For those of us getting onto two wheels in the 1990s, there were a few scooters which stood out from the crowd.
Peugeot’s feisty Speedfight 100 was a zippy little thing and always looked well trick with its single sided front steering set-up. The French filly sold in massive numbers, but if you wanted a truly bonkers two-stroke scoot the Italjet Dragster was the only real choice.
Launched in 1998, it also had a single sided, forkless front set up and that complemented the totally out there styling. There was a 50cc moped and a learner legal 125cc variant, as was normal for scooters, but it also had a 180cc version – and that was totally nuts.
This writer remembers spending a few weeks with a Dragster 180 some 22 years ago. It was both extremely good fun and utterly terrifying at the same time. The rock hard suspension and small wheels meant that it responded to the tiniest input from the bars (not to mention bump in the road) in an instant, making it as lively as a pair of roller skates with a rocket strapped to them. The near 20bhp two-stroke motor sounded like a racer and was as responsive as a SWAT team outside Buckingham Palace. Some nutters even added big bore kits and tuned their bikes further. Yes, the Italjet Dragster truly is a cult classic.
Most of those original scooters are now deceased, with those which weren’t crashed being long blown up, but for those of us keen to relive a bit of youthful rebellion, Italjet has resurrected its most famous scooter – and they’re on sale now.
Italjet are pitching the new Dragster as an ‘Urban Superbike’. There’s a learner legal 125cc version, with a 17.5bhp Dragster 200 also available for full licence holders. The 125 costs £4999, with the 200 carrying a £300 premium.
It’s an all-new design but, once again, the 2022 Dragster looks like nothing else on the market. The design is stripped bare, with minimal bodywork leaving the steel trellis frame exposed. Componentry is of a high level. Tyres come from Pirelli, while Brembo have supplied the brakes. The front end again eschews conventional forks for a single sided set-up, while the motors are now clean running four-strokes – although Italjet have promised a range of performance modifications to liberate some more power and improve handling, with an Akrapovic exhaust, upgraded suspension, better brakes and carbon fibre parts all in the pipeline.
The 2022 Italjet Dragster will certainly turn heads as it looks to appeal not only to younger scooter riders but, undoubtedly, us older ones who experienced the Dragster phenomenon first time around too.
