What actually drives: Fritz W. Egli

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What actually drives: Fritz W. Egli
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What actually drives: Fritz W. Egli

What actually drives: Fritz W. Egli
20 questions to Fritz W. Egli

“I am lying in the hospital with a crooked spine, waiting for the repair of my central frame tube, drunk with opiate.” That was the brief answer of the gifted motorcycle designer Fitz W. Egli to the questions about the last episode of our MOTORCYCLE series “What actually drives …”.

02/15/2012

Photos: Egli, fact

Fritz W. Egli, born in 1937, does away with the image of the leisurely Swiss. On the contrary: with his self-made frame, he made sure that shaky boxes were turned into real high-speed grenades. His first litter, the Egli-Vincent, was considered unbeatable for years. And the Vmax only got really good in the Egli trim.

Your current motorcycle?
“Rubezahl”, a 1000 cc diesel twin with a sidecar and without a particle filter. Doing it yourself is a nightmare for every serious, conscientious TuV officer and moral guardian.

And your first?
A bicycle with a Cucciolo auxiliary engine, the first real machine a Vincent HRD Black Shadow.

Hand on heart: your most beautiful?
From an emotional point of view: the 50 Cucciolo 50cc. Real: my 1000 cm³ E-Vincent-Open-Class-Racer. Pure, no-frills functionality, no “styling”. 

Which bike would you never buy (again)??
A good, well-known, reputable German brand that always works perfectly. It was like a woman who is completely flat in the back and front.

Which must definitely be in the collection?
Now I can look forward to great bikes without having to own them.

Quick decision, briefly justified:

Chain or cardan?
In terms of type and use (equal to common sense!) Rather chain (because emotional).

Air or water cooling?
As above. air.

Clip-on handlebars or handlebars?
The hot stub-handlebar-cafe-racer era is a thing of the past for me (born in 1937 … all right?).

Wire spoke or forged wheels?
Locomotives have forged wheels. Most of my motorcycles: wire spokes!

Gore-Tex or one piece?
The beloved one-piece suit (from Harro blessed) has probably died over the years and no longer fits (in the middle) over me. The frayed Barbour is still okay. What is Gore-Tex? A vegetarian spread?

Steam jet or sponge and brush?
A can of gasoline / waste oil mixture and a brush. A rag to rub on. A sponge is good for warm showers.

The most beautiful motorcycle experience?
For pure lawn to Bonneville. With my ethanol-fired, 490-turbo-horsepower sidecar, no worries about radar. The trip was so awesome that at the end of the measuring mile I didn’t take the gas off, but let it crash another mile further. Then the endurance test for the brakes and the run-out section – it all worked out!

Of course also the most embarrassing?
Finally a girl “towed away” (I was about 19, not a womanizer), drove to the edge of the forest full of joyful anticipation, the motorcycle parked on the side stand. But it was too crooked, so the bike was upright to move something, while the side stand (with a spring that was much too strong) hit the girl’s bare shin: bleeding bruise, and her petticoat was splattered with Castrol-R. Nothing with smooching.

Who lends a hand on your motorcycle: the workshop or just yourself?
I have become more flexible, my own (drilled) mechanics are not only allowed to, they have to.

Which screwdriver performance (repair or conversion) are you particularly proud of?
Change the question to “What team performance are you proud of?”, Then I say: In the early seventies, I drove to Barcelona for the first time for the 24-hour race overnight in an old, rusty Thames bus. The motorbike, the first Egli triumph, a prototype with a Bonneville engine, big bore kit, too large SSI 40 carburettors, too sharp camshafts and a special clutch with springs that were far too hard, was of course not ready. During the journey, the engine and gearbox installed, the exhaust bracket made, the lights and ignition cables installed, and the start number plates painted. That and more in the shaking van, with loose contact on the interior lighting. Arrived at the racetrack just before the inspection, compulsory training done. In the race: Florian Burki, my toughest championship competitor from Switzerland, was one of the drivers. A tough, wiry fellow, the other was called Alain Suter. Two tough guys who drove to twelfth place with a more than imperfect, partly wrongly designed machine. Everyone was fully concentrated, everyone gave twelve hours of full throttle, in the end with swollen arms, tendinitis, eyes like gunshot wounds and like baboons with red swollen buttocks.

Which motorcycle hero is on pole position for you??
Every racing driver who fights uncompromisingly and mercilessly with full commitment. No matter if at the front or at the back.

What shouldn’t be missing from your motorcycle clothes??
Good, suitable on-board tools for all possible eventualities. Important spare parts, including gas and clutch cables, clutch lining sets, reserve hoses, candles with heat values, reserve chain. As you can see, I like to drive “scrap iron” and I am well prepared. It’s good that there’s space for everything in the sidecar.

And what would you never dare take to the streets with??
I am fearless in this regard, you can adapt to technical deficiencies and drive safely. The basic goal is always technical perfection.

Where do you like to be most of the time?
On streets that are as empty as possible.

Who absolutely has to take a seat behind you?
I prefer to drive alone.

And who would you like to go after??
A certain Swiss STVA (= TuV) official who once refused to accept an acceptance test because the handlebars of the motorbike to be tested were 25 millimeters wider than stated in the type certificate.

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