the Angel GT. Compared to the old Scorpion Trail the new tire features a rounder profile that creates a contact patch 6 percent shorter and 10 percent wider. The new tread pattern does away with the intersecting grooves and the big block tread pattern of the old Trails in favor of a more street-bred, continuous block pattern that delivers improved lateral stability with less road noise and vibration. Pirelli claims the new profile and tread reduces heat and increases longevity by 50 percent without the need for a harder compound.

Deep, steeply angled grooves promise to discharge water more effectively, and new compounds will improve both wet and dry weather performance. The front tire has a single, 100 percent silica compound while the dual-compound rear tire features a 100 percent silica shoulder and 70 percent silica center that balances corner grip with longevity. Pirelli’s super-secret compound cocktail is concocted using a unique process of continuously mixing polymers and resins with silica that chemically bonds to carbon black for more consistent wear and performance