The name Egli will surely be familiar to motorsports aficionados. The legendary chassis builder created some very iconic machines back in the day, and up until recently, made racing frames in limited quantities. The company was founded by Fritz W. Egli in 1965 when he first started making custom cafe-racers powered by 998cc Vincent Black Shadow V-Twin engines. From there, he would create custom builds powered by all sorts of engines.
Fast forward to the modern day, and an aging Fritz Egli sold his company to now-owner Alexander Frei in 2015. His plan was not to permanently take the helm of the company, but rather, to find a suitable successor, be it an individual or a corporation, to take over the historic company. Now, some seven years later, it appears that the plan has ultimately been unsuccessful, as Frei, now 69 years old, has announced the end of Egli Motorradtechnik.
Indeed, it's quite a sad conclusion to a small yet impactful company that has close to six decades of legacy under its belt. Following the announcement of the company's closure, Frei also announced that Egli woul stop taking orders for new builds, but promised to deliver those that have already been started.
Not too long ago, in February, 2022, Egli announced that it was building its own from-the-ground-up motorcycle. An in-house developed 1,400cc V-twin engine was laid out, housed in a custom frame. The brand had hopes of producing just 12 units per year, each commanding the hefty sum of about $110,000 USD. Alas, given the company's current state, it appears that the bike will never see the light of day.
Headquartered in Bettwill, Switzerland, Egli Motorradtechnik will reportedly be holding a garage sale in mid-October 2023. According to a recent article by our friends at Motorrad Online, Alexander Frei seeks to "liquidate parts of the company, in the hope that at least parts of Egli will continue to operate." It's not yet known what exactly will be up for sale in the planned garage sale, but once we get more information, we'll be sure to provide an update.
