S-22720-0-1

379 N1950 MV Agusta 125cc ‘QuattroMarce’ Racing MotorcycleFrame no. SS205Engine no. SS205Although best known for their racing and road-going fourcylinderfour-strokes, MV Agusta built lightweights throughout itsmanufacturing career and in its early days listed small two-strokesand even a scooter. Indeed, one of the marque’s earliest Grand Prixresults - 5th place in the Dutch 125 round in 1950 - was achieved bya two-stroke. Much better engineered than any British contemporary,the 125 MV was powered by a neat unitary construction singlecylinderengine which, somewhat unusually for a post-war design,featured detachable transfer ports. The cycle parts comprised a twindowntubeswinging-arm frame and blade-type girder forks.As soon as the 125cc roadster appeared the factory begandeveloping a racing version, although at first the latter was not thatdifferent from the standard model. Its shortcomings soon becameapparent, leading to a hasty redesign, the most obvious evidence ofwhich was a new cylinder head with greatly enlarged finning. In thisform the MV 125 racer achieved its first major success, winning atthe Grand Prix des Nations at Faenza in 1948.For 1949 there was an entirely new version, featuring a morestreamlined engine, a four-speed gearbox (replacing the earlier threespeed)and a new frame with swinging-arm rear suspension. An idealmachine for privateers, the racing 125cc two-strokes were a majorsuccess, winning the arduous Milan-Taranto road race in 1950, ‘51and ‘52, but at World Championship level the MVs were outclassedby the four-stroke F.B. Mondial with its twin-overhead-cam engine.Count Agusta’s response was to hire Gilera’s chief designer PieroRemor together with its chief mechanic, Arturo Magni, and build afour-stroke racer of his own, and in 1950 the works team ceased touse the two-stroke.The current vendor, a prominent German private collector, purchasedthis beautiful little Quattro Marce (four-speed) MV 125 from a deafGerman racer, who had acquired it in Italy from Giancarlo Morbidelli,founder of the eponymous motorcycle company and head of theMorbidelli Museum. Believed restored in the Morbidelli workshops,the machine has been run but not raced.£10,000 - 15,000€14,000 - 21,000138 | the spring stafford saleBidders must satisfy themselves as to the description and condition of each lotprior to bidding. All lots are sold “as is/where is” with all defects and faults.