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Head-to-head Updated September 2026

Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S20 vs Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV — Compared (September 2026)

Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.

VS
Tire B Pirelli

Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV

Summer Max Performance tires

Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tread pattern
Objective (60%)
70/100
1 professional test
User signal (40%)
87/100
7 owner reviews
Dry
89
Wet
72
Comfort
86
Treadwear
76
Handling
91
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Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV — better treadwear, comfort and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.
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Category breakdown

5 categories, side by side

Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.

Dry

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Diablo Rosso IV leads by 15
A
74
B
89
Why this score
SourceBattlax Hypersport S20Diablo Rosso IV
Professional tests (TWG score) – 87
Tyre Reviews owners 74 93

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Diablo Rosso IV leads by 11
A
61
B
72
Why this score
SourceBattlax Hypersport S20Diablo Rosso IV
Professional tests (TWG score) – 67
Tyre Reviews owners 61 79

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Diablo Rosso IV leads by 29
A
57
B
86
Why this score
SourceBattlax Hypersport S20Diablo Rosso IV
Tyre Reviews owners 57 86

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Diablo Rosso IV leads by 46
A
30
B
76
Why this score
SourceBattlax Hypersport S20Diablo Rosso IV
Tyre Reviews owners 30 76

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Diablo Rosso IV leads by 23
A
68
B
91
Why this score
SourceBattlax Hypersport S20Diablo Rosso IV
Tyre Reviews owners 68 91
DriverReviews owners – 92

Scores at a glance

CategoryBridgestone Battlax Hypersport S20Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV
Relative Score 55 81
Dry 74 89
Wet 61 72
Comfort 57 86
Treadwear 30 76
Handling 68 91

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

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Recomputed
Headline score

Tire A

Tire B

From owners

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S20

The Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S20 is a polarizing tire that excels in high-performance, warm-weather conditions but suffers from significant longevity and cold-weather performance issues. While riders on powerful sportbikes praise its grip during aggressive, spirited riding, many users report rapid tread wear, poor stability in cold or wet conditions, and a tendency for the rear tire to square off quickly.

Pros

  • Exceptional dry grip when fully warmed up
  • High confidence levels during aggressive, spirited cornering
  • Strong performance on track and twisty roads
  • Predictable handling profile that resists turning square under specific conditions

Cons

  • Extremely short tread life, often requiring replacement between 1,000 and 3,500 miles
  • Poor cold-weather performance and slow warm-up times
  • Lack of stability and grip in wet or less-than-ideal road conditions
  • Tendency for the rear tire to square off rapidly, leading to unstable handling

Observations

  • Owners of heavy, high-torque motorcycles like the Kawasaki ZZR1400 and Z1000SX report rapid center-tread wear, particularly during motorway riding.
  • Users on liter-class sportbikes (R1, CBR1000RR) note that the tire requires significant heat to reach optimal performance, making it less suitable for casual or cold-weather commuting.
Tire B Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV

The Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV is widely regarded as a top-tier hypersport tire that offers significant improvements in feedback, warm-up time, and lean-angle confidence over its predecessors. While users consistently praise its performance in both wet and dry conditions, the consensus notes that these gains come at a premium price point and with potential longevity trade-offs depending on riding style.

Pros

  • Exceptional dry and wet grip with rapid warm-up times.
  • High level of precision and confidence at deep lean angles.
  • Improved feedback and stability compared to previous generations (DR2/DR3).
  • Surprisingly good low-speed stability and handling characteristics.

Cons

  • Higher price point compared to competitors and previous models.
  • Performance consistency may degrade as the tire reaches the end of its service life.
  • Potential for increased wear rates under aggressive riding conditions.

Observations

  • Users reported significant improvements in resistance to cupping on smaller displacement bikes (e.g., PCX 125) compared to the Diablo Rosso II.
  • Aggressive riders utilizing standard sportbike sizes (120/70 and 190/55) report that the tire maintains performance characteristics comparable to more track-focused compounds like the Rosso Corsa II.
Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S20 B · Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV
CategorySummer Extreme Performance tiresSummer Max Performance tires
Vehicle typeMotorcycleMotorcycle
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Bridgestone

Pirelli

Winner: Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV — better treadwear, comfort and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV scores 76 vs 30 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV scores 86 vs 57 on comfort.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV scores 91 vs 68 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV scores 89 vs 74 on dry.

Tire A · Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S20
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Tire B · Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV
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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.