Italjet Stops By

So yesterday I had a surprise visit from Riccardo Tartarini.

He is one of the sons of one of my favorite icons in the world of Scootering Mr. Leopoldo Tartarini head designer at Ducati Moto, owner of the original Italjet Scooter Company in Bologna, and now the family is continuing the tradition by relaunching into the EV market.


It's not an easy task, but this is an industry especially in Europe filled with families that have been doing this for several generations so its cool to see them breaking into a new market.








For those of you who aren't familiar with Italjet there is a great video on YouTube on the story of Leopoldo and his designs in the museum of Bologna Exhibit.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bncdDSwU4tY

Some might be more familiar with Oasis and other bands that were seen on the Velocifero at the height of the company and (this bands) popularity back in the 1990's.

His family and I have remained in contact for many years since I first started with Malaguti (both companies are in Bologna) you can even see his brother in one of my videos from when we took over United Motors he happened to be in town. We also reached out to them when we took over the NEW Italjet distribtor Diamo. The New Velo and samples had been showcased for two years in 2006-2009 at the Dealer Expo. When Diamo closed dealers had just gotten their new Italjet units here in the states made by CF MOTO, so we spent countless hours helping shops and dealers find parts for the New version of the Torpedo.


My good friend Daniele Lucchesi drove me by their offices back in 2002 when they were still producing my favorite scooter the Dragster. Before the Honda Ruckus existed this was the ultimate "Naked" Scooter. It is still considered one of the coolest bikes out there and worshiped by many. We happened to run into one at a shop yesterday on Miami Beach.






Here at MRP we continue to support all the ITALJET engines that were imported into the USA by Italjet USA, then later by Mod Cycles who took over Italjet America, and later by Diamo USA / LS Motorsports. None of these guys have any parts left for Italjet, but you can still find some online at http://www.mrp-speed.com we have all the engines Morini, Liquid Cooled Morini, Liquid Cooled Piaggio, Piaggio Air, Minarelli, Minarelli Air Cooled and more. For harder to find parts I suggest:


Italjet UK Spares http://www.italjet.co.uk
Shop & Telephone 07707 248 933

The Consolidation of the Scooter Industry and what happened to the Italian manufacturing sector was a real shame in the early 2000 period. The fact that the brand has survived and tried to come back several times in the states is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Leopoldo's sons. It's great to see these guys doing well and working to build up the name. 




They have an amazing interactive picture page on their site on the older units. Amazing to look at and if you're anything like me you will enjoy it.

If you have never heard about Italjet read about them here: http://www.italjet.com/la-storia