On the Fritz

On the Fritz

The original Egli

SWISS ROADRACER AND HILLclimber Fritz Egli built his first Vincent special in the winter of 1967-68. "My (stock) Vincent was fast enough, but the chassis was not good compared to my rivals' Matchless G50s and Manx Nortons. So I decided to make my own frame," he recalls.

"I started from the Vincent design, because that's what was in front of me. Studying why it wouldn't handle in extreme conditions, I decided that having the upper frame member merely bolted to the steering head and engine allowed too much twisting. My target was to achieve a twistfree structure connecting the steering

head and swingarm pivot. This was done w ith siraight tubing and the

large-diameter top member."'

Egli was Swiss roadraec champion in 1968, and demand for his chassis led him to retire from competition and set up as a constructor. His chief track rival, Fritz Peier, successfully took over the original Egli Vincent.

Peier made a sensational appearance at Bran^s^H^tch^in 1969, briefly

Vincent engines became harder to find and in the 1970s Egli turned to

framing Japanese Fours, including the Egli Kawasaki ridden to countless wins across Europe by the endurance racing team of Alain

Genoud and Georges Godier. Early records were lost in a fire, but Egli estimates a total output of 220 Egli Vincent chassis. Copies-probably as many as 100-have been produced all over the world.

"I have no objection if people want to have fun making their own spe-

ciáis," Egli says. Now 62, he describes himself as "not a businessman but a motorcycle maniac." His company, Egli Motorradtechnik, currently does complete hopped-up reworkings of Indian-made Enfield Bullet Singles. -Mick Duckworth