Pirelli has around 10 Scorpion Tyres in it's range, referred to as their Scorpion Motorcycle Tyre Family.
The crowning glory is the MX line, introduced in 2006 specifically for motocross competitions, an arena in which Pirelli has been the undisputed leader for more than 30 years with more than 70 world titles won.
Whilst there are several to choose from, and we've used plenty, it's the Rally Range we're interested in. There's also some confusion surrounding the terms since the addition of new sizes in the rear with a different pattern.
Adding to the confusion are generic images, different part numbers and SKU's from different online stores, with descriptions using MST, STR, Rally or Rally Race or a mix of these terms, and at times, incorrectly, there's also some part numbers being superseded, so it can be tricky knowing what's what.
In the past, the Pirelli Scorpion Rally was mostly known by two simple codes, MST or STR.
STR being more commonly found on new bikes, it's more of a street biased adventure touring tyre and the MST known as the knobby or offroad tyre, even though we've all called them an MST, it's not actually a model, it just stands for Multi Service Tyre.
After many questions from customers about the new Rally Rear, DC spoke with Pirelli this week to clear up some of the confusion, and it's really quite simple, we hope this helps.
They're all called Rally, with the versions being;
Scorpion Rally STR.
Scorpion Rally.
Scorpion Rally Race Desert.
The 18" Rears:
The Rally STR is a more road biased trail tyre, we're not bothered with it here.
The Rally Race Desert is the commonly known knobby rear and comes in a 140/80-18 70R tubed tyre, usually referred to as the MST.
The new Scorpion Rally, also referred to as the Adventouring series, comes in a 150/70-18 and is a tubeless tyre, it has a different tread pattern than the 140/80-18.
Both are road legal.
The tread pattern of the 150/70-18 looks similar to the STR pattern, but with much wider spacing between the blocks, and they're also slightly taller.
Basically a blend of the Rally Race Desert and STR to give better offroad performance while maintaining street stability. Overall, it could be considered a more aggressive STR, maybe it'll be the perfect blend!
Left to Right
1. Scorpion Rally STR 2. Scorpion Rally Race Desert 3. Scorpion Rally
We've used plenty of the 140/80-18 Rally Race Desert Rears and yes, in place of a 150 with no problems whatsoever. We're not saying you should though, you should follow the manufacturers recommendations.
The MST front has long been our favorite big bike knobby tyre and the Rally Race Desert rear has provided excellent traction, straightline hookup in the dirt and is a pretty decent tyre on the tarmac too.
We'll give the new 150 sized Rally rear a go pretty soon and let you know what we think, it should be a great tyre if the others are anything to go by, and DC expects decent mileage on the DesertX, it's much more tyre friendly than what the Africa Twins have been.
You can check the full range of Pirelli Tyres in Australia at Link International
All feedback or recommendations we make comes from our experience on tyres we have purchased and used on our Honda Africa Twins, Nordern901 & DesertX. Mileage is based on average riding over mixed terrain. Get aggresive with the throttle and they'll all shred in no time.
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