Ex-Michel Noël Mavrogordato, Gus Kuhn supplied, 477 miles recorded, 1972 MV Agusta 750S

A magnificent find, the exceptional MV Agusta 750S offered here was supplied new to Michel Noël ('Mavro') Mavrogordato by the famous Gus Kuhn dealership in Stockwell, South London. This example was built on 9th October 1972 and sold to Kuhn's on 20th October 1972 and was first registered on 18th December 1972. Purchased by Mavrogordato when he was 70 years old, it was the first of 30 MV Agusta 750S models received by Gus Kuhn between October 1972 and October 1974.

Born into a Greek merchant-banking family, Michel Noël Mavrogordato developed a passion for speed machinery while studying at Cambridge in the mid-1920s. On graduating, he got a job at De Havilland's and gained his pilot's licence in 1930, going on to fly for Midland and Scottish Air Ferries. In 1934 he joined the Royal Air Force reserves, rising to the rank of Squadron Leader by the end of WW2.

He would enjoy an equally eventful career on land: racing at Brooklands, Donington Park, the Amateur TT and the Manx Grand Prix in pre-war days, and in the MGP and Isle of Man TT post-war. His best result was 7th place in the 1926 Amateur TT riding a Scott, while his last race in the Island was the 1952 Ultra-lightweight TT, resulting in a 9th place finish.

As well as a variety of motorcycles, Mavro owned cars, yachts and light aircraft. From 1946 to 1956 he ran a successful motorcycle dealership in Salisbury, and every year the Salisbury Motorcycle Club organises a run in his honour.

Given his lifelong passion for speed, it is obvious why the 750 MV held a powerful appeal for Mavro. Developed from its long line of highly successful multi-cylinder racers, MV Agusta's first road-going four - the 4C, a 600cc, twin-carburettor, shaft-driven tourer - appeared in 1965. But the public demanded something more exciting from many-time World Champions MV, and the Gallarate manufacturer duly obliged in 1968, upping capacity to 743cc and further boosting maximum power (to 65bhp) by fitting a quartet of Dell'Orto carburettors to the revised 750S, a high-speed symphony in red, white and blue. Perhaps surprisingly for a sports model, the 750S retained the 4C's shaft final drive while the frame too was virtually identical to that of its predecessor.

Hand made in limited numbers and priced accordingly, the 750S was way beyond the financial reach of the average enthusiast, but then you could hardly call Mavro 'average'. Marque specialist the late Mick Walker got to try a mint, low mileage example in 1983, recording the event in his book MV Agusta Fours: "The experience was unique; the rider was transported to a different level, and made to feel really special. There was certainly a pronounced 'feel-good factor'."

Although no lightweight - it weighed nearly as much as a Kawasaki Z1 - the 750S gave little away in outright performance terms to such larger machinery, thanks, no doubt, to its engine's Grand Prix heritage. Testing a 750S in 1975, Bike magazine found the motor very powerful: "Surprisingly it also has great reserves of torque and pulls happily from four thousand. It's probably the most powerful 750cc motor made; in a straight drag with a Z1 it lost only a few yards up to 100mph." Bike rated the 750S as "one of the most dramatic-looking bikes made, the real stuff of legend". Few would disagree.

This MV has been in current family ownership for at least a third of a century, and throughout that time has been kept in storage at family-owned properties. As far as the private vendor is aware, the recorded mileage is genuine, although that cannot be verified. The machine appears to be extremely original, as would be expected from this mileage.

Following a lengthy period of inactivity, this motorcycle will require recommissioning and/or restoration to a greater or lesser extent before returning to the road and thus is sold strictly as viewed. Prospective purchasers should satisfy themselves with regard to this motorcycle's completeness, history, authenticity, originality and mechanical condition prior to bidding.

It should be noted that, while the machine displays the registration number 'MLH 723L' and comes with an old V5 registration document for the aforementioned VRN, the registration 'MLH 723L' is not recorded in the HPI/DVLA database – appearing to have lapsed. Accordingly, prospective purchasers must satisfy themselves to the validity/status of the VRN prior to bidding. The successful purchaser will be responsible for applying for a new registration certificate.

Accompanying paperwork includes the following:

• Old V5 (showing Michel Noël Mavrogordato as registered keeper)
• MV rider's and instruction manuals
• MV Newsletter (December 1979)
• Marque-related literature
Offered with key