For our first tyre of the trip we needed something that would handle tarmac just as well as dirt, that’s why we decided to put the Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR on the VStroms to give us good grip in all kinds of conditions. Let’s discuss how they did.
“THE NEW KNOBBLY ENDURO ON/OFF TYRE FOR ADVENTURE WITHOUT LIMITS” marketing slogan from Pirelli
The tyre
Onroad/offroad 50/50
Price €85-€138 per tire depending on size
Our test conditions
Onroad/offroad 70/30
Average temperature 25C
Distance 20.262km
We’ve traveled from the Netherlands through Scandinavia, middle Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East into Africa. Finally changing these tyres for new ones in Ethiopia.
1. Onroad performance wet & dry
Throughout Europe we’ve ridden plenty of tarmac, moslty in great condition. We left in August but heading north the temperature quickly cooled of and rain started to fall. The tires have great grip in corners at all speeds. Even during the harshest rainstorm we’ve ever been in, the bikes never slipped. A great tyre to rely on in all conditions.
A raincloud followed us throughout Norway.
2. Offroad performance
GRAVEL
Throughout Sweden and Finland we found plenty of beautiful gravel roads. The tyres grip fantastically and give a great amount of confidence to boost your skills. The looks of the thread might not give you this idea, but the compound of the tyre makes up for this and this combination makes it a great offroad companion.
Endless gravel roads of Finland, I love it!
MUD
Riding through Estonia we rode part of the TET and it was a challenging single track. We found some mud on the trail and we quickly found the weak point of these tyres. Sliding soon became the new normal in corners. This is where the tyre lacks in performance.
Slipping and sliding our way through Estonia
SAND
Down in Jordan we had the opportunity to ride through the Wadi Rum desert. Our first real experience with sand. It takes a special kind of skill to ride such deep sand but I did not feel like the tyre held us back. Later on in the trip we did tackle some more sand with a different tyre and I found that the Pirellis had medium grip in the sand. Not the best, not the worst.
Learning how to ride sand in Jordan.
3. Wear
We rode 20.000km on 1 set of tyres each. We did notice that as the temperature went up, the tyres started to wear significantly faster. Especially in Egypt where it was hot 30+C and the roads were tarmac and straight we left a lot of rubber on the pavement. Besides that, I think 20k kilometers on a set of tyres is a great performance.
The thread of the tyres after 20.000km (12400 miles)
4. Sound & comfort
The tyres are surprisingly quiet, larger knobblies are quite loud but these Scorpions are quiet like a mouse. It's also a smooth ride with minimal vibration coming from the tyres.
Would I buy these again?
A definite yes! If I’m going on a long road trip with a quite some pavement in the roadbook I definitely would get these again.
