2025-on Italjet Dragster 700 Twin review: Supersport scooter

The Italjet Dragster name is a real cult classic: many a young hoodlum lusted after the radical sports scooters in the late 1990s, with the 19bhp 180cc two-stroke variant at the top of the list. A trellis space-frame, swingarm front suspension and aggressive bodywork gave futuristic, high-performance looks.

Fast forward 25 years, and Italjet has produced another halo entry for the brand, with this 700 twin Dragster that’s on sale alongside the smaller 125, 200 and 300 versions. Those smaller machines are nowhere near as wild as the old stroker was, but Italjet has gone even more radical with the big ‘un, bolting in a 692cc parallel twin engine from Chinese manufacturer QJMotor (which also makes Benelli machines). That motor is used in various conventional motorcycle designs, so has a ‘normal’ manual gearbox rather than the typical auto-box used in scooters.

Eagle-eyed viewers will also have noticed that this ‘scooter’ also comes with no underseat storage, front fairing pockets, top-box mounting rack, or even a hook between your legs for a shopping bag. So – none of the useful practical stuff seen on a scooter, and no twist ‘n go transmission. Is this even a scooter? Well, Italjet seems to suggest ‘no’. It calls it an urban superbike, with strong performance, plus high levels of design and equipment. And it backed that up on this press launch, with riding sessions, not on the Italian autostrada or Bologna’s high streets, but on the legendary Imola race track.

Even before you ride it, the Dragster 700 sparks the imagination though. Everywhere you look has a slightly outlandish design touch, from the twin radial Brembo calipers up front, to the angular trellis space-frame that looks like something from a 1960s racecar. The twin-cylinder motor is mounted quite a way back from the front wheel, under the rider’s seat, and the back end is rounded off with a brace of mini silencers from Akrapovic that could be straight off a MotoGP bike.

The bodywork is nuts: super-aggressive lines, with winglets, aerodynamic panels and sharp LED lights. One thing that is missing is the classic Dragster front swingarm suspension setup though: the firm says it used a premium USD fork instead, to give a more ‘conventional’ sportsbike feeling to the handling.

Round the track, the insane Italjet goes really well, considering its weird layout. It’s a proper laugh around here, with sharp handling and peppy performance that’s worlds away from the normal softly-sprung, auto-box scooter experience. It’s some way off what a ‘proper’ sports bike would be like too of course, but it still responds well the harder you push.

It’s also interesting to note that none of the bikes (which had a wide range of riding skills on board) ended up in the gravel on the day, suggesting a decent margin of capability. Would I pick this £12,000 superscooter over something like an old GSX-R750, at half the price, as a fun track bike? Of course not – but it’s impressive to see how capable the Italjet was at Imola.

In the end, there’s nothing at all rational about the Dragster 700: if you want ‘sensible’, get onto eBay and search for a Suzuki Burgman 650 for your commute, and a GSX-R600 for trackdays. As it is, the Dragster offers something completely unique, which is becoming much harder to say these days. And for a significant niche of riders, that’s very desirable indeed.