MV Agusta Classic Cars for Sale

Motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta was founded as Meccanica Verghera Agusta as a division of the Italian aeronautics company, Agusta, which was established by Count Giovanni Agusta.

The Rise and Fall of MV Agusta

After WWII, the demand for cheap transportation means was high, and Agusta sought to solve that with the manufacturer of motorcycles, so it was then that MV Agusta came into being in 1945. In its early years, the Italian manufacturer focused on small motorcycles, but when demand declined, it moved to the large displacement alternatives in the 1960s. MV Agusta bikes evolved from 125 to 150 cc in the 1950s to 250 cc, then a 350 cc followed by a 600 cc and a 750 cc later on. Two of the Agusta heirs, Count Vincenzo and Domenico, were big racing enthusiasts and, therefore, built MV Agusta on that philosophy. The Italian manufacturer enjoyed success until 1970 when Count Domenico Agusta died. MV Agusta struggled financially until it received assistance from EFIM, a public financing institution. In exchange, the manufacturer had to halt the production of bikes, and it sold its last unit in 1980. In 1991, Cagiva bought the rights to the MV Agusta name and started manufacturing sports motorcycles. When Cagiva restructured in 1999, MV Agusta became the main division. Proton bought the bike maker in 2004, then in 2005, it was acquired by GEVI SpA.

MV Agusta Classic Bikes

The first motorcycle from MV Agusta was the ‘98’, initially called the Vespa 98 until the company realised that the name had already been registered. The motorcycle established MV Agusta in the industry when it won the company’s first endurance race in Spezia and the Italian Grand Prix in 1948 with Franco Bertoni. 1950 to 1951 was a development period for the company, which is when it adopted the 125 Dohc four-stroke engine. In 1953, the 350 Four was introduced. Some of the classic street models from MV Agusta include the 125 TEL (1948-49), 125 Motore Lungo (’50-’53), 500 Turismo (1950), and 750 GT. Its race models evolved from the two-stroke in the Vespa 98, to the 500 cc four-cylinder made between 1973 to 1976.

MV Agusta Racing

After its win in the 1948 racing season, the Italian bike maker participated in various other races across Europe. It entered the first world championships during the 1949 season in Switzerland with its riders taking the ninth and tenth place. The manufacturer performed averagely in the following years. In 1952, MV Agusta launched the MV 125 with telescopic forks and a new fuel tank, which was rewarded with a win at the Isle of Man TT with Cecil Sandford as well as the company’s first world championship. Escalating costs of staying in world championship competition saw several motorcycle manufacturers withdraw their participation. MV Agusta remained, bagging 17 consecutive world championship wins in the 500 cc category.