In the autumn of 1945 the first MV Agusta was presented to the public. It was supposed to be called the “Vespa 98”, but the name had already been registered. And so it was referred to simply as the “98”, available in “Touring” and “Economical” versions. Deliveries began in 1946, the year MV Agusta officially began competing in endurance races. It didn’t have to wait long for its first victory: in the first season Vincenzo Nencioni won an endurance race in La Spezia, then again in Monza on November 3 when all the podium places were occupied by MV Agusta riders (Vincenzo Nencioni, Mario Cornalea and Mario Paleari).
It was in the wake of these early successes that the 98 “Sport” was built. It differed from the earlier models on account of its telescopic fork, a new 5 cm shorter frame and sportier handling. Changes to the engine increased its power to almost 5 hp: a record at that time for an engine of this size.
In 1947 MV Agusta went to the Milan Trade Fair with a number of new developments. In addition to a “Luxury” version of the 98, two-cylinder two-stroke 125 cc bikes and 250 cc single-cylinder 4-stroke bikes appeared.
The following year the 125 cc category was introduced into the Italian speed championships (Campionato Italiano di Velocità), allowing MV Agusta to enter its “125 three gear” model. In 1949 the “98” and “125” were replaced by the new “125 TEL”, flanked by the 125 type “B” scooter in the same year.
