Chinese-made Malaguti Drakon 250
The revived Malaguti brand unveiled its Drakon 125 in Europe last year, but Chinese type-approval documents show that a 250 cc derivative is also in the works.
In its current incarnation, Malaguti is part of the Austrian KSR Group's stable of brands, and like KSR's other products, manufacturing is outsourced to China where Zongshen makes Malaguti-branded machines on KSR's behalf.
Under KSR's wing, Malaguti machines launched prior to 2021 have essentially been rebranded Piaggio machines. The Malaguti RST125 was an Aprilia RS 125 in all but name, the Monte Pro 125 a retitled Derbi Mulhacen and the XSM125 was essentially an Aprilia SX 125. Today's range includes the Dune 125, based on the Derbi Terra 125, but the Drakon 125 that was revealed in 2021 has a look and chassis all of its own, while borrowing its DOHC single from Aprilia.
The new Drakon 250, seen here, also uses an Aprilia engine. This time it's the 249 cc single that's used in the company's Chinese market GPR250, which is essentially an upscaled RS125, and the Tuono-style GPR250S. Like the Malaguti, those Aprilia models are made by Zongshen as part of the Piaggio-Zongshen joint venture.
As you'd expect, the Drakon 250 is significantly more powerful than the 125. Where the smaller bike manages 13.7 hp (10 kW) and 7.7 lb-ft (10.5 Nm) of torque, the larger 249 cc engine is good for 27.5 hp (20.5 kW) and 15.9 lb-ft (21.5 Nm) - so the output is doubled alongside the capacity.
