This MV Agusta TRA 125 was recently started after sitting a long time according to the seller. There is some mystery around it, as the seller does not know the year of production and has no paperwork, but he believes it was brought into the country by a serviceman or collector. It has new tires and runs but needs general sorting. Find it here on eBay in Winchester, California. Special thanks to TY reader Eliot S. for this submission!
The seller pegs the year between 1957 and 1962. He says that the wheels, seat, and exhaust look brand new, so it is likely that somebody either took good care of it or dropped some money into it recently. Hearing where the seller sourced the bike would be a key question.
The print ad below shows a very similar model on the left side. The black and red tank on this bike looks even better, though it does need a cleaning or coating to solve some fuel supply issues.
We love that the seller included a photo with him riding it and stating that he is 6′ tall. So often with these bikes the real dimensions are difficult to understand from static photos with no frame of reference, and especially the lower displacement models can be very small in person. This one looks substantial enough to ride.
The opening bid on this one is so minimal that we can’t believe no bidders have committed as of yet. We suspect that some are waiting until the bitter end of the auction. This one deserves to be put back on the road, and is an interesting Moto Giro option. It will also be at the AHRMA races in Calfironia next weekend for viewing.
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Okay, this is what little bikes are supposed to look like. Why anyone would choose a Vespa or one of those Chinese things over something like this would be beyond my understanding, were it not for the rarity of these. In my dreams there’s a big cave, barn or hangar somewhere stuffed with these, 200cc Ducatis, Moto Parillas, J-Be Sachs 125s, Zundapp Sabres and Super Sabres …
Certainly more living room worthy than that BMW…
I agree with both of the previous statements. A lovely example of beauty through simple, functional design.
+1 to all posts above. I’m not familiar with registering a no-title bike in California, but that may be reason for the lack of auction action-from my experience in Oregon it would take a rare bike indeed for it to not become a static display/parts bike. BTW, there are several methods for de-rusting a tank interior which I would try before using one of the liner products. Great post.
The Italians have a sweet knack for getting proportions so right that some of their smallest bikes – and cars – are amazingly elegant instead of shrimpy. As much as I loved the early tube-framed Hondas, the CB160 and the Super Hawk, today they look strangely stubby, whereas this MV is simply a whippet to the Ducati 750′s greyhound – both long, lithe and lean. Yes, I am in love …
As someone who’s been more intimate than I cared to be with the DMV in both California and Oregon, I think Powermatic is spot on. It’s getting harder and harder to deal with a no-paperwork bike, and it cuts your potential universe of bidders by a large factor.
It would be a shame to see this little jewel parted, but that’s as likely as not. Hopefully a MotoGiro enthusiast will buy it and get it back in the good graces of the powers that be.
Would it help to flog it off to a less picky state? Like, should I try harder to engage my brother in Tennessee?
I live in CA and have had no trouble with my vintage Italian bikes w/o paperwork. What sorts of trouble has anyone here had getting on through DMV?
There are lots of ‘collectors/sellers’ in SoCal who can help, or at least, give info on how to deal w/”paper-less” motorcycles. A couple have had m/cs posted here on BAT. Plus, The Garage Co. in Venice, CA knows the ins & outs.
This MV is a great example of “…less is more…” pure Italian design!
Regards.
@John-
As I said, I’m not the guy to ask about Cal no-title registration, but I’ll make a couple of points to add to my post referencing why it’s possible that this auction hasn’t seen a single bid:
-With a Bill of Sale only, it’s possible the bike is stolen, or ‘found’ in a backyard, which is another form of ‘stolen’. Granted, the seller does give a VIN, presumably belonging to the bike. So that’s a start.
-If it’s so easy to obtain title, why hasn’t the seller done so-and placed on the market a bike that you can walk into the DMV and register?
-Are you willing to take a 3000 dollar chance that you’ll be able to eventually be able to ride this bike legally on the road? Which, apparently, this seller is not doing.
Again, this is just in reference to the slow bidding, and how I, personally, would not buy a bike that doesn’t have a clear title. Even the normal ‘back door’ title companies (Broadway and ITS) are having more trouble due to tightened rules in the states they’ve historically used (Alabama and Maine).
Definitely Living-Room-Worthy. So elemental and yet so beautiful.
[Powermatic: Even the normal ‘back door’ title companies (Broadway and ITS) are having more trouble due to tightened rules in the states they’ve historically used (Alabama and Maine).]
That’s true, and the current practice is to send them a “bill of sale” executed in your favor by a willing friend or relative. Any way you slice it, that’s excruciatingly close to fraud, and the potential to come back and bite you in the butt is very real if the bike turns out to have a sketchy history. And let’s face it, if it’s knocking around with no paperwork and no known history, it’s a little on the sketchy side by definition.
I have a few paperless tiddlers in my collection but they’re basically garage art. And that’s fine. I’ve satified myself that they aren’t stolen but I’m not likely to ever expend the effort or expense to convince the DMV of it.
0 bids with 5 hrs to go?? I don’t get it.
Hey BAT–why no thumbs up feature on TY? Would love to have that…
Sold at the opening bid…
Came close to bidding, but the discussion RE plates gave me pause.
Question guys – would this not be fairly simple to title as an “ass veh”? [assembled vehicle] . A couple of friends of mine [don't hold it against me :) ] have ‘built’ Harley type things [a/m frame, rev tech motor, etc] and they are titled as an “ass veh”. Sorta like a kit car. Preferably though, I believe one could title it as an MV. How it[at least used to] work[s] is that you go into the tag office. Say you’ve pulled the thing out of a barn/field/whatever, and have rebuilt it. Bring photos of it apart, [not hard to do in this case] and some parts receipts. They run the VIN to make sure it isn’t stolen and about a week later, a title shows up in the mail. Worked years ago for a friend and a 57 Chevy he did pull out of a building that was about to be razed. Worth a try…
Never had an MV but this looks like a carbon copy of my Guzzi 125 “Stornello” Scrambler. I have had the bike for 30 years, unrestored and runs, but don’t know a lot. Guzzi made my 125 for 15 years plus in many forms, made 1000′s of them, any chance MV bought up a few MG frame and did some careful rebadging? Or the other way around? Sorry for sounding sacriligious to MV but the match is rediculious.
I bought the bike. should be here in a few days. looked like a deal at the opening bid. this will not be sitting in my living room. will have to figger out the extent of the tank rust issues, but if it’s solid, it will not be lined with crap. my guess is the petcock is clogged up with 50 years of crud. will be battling some moto morinis for saddle time this summer.
oops. forgot to mention. no title is not an issue here.
yep. just flaky rust and clogged petcocks. A trip through the do it yourself carwash got all of the flaky crud out.
cleaned carb and it fired up and rode around the block. yeah!