MV Agusta Motorcycles

MV Agusta, or Meccanica Verghera Agusta, is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1945. Meccanica stands for mechanic and Verghera is the town where the first MV motorcycles were made. MV Agusta has been in the Philippines since 2013 but the Italian motorcycle manufacturer has been in the Philippines since 1999. The “rebirth” included a new partnership with local distributor Motostrada.

The company was established by the Agusta brothers at the end of the Second World War as a spin-off of the Agusta Aviation company led by their father. MV Agusta’s first prototype unit was called the “Vespa 98” in 1945. Soon after, the company manufactured small-displacement, cafe racer-style motorcycles through the 1950s and 1960s. Most of these production motorcycles were 125cc to 150cc until MV Agusta tapped into bigger displacements when sales began to drop. This was the beginning of the then-start-up Italian motorcycle manufacturer’s involvement and success in racing. The company’s first major race was the Italian Grand Prix with rider Franco Bertoni aboard a 125 cc two-stroke motorcycle. Bertoni’s winning performance gave MV Agusta the recognition it deserved. MV Agusta competed in countless seasons of the Italian Grand Prix after their first major victory.