1948 Vincent Rapide with 1970 Egli Frame.
Back in 1965 a Swiss engineer named Fritz Egli bought a Vincent Rapide in order to go racing. Hill climbs were popular in Europe, but were nothing like the American version, which involved scrabbling up steep dirt slopes. The European race would take place on very twisty paved roads going to the tops of mountains, rather like our Pikes Peak run. And Switzerland has lots of mountains to race up.
In the early ?60s Egli, then around 25, had gotten a scholarship to study in California, and on weekends took to racing Ariel singles in the desert. He was well aware of chassis problems on motorcycles, and while a frame might be suitable for ordinary use, when seriously stressed could prove to be inadequate. After getting back to Switzerland he bought a well-used Rapide because of the engine?and it was cheap. The Brits often referred to them as ?bikes for old men,? since the technology was essentially out of the 1930s, and resale value was low, a couple of hundred dollars. Now all Vincents are extremely expensive.
The company, Vincent Engineers (Stevenage) Ltd., had been out of business since 1955, after Philip Vincent announced that his machines were expensive to build and consumers were not willing to pay the true cost. However, the big engines, a 998cc OHV V-twin like the one in the Rapide, were still popular among performance enthusiasts 10 years on.
Egli loved the power, but found the chassis sadly lacking when used in competition. Or i...