Pirelli Announces New MX Tire

MX32 Pro Rear Tires Coming Soon

Doug Pirelli and Andrew Short talk about new Scorpion MX32 Pro.Photo by Shan Moore

Pirelli just announced a new tire, the Scorpion MX32 Pro. Right now (or should we say ‘soon,’ since they’re just heading to dealers) it’s only available in a rear tire, and only in two sizes for now, a 110/90-19 and a 120/80-19. Compared to the “regular” MX32 rear, the center knobs are bigger to get more rubber on the ground and the mid knobs are turned around 180 degrees: they keep the space between the knobs ideal the pattern ‘repeats’ (pitch) one less time if you count it going around the tire. The beefier tire has relief areas designed in to tune in the tire flex Pirelli wanted.

The currently available sizes are ideal for 450 riders or 250F riders who have upgraded their rear wheel to have the wider 2.15” rim. The main benefit of the new Pro compared to the “regular” MX32 is that it is designed to cross over to hardpack better; good for the average rider but also important for pro riders who sometimes pick a tire based on the start straight rather than the whole track (for an idea of how important the start is, please see just about every single podium speech since the invention of the microphone). According to Pirelli reps, their factory pro racers race on production tires 90% of the time (the other 10% is when they are testing out a new design).

And speaking of starts, which two SX/MX riders do you think of when it comes to grabbing holeshots over the past couple of years? Andrew Short and Justin Barcia? The Pirelli guys wanted us to point out that those riders are both running Pirelli tires!

Pirelli Scorpion MX32 Pro rear tire.Courtesy of Pirelli

This tire adds to the Pirelli lineup, it does not replace anything. And for Supercross fans they're offering a cool promotion for anyone who attends (and keeps their ticket stub) San Diego, Anaheim 2, Dallas, Atlanta, Santa Clara, and New York. (Why only those select rounds? Does Pirelli only like those fans? I'm not sure, and I asked Shan Moore to find out why, but he came back with only photos). Keep your ticket stub and buy a front and rear Pirelli Scorpion tire (any model or Scorpion tire) for your dirt bike and Pirelli will send you a Leatherman Wingman multi-tool. For details go to www.pirelli.com/usmotopromo (the page will be active about mid-week). The MX32 Pros aren't available yet, they'll be on shelves in March, but Pirelli says they'll honor the deal beyond the '30 days within the event' for spectators at the early rounds, but the complete promo does end at the end of May.

We’ll be getting some of these new rear tires to test soon, so watch for news about their performance as we start spinning some laps on them.