Leopoldo Tartarini was born in Bologna on 10 August 1932. His father, Egisto, is a motorcycle dealer, who repairs in the attached workshop, and a good rider riding a Moto Guzzi sidecar with which he participates in local competitions, such as the Circuito dei Giardini Margherita and the climb to Colle dell'Osservanza. With these premises, Leopoldo, Poldino for all, can only grow with a passion for two wheels, so much so that his father builds a mini-sidecar on which he can ride happily with his sisters at the age of four. After the war, after completing his studies, he enrolled in the faculty of Architecture in Florence, but returned to Bologna after a year due to the death of his father following injuries sustained during a competition.

These are the years of the country's economic recovery and all young people own or dream of a motorcycle as a means of freedom and emancipation. But not a big bike: a 125 or, at most, a 175 with which to go to work during the week and do some local races on Sunday is enough. This enormous popularity of the light motorcycle could only flow into a great national sporting event that glorified the vehicle and its riders.

On the commercial front, Tartarini opens the Benelli dealership for Bologna in Porta Mazzini. The second edition of the Giro d’Italia sees him still riding the Benelli 125, again winner in his class and 2nd overall, thus becoming one of the most popular riders in Italy. At the Milan-Taranto he must instead, for the first time, feel the regret of retiring, in the early stages, due to engine problems.

In 1957 his last participation in the Giro d 'Italy, this time in the 175 class, was again unlucky, as he had to retire at the third stage. A few months later, the competitions on roads open to traffic were abolished due to a serious accident that occurred at the Mille Miglia automobile, for which Tartarini was left without his work. This does not preclude any other activity on motorcycles and being still under contract with Ducati, he decides to honor him by attempting, with his friend Giorgio Monetti, an adventure never experienced before by an Italian: around the world on a motorcycle.

In 1959 he develops the idea and prepares commercial agreements but, officially, Italemmezeta was established in Bologna on February 4th, 1960 with the purpose of "building and importing motorcycles and mopeds". First operational headquarters, a semi-basement in Via del Piombo; registered and administrative office in Via Ugo Bassi. The company immediately devoted itself to the construction of its own models with 125 cm3 engines of the East German MZ (Motorradwerke Zschopau), leaving out the import of complete motorcycles.

From the very beginning, however, we find an element that will characterize all subsequent production: innovation in style and the ability, even with a few small details, to jump beyond the bar set up until then by the generalized taste of the motorcycle market. The first major success was already in the making in 1962. It is a sporty style moped with a name that could not have been more appropriate: Italjet (also a wonderful idea). Its two-tone metallic paint echoes that of the Ducati 125 and 200, almost ideally alongside them, giving it an implicit meaning of “younger sisters”. In this too, Tartarini immediately proves to be skilled, that is, trying to amalgamate some of the elements that characterize the best motorcycles on the market at that time.

In 1964 the Mustang series was born with the SS model. Once again, the innovative power, in its small size, is enormous: double cradle raised frame, never seen before; large tank surmounted by two caps (one of which turns out to be the seat of the kilometer counter) flanked by a very light and daring saddle (patented by him); very sporty low handlebar; finally, the front brake, beautiful, ventilated with double plate and four jaws (almost a competition brake that serves, even “visually”, to justify the need to brake a motorcycle with a decidedly “racing” appearance). This extreme characterization of a simple moped immediately remains etched in the minds of the boys of the time, creating a myth. The raised double cradle frame is an absolute novelty, later taken up even by the most important motorcycle manufacturer in Italy, Moto Guzzi. The tank and saddle were later modified, giving life to the Mustang Veloce, a "wink" in the shape of the tank, to the Aermacchi Ala series that were at the time raging both on the road and on the track. Once again, we are connected to larger displacement motorcycles, as if to entice the fourteen-year-olds to take an Italjet because in some elements it resembles the bike of their older brother or older friend, which they can only dream of for the moment.

At the end of 1965 the Vampire 60 was born, expressly designed for the speed competitions of the newborn Cadet category. Tartarini again anticipates the market by raising the bar of style again. The bike is an admirable example of lightness and power, while the yellow-red color highlights its characteristics more. On the track the bike defeats all the competitors from the first race. But Tartarini ranges across the board, from mopeds to super bikes, and at the Milan Motor Show, at the end of the year, he presents the Grifo 500 motorized with the English Triumph. An incredible result: a small company that until then had essentially operated in the field of mopeds, he launched himself into the world of large motorcycles by accepting to challenge the famous British brands then dominating. And it does so by choosing the most important engine on the market at the time, from a company that had never before had the slightest idea of entrusting its “heart” to other manufacturers.

In 1966 Italjet also opened its business to external customers by providing prototyping, industrialization and assembly of finished motorcycles. Over the years, agreements will be signed with Mi-Val, Vi-Vi and especially Ducati, a company with which Tartarini has always continued to have excellent relations. Later, towards the second half of the seventies, the collaboration will be very intense, so much so that Tartarini is also known as a Ducati “stylist”. He is credited with making models attractive (for example the series of parallel twin cylinders or the 860 GT) up to that moment of little interest for the public. Tartarini performs this task very well, becoming one of the best Italian motorcycle designers.

Exports to many European and non-European countries continue to grow, to the point of making it necessary to adopt different brands on some markets, including: Tarbo for France, Rome for the USA, Ital for Northern Europe, in order to have different production lines with different distributors. In the meantime, having ceased commercial relations with MZ for some time, the company officially changed its name in 1967 and became Italjet.

During this period, Gianni Cinelli joins the company, a talented collaborator who will be entrusted with the technical management of both the experimental and competition department and the technical assistance department linked to the brands gradually imported over the years.

But Tartarini's mind is tireless and always on the move so that the following year, 1968, the first Italjet folding moped was born: the Kit-Kat. This time we turn to a particular niche of the market: that of two wheels as a complementary means to another means of transport. The Kit-Kat is really tiny, has very small 5-inch wheels, and is designed to be inserted, once the handlebar and saddle are folded, into a special bag and stored in the trunk of the car, in a camper, on the boat, accompanying the owner even on train journeys.

Now, it is not our task here to identify whether Tartarini was absolutely the inventor of these small means of transport, but certainly he was the one who made them an industrial product in Italy, giving them, more than any other, a certain diffusion. To corroborate the idea of "all-out" activity, in the same year the Grifon superbike goes into production, powered by a Triumph 650 engine, the same as the legendary Bonneville. Here the unequal challenge, which has always fascinated Tartarini since the days of motorcycle racing, reaches a high level: Davide against the Goliaths of the world motorcycle industry, Italjet against the famous Italian, Japanese, English and German brands. In fact, the originality lies precisely in proposing itself, unlike the large houses, as a very flexible manufacturer, ready to satisfy even the particular needs of its customers, creating real "specials" with an English heart and an original frame equipped with the best of Italian components.

In 1968 the collaboration with Floyd Clymer was also born for the production of models with the Indian brand destined exclusively for the American market. He is a well-known character in the Yankee motorcycle world, formerly a famous pilot in the 1920s, subsequently a dealer, first Harley Davidson and then Indian, and now editor of the most important American motorcycle magazine, “Cycle”. The projects are big, how big that market is. Clymer is endowed with the same "madness" of Tartarini and launches himself into this new activity perhaps in a way that is not adequate for his strength, both physical and economic. Initially he sought collaboration with the German Friedel Munch, from whom he imported Mammuth motorcycles equipped with the NSU automotive engine, but, it happens that he is materially unable to support it, he finds in Tartarini, whose products he had admired at the Milan Show, the right ally for this historical adventure.

Unfortunately, Clymer died suddenly in the early 70s and those who continue his business definitively cancel any request for large-displacement bikes. Until the mid-seventies, he will continue to sell the mini motorcycles in large quantities, shipped in an innovative packaging totally made of polystyrene.

1968 ended with the inauguration of the Speed Center, defined by the magazine "Motociclismo" as "the paradise of Italian motorcyclists". It is an idea of American origin, strictly commercial and absolutely new: it was certainly the first in Italy and, probably, also in Europe. Basically, it is a department store dedicated exclusively to motorcycling where you can find large-displacement and racing bikes, as well as the widest range of accessories, special detached parts and clothing. In total, over a thousand articles. The success is enormous and large groups of enthusiasts come from far away to visit and shop.

On this subject, it is essential to point out the innovative advertising campaign launched in those years, still in the minds of motorcycle magazine readers today, in which Italjet models can be seen flying over what turns out to be the profile of a beautiful female body. Again in the field of promotion we remember the Club Bielle Roventi, whose name was already a whole program, born with the aim of retaining, as we would say today, young people to the Italjet brand, giving free, behind the shipment of a coupon to be cut from the magazine “Motociclismo”, cards and personalized gadgets. The success was so overwhelming and unexpected that the company was forced, after only a few months, to publish an advertising page with which it requested the suspension of mailings, "stifled" by requests.

In 1970 Italjet launched the Ossobuco brand which includes a series of low-wheeled motorcycles intended for easy fun and commonly known in the United States as "funny bikes". Reduced to the bare minimum, with a frame consisting of four bent tubes and an engine most often originally intended for mowers or similar, the overseas models have the only advantage of their very low cost. The Ossobuco are far superior to their American counterparts, and this is corroborated by what Tartarini says, with an observation that reflects his thoughts on all types of motorcycles, in a letter sent to Clymer: "The products where one looks only for low cost makes manufacturers and importers work badly. An economic article, in fact, will always create annoyances of all kinds and also the customers that are acquired are the poorest and at the same time the one that has the greatest demands. Furthermore, these minibikes that you define as 'built by a blacksmith' are not suited to the character and settings of the Italjet".

During the same year, the collaboration with Yamaha was officially born, which will lead to a much more consistent commitment difficult and fruitful in the following years, until 1976. In fact, Italjet became the sole importer of the entire range of the Japanese house, including the customers' racing bikes.

Due to the known legislative limitations, however, he must limit himself to selling motorcycles over 350 cm3, therefore, for the lower displacements he decides to produce on his own models equipped with the Japanese engine. To circumvent the regulation that prevents the importation from Japan of even just the engines, a triangulation system is devised that sees them first arrive in a Yamaha branch in Turkey, where they are partially assembled with frames and wheels; everything is then imported into Italy to be disassembled and reassembled again according to a more precise assembly line procedure. With this agreement Tartarini marks another important success in his career, considering that a prestigious manufacturer like Yamaha, in those years victorious in the World Championships in various classes, had chosen Italjet as a partner for Italy, a market that was certainly difficult at that time for the not italian motorcycles.

The Buccaneer officially entered competitions the following year and Aermacchi, hitherto absolute master of the championship, immediately became old. The Italjet won the Italian Junior 125 Championship from 1973 to 1975 with the drivers Marino Maspes, Domenico Battilani and Giorgio Avveduti, also placing many other drivers. The policy adopted by the Bolognese company is simple: every year there are only four official bikes, while all the other riders have bikes that they manage themselves, but with the possibility of obtaining directly from Italjet, at a cost of 200,000 lire, all the spare parts needed for the season. The road Buccaneer has evolved over the years by adding new technical components that always keep it at the top of its category. His successful career ceases after eight years, not for its specific causes, but for the changed taste of the young people of the late 1970s, attracted to off-road bikes. It was certainly the Italjet bike that was most successful.

Once the relationship with Yamaha ended, Tartarini, who has always understood the importance of having a commercial partner to complete his range, in 1977 signs a collaboration with Bultaco for the import and distribution in Italy of his models, all intended for off-road vehicles, thus managing in part not to "miss the train" of change in the tastes of young motorcyclists. A specific company called Sun International is created for this activity.

In 1982 the model evolved into Pack 2, adopting the mechanical and transmission parts of the Piaggio Ciao. And so even the largest Italian motorcycle manufacturer grants the privilege of supplying engines, previously never granted to anyone and, I believe, not even later. Over time, the model becomes a must for owners of large boats and is also supplied as standard on some of them. Become the folding moped par excellence.

The Pack will remain in the catalog until the mid-90s. Again with Piaggio mechanics and transmission, this time from the Ape series, Tartarini “invents” a trike, a motorcycle with two large knobby rear driving wheels and a front center similar to the previous ones, steering, which he calls Ranger. The name clearly indicates its ability to move on mountain terrain, adding a good load capacity. It is a completely new type of motorcycle, never placed on the market in Italy until that moment.

In the following years, on the same line, but with only two wheels, the Skipper was produced which adopts a Honda Italia 125 4-stroke engine. And this time it is even the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world to agree to Tartarini's requests. The bike is part of that vein said of the "sand bikes", sand bikes. In any case, on closer inspection, both Piaggio and Honda accept Tartarini's proposals as the final product can be classified in a specific niche that is never in direct competition with the models in the range of the two great manufacturers. However, one fact remains: in any case they feel satisfied with the seriousness of the Italjet brand.

All these “strange” ideas, in fact, despite being the result of a synthesis of his mind, draw inspiration from the Japanese market for which Tartarini has always had great consideration. In fact, since the end of the 60s, he visits the Tokyo Motor Show and receives Japanese motorcycle publications from which he "extrapolates" what he then remodels according to his taste, creating a new and different product, suitable to interest the domestic market.

In 1979, focus was on commercial and technical assistance activities at Bultaco, which was then very busy in the field of trials, both competitive and amateur. The following year, the economic situation of the Spanish manufacturer worsened, so much so that production and even competitive activities were suspended, whose assistance was still entrusted to local importers. During a two-day international test held in Italy, the Italjet technician Gianni Cinelli manages in one night's work to repair the bike of the top Bultaco rider, the world champion Bernie Schreiber, which had suffered serious damage to the engine, allowing him to win the second day of competition. At that point Schreiber, who had been left on foot by Bultaco, asks Tartarini to compete for Italjet, which however does not have a motorcycle to entrust to him. The decision was made in a few days: with the help of the Spanish technician Manuel Marqués, who had always followed the Bultaco trial racing department, Italjet entered the Trial World Championship in effect. The second official driver will be the Italian Ettore Baldini who will also compete in the Italian Championship. The immediate possibility of retaining Bultaco customers, offering them an Italian product on par with the previous Spanish one, also weighs heavily in favor of this decision.

From the following year Italjet officially entered the trial motorcycle market, becoming for the first time also a manufacturer of its own engines, in the conventional displacement of 350 and 250 cm3. The motorcycles were immediately successful, driven by the phenomenal exploits of Schreiber and Baldini. The engine is the industrial version of the one already built by the Racing Department for racing bikes, but the innovation inspired by Tartarini and designed by the technician Renzo Nieri, a pupil and collaborator of Fabio Taglioni, consists in having thought of the same base that it could equally accommodate a 2 or 4 stroke distribution, both air and liquid cooled. This is to allow the motorcycle range to be expanded by offering road or off-road models even with 4 strokes.

In the last decade Italjet was among the first companies in the world to believe in the e-bike phenomenon, launching a complete range of very elegant vintage-style pedal assisted bicycles exported and sold all over the world. Today Italjet is one of the few motorcycle companies in the world that belong to and have been led by the same family since the beginning, always keeping the same DNA and innovative spirit outside the box. Through huge investments in Research and Development, Italjet is implementing a strategy that aims at "total quality" and maximum constructive originality, a commitment in which all the staff are personally involved and motivated. Always new technical and stylistic solutions to satisfy or stimulate latent desires of the modern consumer, increasingly attentive to design and the emotional meaning of owning anything, even a motorcycle.

In the Castel Guelfo plants, a few kilometers from Bologna, the Italjet Marketing office, heart and engine of research and development, designs and produces significant innovations in the international motorcycle scene. A recent history of creativity and innovation that joins the past full of anecdotes and successes always on the border between design and technology, a truly unique combination of eclecticism and rigor. Since 2018, the company has focused on the planning, design and launch of the new Dragster, enjoying global success since the presentation of the first prototype at Eicma 2018, a success that was confirmed by the thousands of bookings received from all over the world at the time of the presentation. of the final vehicle in 2019.

Today Italjet exports to over 40 countries around the world with the usual mission, to create "works of art on two wheels".