Some people think the French have a knack for classy, timeless motorcycles. If you are not one of them perhaps some of these stunning Egli-Vincent custom motorcycles might change your mind. Thanks to our friends at Bike Exif for sharing them with us.
There was Jean François Vicente, in the days when he owned VD Classic. We (Bike Exif) recently featured restorer Jean-Claude Barrois, who created the Rudge ‘bitsa’. And then there’s Patrick Godet of Godet Motorcycles of Malaunay in northern France, who created the machines you see here. These bikes are Egli-Vincents, and built under licence. They’re based on the 100-or-so originals produced in Switzerland by Fritz Egli in the late 60s and early 70s, and the appeal is just as strong today as it was four decades ago.
Today, Godet offers two variations on the Egli-Vincent, a single-seater Café Racer model and a twin-seat Sport GT. Both use a Black Shadow air-cooled 50º V twin specification engine and weigh around 172 kg (378 lbs); the difference is mostly in the bodywork and the trim. It’s worth noting that Godet Motorcycles are not restorations, but completely new hand-built machines, created using new components that are faithful to the original Vincent specifications.
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A Godet/Egli-Vincent was featured in the Guggenheim’s Art of The Motorcycle exhibition; what I’d give to have one in my garage. [Images via Moto Paint & Parts. Thanks to David McCairley, who also has a gallery of Egli-Vincent images.]
The biggest change that Krall made is at the front end, which now comes from a Suzuki 750 and will probably improve handling. The front wheel is a Harley Fat Bob slotted aluminum wheel, with an inch of hub material shaved off so it would fit between the Suzuki forks. The front fender and headlamp cowl are from a V-Rod, and Krall designed the fuel tank himself—using a hinged V-Rod airbox cover to allow refueling.
