THE BIRTH OF AN ICON

As a boy Leopoldo began to race in minor categories to get his international federal license and established himself, so as to be hired by the leading Italian motorcycle manufacturers as a professional rider.

He specialised in endurance races, but not only. His greatest sporting achievements can be summarised as follows:

• 1952 – First overall in the “Milan-Taranto” with a bike for which he personally made the frame, driven by a 650cc BSA twin cylinder engine
• 1953 – First overall in the “Motogiro” (organised by the daily newspaper “Stadio” of Bologna) riding an official Benelli and still first in his category and second overall in the “Milan-Taranto”, of course riding a Benelli.
• 1954 – First overall in the “Motogiro” always riding an official Benelli. At the end of the season he switched to Ducati.
• 1955 – He was first in his category in the “Motogiro” riding a Ducati, when near Perugia, with a 24-minute advantage over the second, he suffered a serious accident that ended his career. He even risked being paralysed in his legs.

In the violent impact with the road Tartarini had reported the crushing of the spine. For three months he could not feel any sensitivity to his lower limbs. He daily checked (from April to September) with some needles if sensitivity was restored, but always with negative results. Then the situation finally improved and in the following months he returned to a normal gait. This was already a great success because after the first post-trauma tests his doctors had said that he could possibly no longer be able to walk with his own legs.

The newfound partial physical health did not allow him to pass the medical tests that the Italian Motorcycling Federation imposed on riders at the end of the season.

He was basically a finished rider, because he was expressly forbidden to participate in any competition. He did not want to wait for a whole year, as tests were done once a season only – in December – that is why he decided to spend his free time organising a motorcycle raid.

He could not have run anymore, also because in the meantime the great endurance road races in which Ducati had obtained excellent results had been cancelled. In fact, he arrived at Ducati to race the new 175cc, designed by engineer Taglioni, and to win the “Motogiro” again.

Once healed, he dedicated himself to the Ducati dealership for Bologna and its province, which he had opened with his father at the end of 1954, namely when he joined Ducati as an official rider. However, he was still under contract and had a very high fee because it pocketed 1 million 600 thousand lire per season (in 1956 it was a considerable amount).

He was therefore forced, even for moral reasons (he did not want to receive his salary without working for Ducati, since the contract was valid until the end of 1957) to invent the “advertising” trip, an extraordinary and pioneering journey that would have taken him for a year around the world.

At first, he had to go as far as Turkey, then the raid had been extended to Cape Town but, surprisingly, it turned into a real “world tour”. He hoped to do it in shorter times: going to Turkey would have only taken a few weeks. Instead, it came to a whole year with an unthinkable mileage.

After the end of the “World Tour”, Tartarini ceased to be a rider and became more sedentary and his further adventures were almost all technological.

He continued to be a Ducati dealer until 1960, when he decided that the time was ripe for change, thus turning from a Ducati dealer into a motorcycle manufacturer. This is how he created the Italjet brand, which has had considerable success, even on a competitive level.

He subsequently sold this activity to his son Massimo, devoting himself to the design and construction of new motorcycles that always have a remarkable amount of originality in design and line.

Leopoldo Tartarini died on the 11th of September 2015 at the age of 82.

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(Source: www.ducati.com)

Tartarini foresaw the late 20th century scooter boom, and from 1980 onwards Italjet was well positioned to meet the demand for personal transportation. It established a unique reputation for innovative and quirky models, such as the retro-look Torpedo and Velocifero, the avant-garde hub-centre Dragster, which debuted in 1995, and the 125cc Formula introduced in 1994, which for many years was the only twin-cylinder small- capacity scooter in the marketplace.

With 180 workers producing up to 90,000 powered two-wheelers annually in the firm’s modern 10,000m2 factory on the Adriatic coast near Pescara, Italjet successfully surfed the success of the European scooter boom through the 1990s.

The first of the Dragsters appeared in 1995 with mass production starting in 1998. It was sold in three engine sizes, 50cc, 125 and 180cc until 2003. All models offered flamboyant styling, a stiff, visible Ducati-like tubular structure, automatic “Twist and Go” transmission, ample storage, BiMota-style hub-center steering with a beefy front swingarm, disc brakes, wide tires, and a water-cooled, electric-start single. Out of production for over a decade, the scooter has a large cult following and substantial aftermarket support. Malossi, in particular, offered many upgrade parts for the 125.
Sr. Tartarini, third generation, was quoted as saying about the bike, “This scooter is not for pragmatists, but is a good choice for exhibitionists!”

Dragster sales reached over 70’000 units worldwide. Especially the 180cc model was a great success in Australia too and has a great community of enthusiasts following it.

Italjet can credit over 150 designs of motorcycles and scooters to their credit. Most were of flamboyant, unusual and exciting design, reflecting Leopoldo’s forward thinking outside the box. The liquid cooled Italjet Formula 50 scooter was even exhibited as part of “The Art of the Motorcycle” show at the Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

The Italjet Formula was nominated “Scooter of the Year” several times in Germany, Spain and Italy.

First impressions of the new Dragster by Massimo Tartarini appeared, showing the true Italjet DNA combining technical excellence and passion combined with attention to detail not seen often in today’s fast living world with short product lifecycles. The worldwide community of Italjet Dragster owners past and current were starting to pay attention to what comes out of Italy…

A first prototype of the new Dragster is presented at the Italian motorcycle show EICMA in Milan in November 2018. Although not officially released, it is by far the most interesting vehicle presented at the show, taking the world by storm.

Pre-orders are started to come in short after from all over the world. The fist 500 units will be produced as a “First Edition” in gold colour and have sold out almost immediately.

Massimo Tartarini being a perfectionist does not let any little detail up to chance. With several rounds of prototyping, the new Dragster is refined and improved until the result was extraordinary in every detail.  While delays during the worldwide COVID pandemic hit Italy and Italjet hard, it delayed the production of the new scooter significantly. But the small team never lost focus on the goal and dedication – Something that could only be achieved with an amount of passion to make the impossible possible.

In 2021, on the doorstep to the following year’s Euro 5 legislation coming in, the Dragster had to be improved & modified again to meet latest technical requirements. During this period, extensive testing of the new Dragster takes place and the final production ready model is taking shape. Moto GP racer Andrea Dovizioso contributes significantly to improve the performance and handling of the new Dragster. Dovozioso, a Ducati Moto GP racer closes the circle between Italjet’s origin with Ducati and its latest product.

With delays due to the global pandemic and incoming Euro 5 legislation, the Dragster is finally ready to be produced in large volumes. The first 500 “First Edition” models are being assembled in the Italian factory, marked and numbered. Everyone of the first 500 customers who pre-ordered one of the new Dragsters got to know the number they have been allocated to long before.

Production capacity will increase in the coming months to cover global demand and finally, the first units are being shipped out.

The first shipment of the new Dragster is due to arrive in Australia during January 2022 for the official launch. Shipment to dealers will commence immediately and First Edition & pre-orders are being filled.

After the initial success with the Dragster, the limited “Malossi Edition” is paying homage to the strong partnership between Italjet and renowned performance parts specialist Malossi. It is finished in a striking co-branded livery, making it one of the most desirable scooters available today. With the release of the Malossi Edition, an extended catalogue of performance upgrades became available that brings the Dragster to a race-ready level.